Here's something else to ponder about the ATA. Their President, Bill Graves, was a two term Governor of Kansas. The state did very well under his watch and when he was Governor he STRONGLY believed in state's rights and telling the feds to keep their nose out of the state's business.

Now as the President of the ATA, he has no problem lobbying Washington to pass new regulations on the trucking industry, telling them how to run their business. So I guess now that he's in Washington our rights went bye bye and he wants the feds to tell us what to do. Can you say hypocrite?

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Do your part to combat global warming. EAT A STEAK!

FOURLANE: now my friend what i posted about ooida though it is true was not meant to offend you or anyone else and i dont believ i said i was a life member if i did i was out to lunch i am not a life member of anything and wont ever be .
the point you made was right on OOIDA will not help the an owner operator or an a driver on an individual bases wheather they can or not i dont no , i dont think so but that is only my opinion and we all no opinion dont count for much and wheather or not my membership will continue is in doubt however they do have some good services that you cantake advantage of.
you also made some good points about a ownerr operator hlping other drivers in troubel and that my friend is what it is all about. over the years i have bought food for drivers when ther company has left them stranded, bought them a bus ticket so they could get home and on occasion took them home myself and that is the way it should be driveres helping drivers there is in fact no one else we can depend on , no company no organization will help a driver or owner operator in troubel and certainly not OOIDA .
now im not going so far as to say that they are bad but as you i think they spend to much time in washington and spending ther time taking on big companys and doing little for the individual driver o they will give you advise but as is most of the advice you get does little to help YOU or the DRIVER.
AT THIS POINT in time i am a member there all we have and a little is better then nothing but the pont you made about drivers helping drivers THAT IS WHERE WE WILL GET HELP, FROM DRIVERS driver no what there going thrue better then anyone else and drivers can give help more then anyone else and as you i do offer help I WILL NEVER AND HAVE NEVER WALKED AWAY FROM A DRIVER THAT WAS HUNGRY or was stranded because a company turned there back on him when he was 3000 miles from home. thats why im an owner operator i dont want anything to do with a company or a boss im not going to be at the mercy of anyone period if i can own it i cant drive it simple as that.
sadly most drivers in perticular new drivers have no idea what can and will happen sooner or later if they work for a company and i see it happen almost on a daily bases and im sure you have to and the point you made about helping drivers i hope other drivers that read this pay attention it does happen and when it does happen the only one that can do anything about it is other drivers and i think most drivers will if they no abut it .
OOIDA certainly wont they spend most of there time playing pattie cake with washington and thats a good thing we do need that but the drivers and owner operators need a little help to.
i thank you for your post my friend and bringing this to my attention and not very good at writing but i do try.
happy trailes and stay safe .----southernpride

Seems like OOIDA is trying to be a big gun in the Lobbying field in DC. No matter how many people on here say that OOIDA will not help "individual" drivers, in the long run it would seem that, as part of a larger group, the "individual" would be helped. Most of what seems to come from OOIDA is advice (Take my Advice, I'm not using it-sort of thing). OOIDA wants to represent the common, everyday driver. ATA wants to represent the not-so-common (well, maybe more common than not) everyday Corp. owner wanting to line the pockets with the gold reaped off the sweating brow of the common, everyday driver. Anytime a politcal field is taken in a lobbying effort, it isn't so much for the One as it is for the Whole with hopes that the One benefits from it as well as can be expected and I think that is the Goal of OOIDA. Fix the Whole and the One can breath a bit easier. Fixing the Whole though seems to be clouded through things like the ATA saying that our part is just not worth it and the Whole they want to fix is the top of the food chain (afterall, drivers are fodder and seem to be in no short supply). ATA wants drivers wages low, OOIDA wants drivers wages fair. It is a very rare thing to see ATA and OOIDA agree on much of anything and as long as these two can't agree, we all lose something.

Let me say this, I am not a member of any Union ('cept the human race) and not a member of either OODIA or ATA, but leaning toward joining OOIDA in hopes that they will eventually, hopefully, get something accomplshed that will make me breath a bit easier being an O/O.

In simple terms OOIDA fights for the rights of all truckers and especially the Owner Operators. Who else is going after states who violate truckers rights. Did the ATA or the Minnesota Trucking Association file a suit against the State of Minnesota for violating any of their driver's rights - Absolutely Not. has any other association filed any action for predatory leasing companies who take advantage of desperate drivers - No.
if you want to join that's your choice but don't think that OOIDA isn't out there fighting for your rights as a trucker because they are and will continue to fight for the little guy/gal. If that takes lobbying in Washington DC or filing lawsuits so be it, in the end the trucker driver will benefit from their actions.

My husband is an OOIDA member. They helped us a lot. He used to run under his own authority and we had two brokers that owed us money for almost 90 days. The OOIDA representative helped us to get our money from them.

If OOIDA had 500,000 members and that is obtainable, could you imagine the influence they would have on Capitol Hill. So, get your trucking friends to join and help the cause by staying informed and call your state and federal representatives on a regular basis. Squeaky Wheels Always Gets The Grease First!!!!

FourLaneand18Wheels, I can totally understand you anger and frustrations! But sadly trucking is not a stand along industry with these problems. What it comes down to and what you pointed out is ethics. Sadly more companies lack it rather than have it in my opinion. What drives this? GREED! From the SOB small business owner looking to bend you over because they know they have you by the "short hairs" to the large global corporation like Wal-Mart!

You know.... I am probably going to catch flak for this is and it has nothing to do with director. But I would recommend everyone watch the film: "Capitalism, A Love Story". You will leave scratching your head's.

My opinion is our country has run amuck. Everything has to be super sized from not only fast food, but to the retail industries. Home Depots, Targets, restaurants, hell even pet stores.... everything is in some mega center. Trucking is no different.... JB, SWIFT, and so on. But at what expense does this all come? Lower wages, forcing "Ma and Pops" out of business, cheaper contracts and so on. Just to keep Wall Street happy and investors buying. All this on the backs of hard working everyday Americans.

So I guess what I am trying to convey is trucking is not alone and our capitalistic system (WHICH I AM NOT AGAINST) has spun out of control with de-regulation being one of the biggest driving factors.

We need "checks and balances" and "oversight" but let me throw this question out there... from where?

OOIDA is in my opinion our only voice and whether we like them or not, our only chance at change is in numbers. Without unity we are nothing!

Sorry for the rant and in no means am I trying to start a political debate. Rather I just wanted to present my thoughts while we watch manufacturing jobs exit stage left for the past 15-20 years all for one thing, the "bottom line"!

I am currently watching a documentary on HBO and it is echoing what I was trying to convey in my above posting. It is about the "Garment District" in New York City.

If anyone is interested the title is "Schmatta: Rages to Riches to Rages". Clothing produced in under the Kennedy Administration 96%, today...... only 4%.

I really hope we as a "United" Nation wake-up, because things need to change.

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WOW!!!! Where to start???? One item got my attention, "OOIDA is too busy taking on big business" where do you think that a lot of our "troubles" out here come from? Schnieder, Swift, Wal-Mart. JB & company, not to mention PAM, JCT, Knight, YRC, & a host of others. OOIDA only has soo much political capital to "spend", Personally I don't care for Joe Bidens hair transplants, not Obamas ears, not Nancys botox, nor Harry Reids, attitude, not locking dorrs on capitol hill, bbut I really don;t expect OOIDA to go "after" each & every one of my "concerns" Hell, we can't even agree on the price of a free cup of coffee out here, the defination of a "Wine Celler" is teo drivers in a basement!!!!!!! Jim started this organization, out od a camper trailer just off the Grain Valley Exit in MO. Todd Spencer could have made a KILLING in corperate law or even being a trial lawyer, but they had OUR interests ar heart, & you bad mouth these good people because they did not cater to your every complaint???? I have been out here for over 45 years & OOIDA has NOT catered to every one of my complaints either. I will admit, I'm a live tiime member, I know that "brands" me, but I have seen this industry go from the "Knights of the Road" to total SCUM just in my life time!!!!!! I can not even imagine where we will be in another 20 years!!!!! Sorry for the rant but another gray beard trying to prevent more mistakes, take if for what it's worth & don't bother to "flame me" I really don;t care considering my age. Thanks for the memories, about all I have left, ( being that the power was cut off yesterday)

Oh & BTY save the "typo" comments for someone who cares!!! <G> Gotta have a positive outlook, still tryin'