Mcr's letter to the world.

Well , you think you're talking to a fool . You bend the rules " a little" to make more money . A little bending only gets a little money . Suppose you get $.30 a mile and drive 2 extra hours . That might be a little over $30 . Is that the more money you are looking for ? I doubt it . I think you bend the rules more than a little . But I appreciate your posts . Covenant was one of the 9 companies that cosigned the Speed Limiter Petition . OOIDA alleged those companies never mentioned their safety records because they were nothing to brag about . They also claimed drivers with speed limit trucks would violate HOS to make up for lost miles driving slower . You have confirmed those allegations .

 

ya did good, MCR, i think we all can agree there's some problems in the industry. i think being solution oriented is the goal regardless of opinions. i think folks can add their opinions as amendment, footnotes, etc. to the letter. we need to heard and backed with power for change.
profit over people has been an inherent condition in ruling class corporate philosophy.
this letter attempts to be the unified voice of the trucker, not just a few, but all.
when ya go to war there is enlistment and drafts, we are doing what we need to do in order face our opponent. we have to match or exceed our opponents power. so we just wanna ask people who they'd like to side with
many don't seem to understand, that gov is the seat of power, entrusted by it's people. corporations have us at a disadvantage cuz they manipulate our elected custodians, who sit in power.
corps, etc can offer secret $ kickbacks to have legislation passed in their favor and to our detriment, right under our noses.
all we have is our voice.
now it's obvious that choice politicians make, it's why we have the situation that calls for this letter(our voice).
those that oppose being paid fairly in exchange for their labor are confused, it seems.
bottom line we gotta hold this industry accountable and use what power we have available, cuz, for sure, those that exploit this industry are using their power
thankz MCR i appreciate your conviction

 

It's one thing to "bend the rules" a little . It's another thing to broadcast it to the public saying it's necessary and a common practice . That is going to end up biting you . There are people out there in anti-trucking organizations that will use that information to demand stricter regulations on trucks . See how much you bend the rules when your truck gets the EOBR you're giving those groups reason to demand .

 

Another to point out (if not already) is that when you leave the industry for say 2yr because of a medical condition. Then you come back the big companies want you to spend 3-6grand on retraining even if you have driven for 20yrs with a perfect driving record. To me that is foolish and is only meant for the big companies to make more cash..

 

Disagreeing is not attacking . I know you are making a mistake claiming you speak for the industry and telling the media drivers have to break the rules to survive . You obviously don't know much about the media . They are much more influenced by the advertising dollars of ATA and the megacarriers than they are by truck drivers . ATA pays a media consultant to feed stories to newspapers , magazines , and TV networks . They have Political Action Committee that contributes over half a million dollars a year . Money talks . You ramble on . I already got an opinion of your letter from a high ranking FMCSA official . No , they don't work weekends . He contacted me from his home . He said there is too much personal opinion in your letter and it's way too long . Information should be short and precise following the Keep It Simple rule . He is one of the FMCSA employees that has done audits and knows the conditions you rant about aren't that common . Not every carrier is like Covenant . Yes , he knows you drive for Covenant . NHTSA and OOIDA also know you work for Covenant and conditions at Covenant aren't representative of conditions at the majority of carriers . If anyone uses your letter it will not be printed in its entirety . It will be edited and used in a way that is not favorable to truck drivers .
You say you aren't the problem but you are . You and others like you . You get over your head in debt and have to run illegaly to try to survive . Then if you are in an accident people read in the newspapers and see on TV how many illegal hours you've been running . BTW logbook falsification is a felony . If you want to keep bragging about being a felon go on . I really doubt that gains you any support from anyone you send your letter to . I'm going to keep on sending copies to contacts I have made over the years and I do add my comments stating you don't represent me or the majority of professional drivers . I make sure I mention Covenant and say they are not representative of the carriers out there . Covenant was one of the 9 companies cosigning the Speed Limiter Petition . I will publicize every bit of negative information on those companies I can get my hands on .

 

And we have a macro that can be used when those other things come up. If things come up that prevent on time delivery, a service failure is not given if that macro is used.

 

It sounds like he has a bone to chew.But i agree with you mcr,there are many issues to tackle. And all of us truckers need to do what you are trying to do and stand together as one.
Worse comes to worse I will gladly go to dc and eat them all,one by one.(lol)
Nothing better than a fat politicians arse to chew on. I have my fava beans ready and the chianti on ice...just waiting....mmmmmm.