A Strike that will work OR that will get real Attention

You have a point civilwerks. Not all the controllers went on strike, but the majority did and alot went back when threatened. A bunch found themselves without a job. I was one that got hired after the strike and there was still old timers around. I did it for three years but hated it and quit.

You could take several trucks and shut down the whole northeast by shutting down 6-7 interstates strategically. Once the other truckers got wind, a bunch more would join in. You might be arrested and fired, but your point would be heard world wide. Then just get another driving job as usual. Dime a dozen.

 

I haven't been to or through DC since way before my last post on this thread. As I said: I'm in.

 

Going on strike is sort of like a prison riot, in that you need a list of demands. That will probably #### the whole process from the start. I have a difficult time seeing the nations truckers coming together behind a set of key negotiating points. To make a strike happen, you will need the savvy o/ops next to the conspiracy theorists, next to the "everyone is screwing me" guy, next to the I am lucky to have a job guy, next to the recent immigrant, next to the southern redneck, etc. Sure we all have the common thread of trucking, but that is a hell of a lot of differences to bring together under one tent.

 

Merely my opinion:

There will be no effective strike anytime soon as we all (WE all) would rather make a dime than make nothing and lose a lot to be able to make a dime and a penny after a considerable amount of time losing everything, er, being on strike. It's the American way now, we are lazy and spoiled and have had our "belief in something" mindset stomped out of our being as a result of being spoiled for so long.

However, it is kinda fun to keep talk'n about it I suppose.



...What's for dinner anyway?

 

I do the nothing in nothing out plan for texas, because freight absolutely sucks to get out of there so i dont go

 

i have only been on my own since july 1st. but so far texas is the only place i have been to (twice) that is really tough to get out of. one time i did a few days worth of sub 200 mile loads. next time i did 3 live loads and unloads in the day with a total of about 60 miles driving around. man i am happy to get out of there.

 

I guess we could say that big business stole the American dream.

 

Ya the only loads I can usually get are in state and they pay a little better but not much. If i wanted to drive all week in texas I would move there

 

Firstly, I'd like to apologize to all the bretheren out there that I disappointed for the trucker's strike some odd years back.... I got called back to the construction job I had been doing for years, and in hindsight, should have stayed behind the wheel....

Here's is the old plan, that nobody seems to have realized has the most potential.

First, if you are going to do this, we have to agree upon a time, a specific day of the year. Second, the help of the brokers and companies is paramount. It's not impossible, though it will take some effort. Once they see the benefits, it will be hard to keep them out...

Keep the general public out of it, and keep mum, nothing works better than a surprise, and this one is a doozy.

Now the plan. What is the worst (best?) day to pull such a stunt? Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. "Black" because thats when retailers and 90% of all businesses come out of the year's red and make the bulk of thier profits. The big shots can help by pulling a few bucks out of those few who can't manage money and set it aside, hopefully about two weeks worth can be built up, but I don't see it lasting that long. The smarter of us can do it ourselves, or opt for the slowly built lump, or both.

Next, send everybody, and I mean EVERYONE home for Thanksgiving. All office personnel included. No point in manning phones and computers if nothing is moving and noone is calling...

Next, just let everybody stay home and have them sit in front of the computer or telly and watch things develop. Those few drivers that absolutely must remain on the road, like medical suppliers, fuel trucks, and the poor souls who absolutely have to stay out there will account for about one truck in five hundred miles of highway. Use these guys later as being the unlucky souls that cannot participate in such an endeavor because of their financial predicament.

Then, the rest of the transportation infrastructure will come to a fast slowdown. As shelves empty and stores get barren, there will be a massive reduction in fuel consumption. No one will be buying it because there is nowhere to go and nothing to buy when they get there, so the tanks at the stations will be full when its over. Maybe making sure that your rig is full before parking it might help. Medical supplies needed for traumatic injuries will fall off sharply, noone is driving.... Shippers and recevers will be screeching mad, ports will make ships stay out on the water, and countries outside of ours will also be affected. When was the last time you saw a train deliver to a Wal-mart or Sears? Most places have several companies to pull their freight. They going to fire ALL of us?

There is none and never will be any other infrastructure capable of doing what we do. The Big Gov't machine doesn't even have the manpower through the service personnel from all the branches to take up the slack once the ball drops.

There will be no demonstrations, no marches, no vigils, except for watching the tube. The Fed will be running around with its head cut off looking for a visible enemy, usually the demonstrators. We all know how filthy their tactics have become, so why tempt it? What are they going to do, go door to door looking for CDL drivers to threaten?? Methinks not! Plus, when they have no visible or perceived threat, they get scared.

While the rest of the country is wondering what the H is going on during the first week of December, we have chosen one nobody-special guy that lives out in the sticks in some little town that has a ten watt transmitter for their local radio station that is connected to the AP and other wire services. They get their 15 minutes of fame.

He spills the beans and fills in what few blanks are left, and explains that if there were demonstrations that the gangsters in office always like flexing their muscle so there was no point in demonsrtating, so we did the next best thing. Everyone across the entire industy up and quit. Even the big guys at JB, CRE, Werner, Schnieder, Central, on down the line.

Guaranteed, we would get every iota of what we asked for, across the board, with very few exceptions. Then you throw the entire volume at them, and tell them we want it NOW, or nothing moves. Stick to our guns, and they would have to call a special session of Congress just to make it work. They say, "We'll think about it," we say, "Have a nice day."
They say, "you better drive them trucks," we say, "Sorry, everyone quit."

We don't get our cheques from the United States Goverment, we earn them the old fashioned way by providing a thankless service to the ungrateful masses. They have absolutely NOTHING to threaten us with. Even if they did try, they would be shooting themselves in the foot by charging drivers with... Hmm, felony failure to deliver and distribute?

I'd be willing to bet that after a full out industy wide strike everyone would be more grateful for our services and realize just how much they need us.

That's the basics, get the whole industry in on it. Have reps from all aspects- brokers, companies, drivers, mechanics, OOIDA, Teamsters....

Things would be happening the first week, I guarantee. It would be over by tuesday, wednesday at the latest. Even if talks stalled, they would be back at the tables in hours, not days. It would be the fastes strike negotiations in history! You wouldn't need that much to take up the slack, and besides, look at that quality time everyone gets to spend with their folks!

This covers all gripes, not just fuel. Hows that for a plan?!