What is the goal of the strike?

we have been fighting this issue with our Escort groups same Complaints,

now I'm only an escort,

but we all talk, drivers,,, on an Oversize view of Heavy Haul/ Oversize, This is just a taste many more reason's for Drivers, to Shutdown,,,,,,,, this is just a Start to get the Monoply ( Black Gold ) on our Industry Stop do not pass go, do not collect $200,,,,,,

1, Drivers using Dispatcher's, Dispatcher's Farming us out to another dispatcher, or Loads from other Trucking Company's Hauling Cheaper Freight, sometimes there are as many as 5 dispatchers involved, before the Driver even gets the call,,, cause they( Dispatcher's) don't want to work for their drivers anymore, But they still want a percentage of your Money alone with the other Deals done over a phone....

The Truth is the Customers that are filping the bill is getting a little smarter to, find out the Dispatchers are pocketing money intented to keep our Independent Drivers rolling & making a living,,,,,


Our pay is still 2006 wages & going down with the
Cost of Fuel $4.gal 200 to 300 gal. tanks,, great truck millage 4 miles to the gal.= 200 gal. tank = $800.00 = 800 miles 300= $1200 =1200 miles,
Don't forget we have Deadhead miles to & from the load,
Insurance unreal the cost,,,,have heard $600.00 a month to higher new truck Full Coverage Required ++++$$$$


now oversize loads are different from regular Freight,
where Trucking Company's get to travel the Shortest route from point A To B, Heavy Haul pay for permits with the States Idea of the shortest Route,,, now when the Driver is told it's paying on 800 miles, does not mean that is all he will drive, Permited Route Offices, can Route a heavy Haul over the country side 200 to a lot more miles than the agreed upon 800 so he took the job at 800 miles, end run is 1000 miles 200 miles=$800.00 out of drivers pocket it's on the driver,,,now you hope you don't need any Repair work, Tires, delays, exc,,,,,have Escorts, expense added in,,,, some Independents pay for their own escort,,, as Escort we are being Raped by our Dispatchers, after on load then we hear, no pay for No Go's, keeping part of our Overnites, That's not an Super Load well it came from another Dispatcher ,,, as Drivers & Escorts we are learning some dirty #### in the Trucking Industry,,, & as Independents we need to Stand together both Intustry's are going broke, guess what The Dispatchers don't caretheir still paying their bills,,,,,

Just a few things forcing us to take a stand,,,,,

This is from the NY Times
To Protest Fuel Costs, Truckers Plan Idle Day
By NICK BUNKLEY (NYT)
Truckers plan a nationwide shutdown on April 1 to protest gas
prices they say are eating away at their business
Dan Little says $4-a-gallon diesel fuel and other soaring costs
forced him to temporarily halt his cattle-hauling business in
Missouri several days ago, and he may have persuaded truckers
across
the country to pull their rigs off the road next week.

Soon after Mr. Little posted a rant about his vanishing profits
on
a
Web site that he runs to help livestock carriers find loads to
carry, he started hearing from colleagues in other states
promising
to join him in a nationwide trucker shutdown on April 1.
Numerous drivers have used their time at home or at Internet-equipped
truck stops this month to spread word of the idea on Web sites like MySpace, the social networking
site.

It might sound like an April Fool's Day joke, but Mr. Little
and
other independent truckers, what the industry calls owner-
operators, say they are serious about their plans to stop accepting
freight on Tuesday.
"Somebody in Washington that's a lot smarter than I am needs to
take a look at this industry," said Mr. Little, 49, whose nearly 100-
year- old company has been passed down through three generations in
his family. "If you're losing money going to work, then what's the
sense in going to work? We're either going to go broke with our
trucks parked or we're going broke out on the highway wearing our
trucks out."

Officials at several organizations that represent independent
truckers say that a widespread shutdown could have a noticeable
effect on the country's transportation network within a matter
of days. But David Owen, president of the National Association of
Small Trucking Companies, who does not support the protest, said he
doubted that would happen.

Truckers have tried to organize shutdowns in the past, with
little success. During the fuel crises of the 1970s, many truckers did
participate in such actions, but prices did not go down.
"I'm sympathetic with the idea behind the stoppage, but I'm not
optimistic about it," said Mr. Owen, who said he saw "a lot
fewer smiles" at the Mid-America Trucking Show this week in
Louisville, Ky. "We're not recommending that our guys stop running. Every
time
that happens, the people that get hurt are the people that stop
running."

Still, about 250 drivers in Georgia plan to form a convoy
Tuesday from Macon to Atlanta before turning off their trucks for at
least three days, said Sheila Walker, a log hauler who has organized
several meetings for local drivers to plan the protest.

"I've got plenty of backbone, and I'm not scared. I'm not
backing
down," said Ms. Walker, 48. "This is how I make my living. And
I can't make my living when fuel prices have doubled since 2006
but the pay at the mills has not gone up. We're getting the same
pay to haul that we've gotten for several years."

Ms. Walker, who has run Walker Trucking since her husband died
of a heart attack in 2004, said that three of her paychecks in the
last few months were less than her fuel bills during those periods.

Historically, diesel fuel has been cheaper than gasoline, but
that changed after requirements for ultra-low-sulfur diesel took
effect several years ago. The average price of diesel fuel reached a
record high of $4.037 a gallon last week, according to the AAA motor
club.
That is about $1.25, or 45 percent, more than a year ago.
Every 5-cent increase in fuel prices increases a trucker's
annual expenses by about $1,000, according to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which on Friday asked Congress
to help drivers collect more fuel surcharges.

"It's not a good time to own your own rig," said Chip White, a
transportation and logistics professor at the Georgia Institute
of Technology. "It's a tough life even when the economy is
reasonably
good."

 

Good points emo. If fuel prices are not enough to burn butts than perhaps a look at the border will. Congress will in the near future look at repealing the Interstate Drayage Law of 1937(?) If repealed we are all in big trouble. Mexicans will be able to come up into the US and do tours of duty, perhaps months on our roads before returning to Mexico.

Fight the border and illegal immigration,

 

The local news had a special on it tonight. They interviewed a local O/O's wife. She was saying the fuel cost is into their profit. Problem was the news had no idea when the strike was suppose to be there was conflicting dates involved.

 

I have a story, Wake up call! Does your broker speak Spanish! ,

I was dispatched to Port 9 Houston Tx., was told they spoke some English The load offered was 16 ft wide, grew to 20 ft wide 205,000lb & 130 ft longstill at Port, called dispatcher to talk day rate, find out not his load, but makes call to other Disp, calls back say's got your day rate, I should of walked no RAN away from this load, made me sick, & thinking about 5 US Oversize haulers not working cause of non english Mexcican running Cheaper,,,,also load was loaded wrong! spoke up about this & was told they know their business, had to get the driver to secure his left over blocks,,, still not happy with the way the load looked or ran down the road,,, thought it had 8 chains on it, down for tire & still thinking the Trailer was stolen,,,started checking for inspection so dirty took awhile, in the hunt I got to noticing the chains, this #### thing only had 3 CHAINS 20ft wide 205,000lb , wanted to call DOT, but friend on load her dispatcher, I shut-up,,,, load went 356 miles Houston Tx. to Laredo Tx. 4 days top speed 40 down hill!!!! understood enough talk between them that the front Driver/Translater has a different route tells my drive to just follow him,,, I told the front escort on the CB that the Translater & other 2 escorts heard me, that if that truck goes off route, I'm GONE, I want go off route with a Non English Speeking Mexcican in the State of Texas, Translater told my driver don't get off route or your escort will leave,,,, Translaters Truck blew tire, we kept going good thing we did our truck blew a tire 15 mile from first truck,,, Drivers Phone Dosen't work, yeaha understood they had had tire problems last time, called back to the other escorts to tell the Translater to call their Dispatcher & have him call me, their Disp, spoke really good English, 3 hours later no repair truck, called drivers Disp. back decides he's going to talk to me like i'm his Mexcican B####, I fired back, & hung up, next call from him he was real nice,,,took 6 hr. to get repair, to late to run, next day not any better,,,released load in Laredo Tx. about 2pm,, next morning my Dispatcher informs us we aren't getting DAY RATE to make a long story short NO ENGLISH NO ESCORT, OK is not English,,,,

But the Scariest part of this is when dealing with Oversize Loads we don't have time For a Translater to tell the Driver what is wrong, it's to late & someone is going to get killed,,,,,

oh yea there were 3 other Mexcican Trucks Oversize That pulled out after us, only rear no lead car, ended up off route & shut the I-10 interstate down, IF they don't speek English how the h### can they Read road signs??????

My understanding when Hillary came on nation news to tell the US Citizens that they had laid out a safty net, that ONLY English Speeking Mexcicans would be allowed on our Hwy,for the publics Safty,,,,,

There are English Speeking Mexcians that are not happy either about non english speeking drivers being on our Hwy's,,,,,

Trust me Not this girl again no english no Escort,,,,,