An effective Strike

The strike will be successful when..........

There is a clear announcement of a shut down that spells out
1. What is wrong
2. How to fix it
3. a way to fix it


Let's talk about brokers for a minute.. YES some brokers are keeping way too much money from the drivers who stupidly take the loads they offer.

A selective shut down by those stupid truckers would solve that problem quickly and need involve no one but the truckers who accept those loads.


Let's talk fuel surcharge transparency...

Yes some truckers accept loads from brokers without being able to find out the true charges the broker is getting for fuel surcharge..

A shut down by those truckers who haul loads they do not get the entire fuel surcharge would solve that problem without involving anyone else... Why are truckers hauling freight without discussing the actual fuel surcharge with the brokers customer? Because they don't insist that this discussion be done. This is not a government matter, it is a business practices matter.


Are there people out here driving trucks as owner operators who do not in fact manage their own business but instead simply try to live off load boards, YES there are. But is it a national crisis or a personal lack of business sense by those truckers?

Clearly state the reason for a shut down that every owner operator can understand including the FIX for the problem and you will have owner operators shutting down, continue to growl about high prices and cheap freight and only the people who are not managing their own business will join in a mob action with no possibility of FIXING anything..


Just my opinion!

By the way... anyone who thinks it is OK to use mob violence to achieve anything is simply a gang member looking for a gang to join.... The prisons are full of such people!

 

Ok,first...I dont in any way condone in any violent act oppon another...O/Os make up what % of the total US fleet? O/Os shut down, brokers use company trucks and do them right for they will not haul cheap freight, then O/Os go bankrupt, then Big companys put brokers out of business once their freight coordinators find out thier leads..The only way I see it working is to shut it all down..How? God only knows! Big Companys have no problem getting their fuel surcharges..They simply just dont haul it! Brokers will be the last to go though, O/Os will go first and big comapnys will take brokers out in the end..

 

You forget courts, non compete etc.

The truth about brokers and load boards can be seen inside organizations like LANDSTAR..


There are Landstar drivers who KNOW some of the agents, they haul regularly for them and always have loads preplanned by those agents who depend on those drivers they know to haul their high dollar good customers.. The loads found on the load boards are like the loads found on the corporate boards of the various moving van companies......LEFT OVERS.

I haul for certain customers, and fill in my business by dealing with certain brokers...
Instead of looking on load boards, my agent posts trucks available next week to certain customers and brokers... They can then BID on getting the use of that truck..against each other... guess where the loads not covered go ( can you say load boards?)

The general idea that a shut down by owner operators and some company drivers will if joined by some of the general public result in lowered prices because of lowered demand is silly.

Look at the realities readily discernible right now...

NATSO says fuel sales for last month were down 15 percent... ( volume not value in cash).

The entire country waited to see distillates in storage rise, but instead it shrank...

Refineries claimed to have decreased production by 5 percent... does that explain where the unsold diesel ( and a good portion of the output of the refineries and even some of the stored distillate) went...NO it doesn't.

BUT the news that the shortage of diesel in CHINA that had them ( for the second time this year) rationing diesel purchases to 40 liters ( about 10 gallons) ended might give you a clue... Can you say diversion?

So as long as the WORLD demand for diesel continues to grow......... You guessed it!

Remember the tale of the melamine... shipped from china 4 different blind shipments with label changes included in 23 changes of ownership before being sold to American dog food makers... Do you wonder that someone seeing the demand in China found a way to sell diesel to China?


Business practices include survival in adverse conditions... even for owner operators.

Bringing the country to its' knees to prove the power of truckers is a BAD joke.

Inviting the country to get on its' knees and pray for better leadership than we see so far from the government or from those calling for a shut down will do more to actually SOLVE the coming crises..

Just my opinion.

 

There it is in a nutshell. Well said, a big gold star for you driver.

 

Ok Im trying to peice this together. So Independent are getting screwed by brokers and Landstar etc... I know Ive heard nothing from big companys for there getting it, we see it every day when you buy something.... This has been about crooked brokers? And if so do you think if Independent strike that they will not get their freight shipped? Load boards! Only if you want to try to break even just to get you home!! Thats what I say, and theres no guarantee to that... If its the fuel surcharge like say for instants Landstar.. Why dont their contractors stike? Do they feel Landstar will move it anyway? And theyll go broke. just curious! I just noticed also your in Brundidge..Im in Elba..Small world huh!

 

+1 I strongly aggree with Yoda's posts, as I feel the same way about these things.

 

There are 1.1 million trucks owned by for-hire carriers and 545,000 owner-operator trucks, according to the Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Surveys conducted by the OOIDA Foundation have revealed that owner-operators have an average of 1.4 trucks. That indicates there are 390,000 owner-operators in the United States.

 

There are all too many people running nothing but broker freight.... And there are the we let you pick your loads from out load board companies.

There are too many share croppers who think they are owner operators even though they are captive in thier loading to one companies choces in freight to haul.

PS I am a known person so I don't mind that my name is here, Rusty Wade.

I live just below Troy, was a driver at WSTL for 25 years, and started on the path I am now following thanks to Robert Culverhouse...

You might even know me... unfortunatly thanks to XM radio all too many people do!

 

We are all in agreement that something needs to be done. The trucking industry as a whole needs to act. One big problem with organizing this action is going to be getting as many people involved as possible. Shutting Down keeps us in one place and off the road out of the general public. So, What if.. May 1st through the 7th we have a national Shut down/ Slow down. (give it an entire week of slower running) Those who can shut down do so and talk to everyone you can.. For the company drivers that say they can't afford to be fired etc. for shutting down, and the o/o that have bills to pay and can't stop this is a way to show support and still make the payment or keep the job.
My better half and I came up with the idea of voluntarily slowing down to 63/65 mph and placing a sign on the back of our trl. Something to the effect of "Supporters of National Slowdown in protest of High fuel prices" (given some sleep and some time I am sure to come up with something snazzier than that, but you get the idea) If we stay out on the road at 63 mph... all those drivers who pass and yes tail gate us will see the sign. This would help to get the message out and I am sure the c.b. chatter will be hot and heated. Anyone can do this.. The larger company drivers that have figured out this is hurting them also and want to show support but are concerned about loosing their jobs?? They can drop 3mph and grab a piece of cardboard and some tape.. right?? Heck.. who knows.. even some cars, local drivers, box vans, buses...... will join in once they see it really happening.
If we can agree on May 1st.. then that sign will go on the back of the trl tonight. something like "Drivers Unite.. National Shutdown/Slowdown May 1st through the 7th" It will help get the word out to those who are outside the loop and don't run with their CB's on.
I'm not a big x/m and sirus listener so I don't know if that area has be tapped yet but what about getting calls into those call in programs?

And for those that think is silly.. so be it.. Please be respectful of those who do think it important and choose to participate.

Just a thought/ idea.

 

Let's see if I can cover most of this..

I will not agree to speed up to 60+ miles an hour to join in your slow down... My truck gets its' best fuel mileage at 58 MPH and I will continue as I have for months now to drive all over the country trying for the best mileage..sorry

I have no room on the back of my trailer to advertise your slow down, I already have a large Shriners hospital decal, a company decal, my phone number and a poem ( awake by Lawrence Tribble you should read it) that take up the entire back door.. sorry

I don't think even 1 percent of drivers have agreed to any date for any action... sorry

With all the respect you ask for, I think shutting down is something those people who are losing money are gonna do sooner or later, as soon as they go broke.. Who knows it might even be me, But asking people who are providing a service to a customer to deny that customer that service to support some nebulous "the good of all" doesn't make sense to me. Good customers are a relationship that is usually nourished by continued good service... Not by "sorry I have to leave your stuff to be late to support someone else"....Sorry

A truckers shut down has no way to influence the price of fuel, it is not the government's job to dictate prices..Not theirs, not mine.. sorry.