An effective Strike

Hey something we can agree on...I disagree with you too!

The "thing" that hurts everyone is screaming "the sky is falling", pretending you know what you are talking about and then promoting something you don't even understand to solve a problem you state no solution for.

I have no reason to "worry" about myself as is evident in my posts.. I do worry about the people your misleading posts might confuse tho, I worry about my industry receiving another wrong motivated, wrong answer, reputation for more rabble rousing by people who have no idea what they are doing and even less how to accomplish it if they did know.

I worry about my country being taken over by socialist promoters who will use the power of the government to solve all the challenges a free life throws at a citizen, I worry about anyone proclaiming to know how to solve the multiple problems of the country ( that mostly trace back to greed and graft) by forcing the government to assume new powers over us all.

Please inform me of the "other countries, the problems you know they struck about, the solutions a strike arrived at and it's relevance to the American way of life.. I guess you are mostly talking about European truckers, and I will be glad in any thread you care to do so to have a comparative discussion about America and our society and Europe and theirs, You might also explain how the strikes that were so prominent in the evening news SOLVED the problems that cheap eastern European truckers have caused to the trucking industry in the rest of Europe.... I will be glad to invite a few European drivers I exchange emails with on a regular basis to add a local opinion of those strikes, the government mandates they resulted in and the value those mandates had in solving the problems that caused the strikes.. Then we can try to figure out together why you feel the European socialist model will work here..

Here then is what your frustrations are about...Wages and freight rates not meeting the rising costs of doing business? So what is the proposed solution you strikers want to be imposed on us by the government to appease your anger and stop the strike...Will wage and price controls be enough? What about guaranteed profits for everyone claiming to be in business for themselves? How do you intend to accomplish your proposed solution is the short time frame you are demanding it be imposed.... Martial law perhaps... Presidential rule by decree?

How many gallons of fuel do you suppose the OIL companies sold last year? Would their profit be 1 cent a gallon? Maybe if you remove all the profits from their other operations and only concentrate on fuel sales, you might be staggered at the number of gallons of fuel this country uses each day and flabbergasted at the number we use in a year... Then of course we can talk about all the residual chemical uses and sales, they also make a profit.


Maybe you should look at the gross product of those oil companies (every dollar they make in a year from every transaction and compare it with say the federal budget of the USA. You might wonder at the smallness of that profit as a percentage of gross sales... maybe you can research the percentage as compared to the percentage of profit for say Swift trucking company ( er wait like Schneider they are privately owned and that data is not available any more) so lets say FOX News ( news corp) the percentage of profits against the gross sales... Maybe your villains will not look so villainous if you actually comprehend the size and scope of what one of the major OIL companies IS! ( unless of course you simply live on sound bites from news casts in which case you can return to your study of Anna Nichole Smith and other important topics). Why not talk about the profits of speculating hedge funds in the Merc...Maybe you have the wrong target for your wrath... as a potential spokesman for 3 million truckers you do have all your facts at hand right?

You really are determined to say things that don't make sense to me, Wages have gone up for those who have demanded raises.. Do you think this whole country is made up of workers who are organized under contract? If you are working for someone, you get a raise any time you can prove to the boss that you are worth giving the raise.. When I was a company driver I did not make the number on the company advertisements, I considered myself worth more, demanded and GOT more.. Did I then go tell everyone else HEY GO DEMAND A RAISE... hardly...
Does that make me only worried about myself? NO it made me a worker who was not organized and had no need to demand anything for or from a group.

If you are an Owner driver, you negotiate your rates every load you pull. If you have a contract that needs amending, you have to have the GUTS to demand an amendment, and a plan what you will do if that demand is denied. If you want collective bargaining, join a UNION.. Collective bargaining is their strong suit and they will be better at it than you will be because they understand it better than you apparently do.

The GOVERNMENT is for each and every American citizen even those of us who think you are wrong.. When my government fails to represent me, I deal directly with them in the manner my ancestors died to give me, AT the ballot box and by petition both formal and informal via my elected representatives.

Those of you proposing strikes of independent citizen businessmen seem to have forgotten to read the constitution our ancestors strove so hard to give us.

Don't bother to cloak calls for government interference in free markets as some kind of patriotism.... socialism is not pretty nor is it needed here.

 

Ohhh boyyyyy????????????

 

I was listening to him again today on his show. He had disgruntled O/O's calling again. He told them that he owns 3 trucks and has drivers in them. Said he did not need a FSC. He said O/O's need to learn how to run their business better by negotiating or going elsewhere. One caller complained after he paid for fuel it cost him 14 bucks to del the load. He was ranting about FSC and broker fees. He told him you are the O/O. It does not matter what the broker makes. He said what matters is you know what you need to make before you take the load. He said tell them what you charge to move the freight. He said when you go to Mickey D's they don't ask you what you want to pay for the burger. They tell you what it costs.

He said most O/O's want the goverment to control the prices of fuel and rates. He said that would make it an even field and would lower what the O/O's make. He said why make it easy for all O/O's and take away your bargaining power. He said as in any business you are the owner you control what and how much you make. He said there are too many O/O's making good money and that a FSC is not needed. He said if you have a FSC it should cover all or most of your fuel, but if you allow for your fuel in your cost of operation when you set your rates it should already be covered.

He said most of these guys want to be treated like company drivers and be told what to do. He said what is the purpose of being an O/O if you let others run your biz.

 

I am a housewife who dispatches my husbands truck, to give him more time to do his job. I am writing to you to share an article I wrote for our local paper...... maybe it will inspire others in the industry to take a stand

I just finished reading the article about truckers and cost of fuel. I agree, the government does need to help out the industry. For years, farmers have received subsidies during hard times, why not truckers? If they would look at the industry, they would see that more than 90% of goods are transported on trucks, it is a more effecient and economical way of transporting than any other. EVERYTHING we use comes on a truck. Groceries, paper products, steel, lumber, etc., if the flow of these products were to be interupted for 3 days, you would be amazed at how long it would take to recover. Truck drivers are professionals, just like teachers, police, etc., and they like the others are under paid for the job they perform. Between the hours, bad drivers on the road, and lousy pay for the hours, they are still out there providing a service for the consumer. Just like the ordinary consumer, the people that have the power to make the changes also use these products. What happens when the trucks stop??? Have they forgotten the 70's? We can only squeeqe so much out of the worker before he quits. I implore the government to do the right thing and help keep the economy going, not putting it further in the hole. WAKE UP!!! quit being an ostrich with it's head in the sand!

Sonja
Hollywood, AL

 

The govt. is probably the biggest reason that we're in this mess to start with. I think trusting THEM to fix it would be a huge mistake.

 

The subsidies farmers get make Archer Daniel Midland profitable, but they did little to stop the sale of farms by family farmers who could not compete.

Bringing the government into our business will have the same effect. The biggies will find ways to qualify for every handout just as they did the JTPA and project Target while the small truck owner will simply stand on the side of the road with his "will work for fuel" sign wondering how the ATA members can afford to buy new equipment and hire drivers at such low rates.

Again if you really believe in free enterprise accentuate the word FREE.

It is not the governments job to insure your success, if it was they would assure your doom in favor of the big contributers... Wake up yourself before it is too late.

Rusty
Brundidge Alabama

Where "Dare to defend your rights" does not mean beg the government for help!

 

I'm not asking the government for a handout, but am asking them to quit putting roadblocks in the way of making a decent living. By deregulating the industry, the independent trucker has been left with no pull. Since I load this truck myself, I see what takes place in negotiating freight rates/Fsc, etc. # the moment I am trying to move a truck that is looking # a deadhead of more than 50 miles and no loads payng $2.00 a mile much less a decent Fsc. Just this last week, 2 customers we delivered for wanted to know firsthand what the broker they hired paid us to haul the load. When we told them, they were furious!!!... They were outraged that the Broker kept the fuel surcharge and paid us a fraction ..... LESS than 30% of what they paid to have the freight moved. BUT, when we negotiate freight costs, they whine that they don't have that much into the load and can't afford to pay anymore!!! BULL!!!

 

then your answer seems simple, bypass these brokers and contract directly with the companies you are hauling for.

 

Blind ignorance

 

Yup 5 million miles and still getting dumber every day, but I aint whining about it!