20 years ago this week

I cannot give you an answer on Fed Ex. I never checked into that company. I had only checked into UPS over the years.

It is GREAT that a non-union worker can earn as much as a union worker doing identical work.

NOTE:
I have been a NON-union worker my whole adult working life. This year is my 40th. year in the workforce, (since 1974). Lord willing, I have another 12 years to retire. This year, 10/1/2014, I will be 58 years old.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

 

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=1373&year1=1994&year2=2014

 

I work for a haz mat environmental services outfit which happens to be affiliated with the teamsters, have to join to work here. Our company does big industrial service type jobs like cleaning out automakers paint pits when they're on shut downs ,etc.... The union DEFINITELY protects the lazy. I worked here back in the late 90's for a couple of years then went to OTR, then eventually to LTL line haul and now back here. This place hasn't changed one bit, that's not totally a bad thing, it's pretty easy going here, the work isn't really ever that hard and most of us only run legal. But there are some here who prefer to game the union shop mentality (LAZY) to it's fullest and get away with anything and everything they can to the point that I'd almost prefer the union wouldn't be a part of this shop. Our general manager has told us that he'd pay us significantly more money if we got the union out of here as for what we do, the field we're in, we're grossly underpaid, $19.25/hour top rate. BUT, many of the old time drivers worry that work rules would also significantly change meaning we'd be expected to do confined space entries, shovel sludge at the bottom of paint pits and the like and then get back in the truck and drive.... I do see their point to a certain extent, because who's to say what the boss would make us do without a contract in place to dictate what we can or can't or are supposed to or not supposed to do as our duty requirements.... But, some of the work rules are just plain ridiculous.....

Personally, I do not mind a bit of hard work, most of our tanker work involves babysitting the truck or the hose while pumping and it's even written into the contract that if a job requires over 50' feet of hose to reach the company has to send a technician with us to help drag hose. For some jobs, dragging more than 50' of hose really sucks if it is our new 3" or 4" or even 6" stainless hose, it is a bit heavy, the 6" is really heavy, but many jobs we only have to use 2" and that's a piece of cake that most should not need help with, but the contract states we have to have help so we waste productive time of a tech to take them with us.

I plan to discuss what the boss man's ideas are for us if we would ever get the union out of here just to get a feel for what he's thinking.

 

i'd like to know how your all going to feel. if the fast food workers and the minimum wage that's going up. start equaling trucker wages.

when i started trucking. local wages started at $13. minimum wage was $5 i beleive. when the recession hit. local trucks dropped to $10. and minimum wage was $7.65.

today. local trucks start at $12. some states have already upped minimum wage to $10.

won't be too much longer before truckers make minimum wage.

 

Something to SERIOUSLY think about.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

 

The companies I worked for closed also and they weren't union. I didn't get $71. I never wanted to be in a union but when the teamsters were strong in trucking they kept our pay up. I used to run LTL and stay in motel with teamsters. They would be talking about how to game the company for more pay when they were making 30% more than I was and I was making a good living. I think that workers need to be represented to management in some significant way but the idea that the workers should pay to be represented is the wrong model. I have worked for large companies and they screw over individual workers cause it is easy and they can.

One of my kids is in a union and he makes a lot more money than I do and gets raises. He does not complain about the dues cause he makes $15. hour more than non union people.

I think if they would raise the minimum wage than our pay would go up.

 

Could this be the article?

[h=1]Study: American Wages Down Since 70s[/h]

http://www.ktrh.com/articles/houston-news-121300/study-american-wages-down-since-70s-12306650/

 

I made more money back in the day but as pointed out it wasn't higher CPM, it was more miles. I ran much harder than you can get away with today.

The last thing any company driver wants to do is divide the gross pay by ALL the time (non driving, waiting etc) they put in to get it. It'll make you cry.

If you want to be able to retire comfortably: START CONTRIBUTING TO RETIREMENT YOUNG AND NEVER DRAW ON IT; borrow against it as collateral maybe but LEAVE IT IN.

Last. Don't like unions either. Grocery Worker Union soured me when I went to work for Food Fair in FL as a bagboy as a kid and the shop steward cam and handed me a card and told me I had to join. I had just learned in Social Studies class that closed shops are supposed to be illegal. I told him so. He said it didn't matter. I had to join or I wouldn't work there long. He'd see to it. P!$$ed me smooth off. I went to the store manager. He said I didn't have to join and if anyone treated me badly because of it come see him. He'd take care of it. He was a big old tough arse Italian. I figured he could handle anything. I went back and relayed the conversation to the shop steward along with my declination to join.

Never had a problem but it left a bad taste in me for unions.

 

Back in 2006, a local job hauling propane around town here was paying close to minimum wage. 8.00 per hour and minimum was 7.25.