Been talking with peers and friends about a co-op

Kind of got lost in your mission statement, since you never closed your first set of parenthases, but with a few assumptions on that ground, I have the following to contribute. No offense intended, this is merely constructive criticism.

It sounds to me like you have a problem with capitalism.

Truck stops always get complaints that they never have enough parking, so naturally, they maximize the number of parking spaces, which leads to minimal space size. That's basic calculus to bean counters, and a maximum number of bodies on the property to management. Make them any larger, and drivers ##### about everyone that got parked before dark parking 5 feet apart from one another, and they complain to management about it, then word goes up to the bean counters, and their numbers go to the executives. You'd be fighting what the driver ultimately wants on paper.

TVC is mostly for clients who are dumb as rocks, so they likely staff accordingly.

Product prices are subject to some of the most basic principles of capitalist economics. They will keep their prices as high as possible without persuading the bulk of their potential customers to stave off an imminent heart attack to walk two blocks to a minimart where they serve a broader and more mobile customer base, leading them to keep their prices lower to remain competitive within their market (which truck stops are more or less insulated from, due to a captive market). Don't forget that in the $1.85 you're paying for in that cup of coffee, you're paying to maintain a lot travelled by heavy vehicles 24/7, scale repairs for scales that are abused daily, every pump hose torn off by a BFI driver that can't watch both sides of a trailer at once, all the staff that spends 80% of their time outside peak hours standing around doing nothing, and somebody to go out in the lot and pick up thousands of piss jugs every year. The minimart doesn't have these overhead costs, but they also don't offer the drivers the convenience of being 800 feet from the truck, so they don't get lazy drivers business. The solution is taking a walk if you want lower prices, not tearing away at the bottom line of one of the few industries that cater to ours.

I don't exactly see where you're coming from with all the issues concerning safe havens and disaster services. I don't have a family, so its really not an issue that concerns me, but if you see a need for it, more power to you.

Sort out your ideas a bit more, and you might get some wind in your sails.

 

I see a huge problem with trying to establish some type of emergency relief fund when a majorty of drivers espically those a. with one of the mega carriers or b. involved in a L/O claim poverty.

Who is to make the final decision if driver A has to take 6 weeks off work because his wife of 20 years has brain cancer and driver B house was destroyed in a tornado?

The difficultiy with trying to boycott a company, what if it is a Union Shop? A lot of our driving partners are members of a Union. Are we to ask this driver to scrafice his position within his company for a co-op?

Where does the capital come in for making these T-Shirts and production of these CD's that you plan on handing out? Donations? Who controls the money? What assurance do I have that if the co-op has $10,000 you don't put a roof on your house.

We are all at different points in our career. Some people are at the very beginning stages, some in the middle, and some close to retirement. What you are asking sounds like a major uptaking that requires years of experience and planning. OOIDA does a fine job in my opinion with their set up and the assistance that they give to it's members, become part of that if you want to make a major difference try to get on their staff and push for the changes that you are looking for.

The main stumbling point I see in the entire idea is everybody has a different agenda, some are all about themselves and some really don't care. There are a number of drivers who only go into a truck stop to fuel, they shop at wal-mart sleep in rest areas, and could care less about the conditions. There are a number of drivers that view there truck as there home and will not "rock" the boat for any reason. This great country that we travel is huge even if you had 500 members I don't think you would make a dent.