cincinnati container strike

As much as I wish it would work, it won't. There are too many drivers out there that will do anything to get one more load than the other guy. There are just too many back stabbing drivers for this to work. You can't get three drivers to agree that the sky is blue, much less to go on strike. There is no trust, no cohesion in trucking today. All you will do is give your company a reason to terminate your lease. There was talk about something like this at Containerport, and some guys got screwed and lost their lease agreement over nothing, and they weren't really even involved. They are still out, and I'm not going to lose my job cause someone rats us out. I do wish you luck. And God Bless you all.

 

The Gals and Guys in the container business are a tough bunch. Hard working and dedicated. I know, because I was one of you. Run out of Indianapolis for CPG. Run for a few others too. My biggest mistake was quitting CPG.
That said, I gotta tell ya that striking will not bring you the results you are trying to achieve. Doesn't work for non-union companies. Never did and never will.
Your 'organized' effort should concentrate on building a list of grievances and changes you determine are necessary and submit them to the various organizations that are available to work for you. There are many.
You can do nothing about petro prices from your level. There are people that are already working on this issue that have the means to do so and they are having a tough time even with their connections, so you see, you do not have the time and expertise to handle some of the issues you are dealing with simply because of the magnitude of them.
The best you can do is to keep working to provide for you families since we are in a "depression", and we are, because not doing so will cause them to suffer even more. Your Families are your number one prioity!
Espousing a strike just shows your level of frustration as you have every right to have, but striking will not allow you to achieve the results you are looking for. Using diplomacy shows that, even though you are a lowly truck driver , you still have the level of inteligence to handle important issues without hurting yourselves and your families. It also shows the clientel you service that you care about them. It also tells your company that you care about them too. Don't forget, your companies has a whole new level of issues they have to deal with that causes them a lot of frustration too. What if they decided to close down or go on strike? Where would you be? Starting monthly meetings with your company about issues you both face would be a great place to start!
Duties like research, letter writting and making calls to organizatios to take up a cause will go farther than a strike without hurting anyone.
Remember, a strike is a weapon that can deal it's blow in many ways.

 

Why not strike? With the freight terms being so low most won't make it thru 2009 anyway.

= these people have nothing to lose.

In 2008 many O/Os were struggling (and some did strike) now (in 2009) companies are eating it too. If 2008 had a bigger impact and more did strike you wouldn't have this huge problem in 2009.

All the drivers want are a few freight ceilings (minimums that cannot be gone under) . Some clauses about broker fees and transparency.

 

Freight ceilings have to pretty much match the economy. You can move all the freight you want but with the citizens of this country forced into extreme budgetary measures as they currently are, no one would be buying the stuff anyway, especially since all cost are passed down.None of this mess will get resolved under the current system. You have to go much deeper to the roots of the problems. Money and it's value is first and foremost. With our money supply in the hands of private bankers, we are doomed. The US Government and the States have to get back to money that has intrinsic value,at least partially.Want to control and take over a nation? Break it down economically and the people will submit to any alternative offered by the same people that caused this mess to begin with. This, my fellow truck drivers, are the facts. The problems will not be settled in a satisfactory way until the citizens of this Country recognize the real issues and who is behind them. It is much bigger than your Government but it can be done with an educated citizenry. All can be done without violent force. You gotta understand that the Government operates as a Corporation and has been since 1871 or somewhere thereabout. Very rarely do we see our National Government operate Constitutionally.They and our court systems operate under Admiralty law ( law of the sea), on Land. All Article 1 section 3 courts are locked up and waiting on the citizens to force them to be re-opened.These systems they have set in place are so complicated and vast in structure that the ordinary citizen will never understand it and know how to function within it.
So,you can see that there is more to the issues truckers face than most comprehend.
They are to the point now that they can replace any of you with their own if need be.
In my last post I gave an outline of what need to be done. Companies have had enough, truckers have had enough and together they are the most powerful group in America. Now, think of the most educated among you getting together to come up with solutions and petition the National and State Governments. This can be done. Companies would need a liaison to connect to other liaison's in other companies. Company CEO's would have to meet with other company CEO's.Companies and drivers would have to meet on the issues.Driver organizations like OOIDA would have to attend these meetings. They could be the agents to organize the thoughts of everyone, CEO's and drivers alike. This is what it takes to achieve the right results.
This would be so massive that it could not be resisted and all would be done while everyone kept working and moving America. It has to start with the drivers. Sorta like starting at the 'local' level and moving up. The time for a movement like this is long overdue. The news media will not be able to resist such a massive movement because it involves the very people that move the country.