Our profession is doomed unless drivers organize

I see...You want us to do the all the work.THEN once we organize ,you'll come back with bells on.

lol,I don't think so.......IF,we current drivers organized, We won't allow you guys back in.




smh- take the easy way out then wanna come back in.

 

Sadly, too high of a percentage of people in this industry are either desperate, dumb, or both. Even more sad is that a lot of drivers I’ve worked with or been around all these years have no spine and don’t have the balls to stand up for themselves. Too many people in this industry just let companies walk all over them and people to essentially emasculate them because they’re spineless or because they’re so desperate they decide it’s best to just bend over and take it right in the ###. They’ll let companies pay them crappy wages and treat them like dogs...

I’ve always been good with my money and have done a great job investing. And I don’t have a bunch of baggage in my life that sucks it all away. Unfortunately very few are in the same position. When companies mess with me, I will stand up to them or walk away if I get fed up. I’ve never been fired from any job and even if I was, I can go get another job within a week or can sit and wait for an opportunity I want. Being fired doesn’t scare me, it does most others...

The reasons I listed above is why there will never be any sort of organization by drivers. I laugh when people talk “strike” because it’ll never happen. There are obvious flaws within this industry that a strike might actually go toward getting people to listen, but it won’t EVER happen. And unions are few and far between, companies have crushed most of them.

 

DTP- I usually don't follow you but....You nailed that 1 spot on.

 

My biggest thrill in this industry was quitting in the august presence of our dearly beloved Board of Directors.

Why? My tractor easily visible in the shop bay has no one working on it and it's 2 PM, I need to be 540 miles away by 5 am and frittered my awake time to where I will be too tired to run that load safely. You have 20 drivers down stairs carousing inside the break room for drivers.

Any one of them you can hand this load packet (Thump...) and the keys (Klink) and these permit bags (splat)

HR will send me the last paycheck sometime next week if ever. I don't have faith in this USS Screwup Inc of a company to follow through on anything today.

Board of Directors man got white, then purple through red. I told him to save the emotions, we are way past the yelling and crying at this point. Have a good Christmas and a happy new year.

I left the yard playing "Take this job and shove it" on CD. That created a stir worth remembering.

Problems easily solved. 40 new tractors with plastic still on the seats in one corner. someone else is rested and can run that load. You give me something else in the morning. And that old tractor will be fixed whenever. Im over it.

But no. They want to make sure you are off the property pronto and that is the end of my time there. (And money...)

Maybe I get new handle "Humpty Dumpty" them and their Kingdom in 20 millions of fortune could not fix our professional relationship, cannot fix a truck in a timely manner and failed to hand out all those tractors, instead very intent on running the paid for junk trucks until one million miles or the engine grenades. (And that would be that for the truck)

It is also unfortunate that the row of suits in that building meeting room (Correction, Board Room) are somewhat isolated from reality.

Maybe they want drivers who are submissive and are easily molded into doing things their way and not the DOT/FMCSA or the States way. They eliminate drivers with too much Sass and too much accurate information about his or her truck with problems.

The Board of Directors should all be given a tractor four times a year and go deliver a overnight load that involves some waiting and detention pay (Which we drivers never see...)

That's why I love hauling medicine. many many bosses involved in the move. Two main things, Don't get shot up and don't be late ever. (We broke that rule on the morning of 9-11. We sat on the cloverleaf bridge of the I-75 in a safe spot waiting for the attacks to resolve, which was not too far from this Facility in Livonia.

Google Maps

 

I retired in august 2009. By Jan 2010 everyone l knew said l picked the perfect time to get out of trucking. I had been concentrating on getting out of debt since 2006. No new anything and paid off everthing but my house. I have been able to get by on SS with wife on SS as well. There seem to be a lot of driving jobs available with day cabs, home every day (work all night, yuck).
Trucking has always been a rough game. Before deregulation in 1980, long haul paid great. I was clearing $2700 - $3300 per month running 48 states. That amount of money was worth a lot more than todays. It is still a rough game but now pays minimum wage or less. With the invention of elogs, it is time for drivers to be paid by the hour. Driving, on duty not driving or Waiting time shoud be paid the same rate.

 

Thats right- in 78' fuel was 63 cents a gallon- New radial tire 80 bucks-bias 50 bucks
and reefer contract haulers-$2 pere mile- Thats 40 years ago-

Today same money- Thanks to dereg- everyone muscled in-

I knew a few guys from 1978-79 Great years to be alive and in trucking- I started in 89.....

Those independents from the 70's paid off their trucks and Homes in 2 years- Can't do that today with the same money being paid.

 

The original invoice on my Ford Maverick V8 2bbl factory air with C4 truck automatic transmission etc. came out to $3240 off the lot in about 1971.

A cobrajet 429 I think option suited to say the Mustang or even the the little shelby convertable built around it. Would have been about 4600. A retail mint new corvette with all big stuff would have run you about 5000 Now... sit a second and take a few deep breaths.

$6970 in 1969 for the Mk III version.

In those days, gasoline was around .28 a gallon, gas tanks in cars around 30 gallons. (Whew) 4 bedroom house around 21000 a 18 wheeler would be about 60K for tractor and about maybe 12K for trailer retail.

The only items that failed to keep up with inflation is Gold and Silver Bullion. (Am. Eagle ounce coins divided by 12 troy ounces. If Nature provides a mine 15 of Silver to one of Gold, then the spread currently is roughly 90 to one as of today.

That would be the only reason I will buy silver and hold.

 

Organizing is not what it used to be. Most of the times unions just bow to bosses wishes no matter the costs to drivers. Top 10% just owns the peasants and there is nowhere to run. Nobody gives away power just because. It will take some serious disturbances for the owning class to throw a bone to the proles. It is just too bad the proles only know how to bend over and spread their buns for bosses. Total subjugation on brain cell level.