strike would be illegal under patriot act

I don't recall salaries being limited in this business. We did have fixed rates for freight. There were still those who would cut rates. It is much worse today. Still, I would rather have a free market than have the government dictate what I can charge to haul a load of freight.

It isn't just the companies that are greedy. That is what feeds the unions. There are some good carriers. Not all drivers do their jobs as they should. You can find good and bad on both sides. There are many people who feel that they don't need to perform in order to receive a big salary. This industry offers those who are willing to do their best to earn at a higher level. Those who constantly move from one carrier to another will find it difficult to get ahead.

In this industry you can get some experience, save your money and go buy a truck or get your authority. There is nothing to stop you from making your own future and giver yourself a nice paycheck. There are means available for those who have initiative to earn a higher income.

 

I am talking about all of the business entities. It was around before Reagan and they wiped it out. They also deregulated.

We have seen the world of business and how it has become. Maybe, union representation will be needed to protect the employees from the business the way they are becoming.

Government regulation will be something we will have to see grow because of the way they operate business anymore.

 

I think that much of the problems we see today are a direct reflection of more government involvement in this business. We have also seen more bean counters take over the industry. When the founders still ran their companies, drivers were usually treated well. Their children didn't always grow up driving and they didn't have the same feeling about the business. As the children took over many sold our their interests to investment groups which effectively changed the dynamics. Many of them only have a feeling for the bottom line.

Unions don't work. Many drivers own their trucks and would not benefit from belonging to a union. The industry has changed considerably over the last 30 years. An owner operator is an independent businessman. A business owner doesn't strike against themselves.

You can't really blame all the changes on carriers. We have a new breed of driver. They come from a very diverse background. Not all of them have the same feel for the business as some of us who started 30-40 years ago. Many only do it for a short time and then on to something else. With the changes there is little loyalty from either the carriers or drivers.

 

you have to think we wont need a strike csa 2010 took all the bad drivers off the road and freight rates doubled i do just fine running at 3.00 per mile plus fuel surcharge i haul from coast to coast and dont take any cheap freight everyone needs to wake up and get on the government gravy train i did any my loads are never over 20,000 lbs

 

That last part is ridiculous. If we were all only taking loads 20k and under, in the grand scheme of things, we'd be doing econonomic and environmental damage to the country. When you need twice as many trucks to haul the freight, yeah, it might be good for us, but I wouldn't want to have a part in it. Load the trucks to gross as often as possible, as long as the load PAYS what it's worth.

Too many trucks means not enough parking, more traffic jams, more of a cluster #### at shippers and receivers, etc.

This industry doesn't need more trucks and more drivers, in spite of what the ATA and the mega-fleet execs might say. We need FEWER drivers, and better management, higher rates, etc. Get rid of all the steering wheel holders, the porn-store customers, the lot lizard customers, the guys who leave piss bottles everywhere and get on the CB and say "I ain't got no panties on", ... those guys need to GO.

If they wouldn't dead-head trucks hundreds of miles between loads, and if they'd quit using 53 footers for LTL and parcel deliveries (ever have 4+ stops on one load?) and were able to move more freight per truck mile through more efficient load planning, we'd all be better off.

 

He might have light weight freight. We haul furniture and household goods. We can fill the truck floor to celing nose to tail 53' plus belly boxes and still not exeed 23k#.

 

Not all military freight is light weight. We used to do a lot of military freight. I have not seen consistent military freight in the $3/mile range in over 2 years. Most that I have seen is cheap and under $2/mile. I still haul some every now and then when rates are up. In a free market you can expect rates to rise and fall according to what is going on in the economy and with capacity.