Why a strike? The CSA 2010 will cripple trucking.

Some people do as well leasing to a carrier as they would on their own. A friend of mine used to have 16 trucks under his authority. He now owns 2 and takes turns driving them while leased to another carrier. He could not be happier. I spoke with another friend this week who is also leased to a major carrier. He is averaging over $1.50/mile (all miles) with more than 25% deadhead. He has thought of getting his authority, but is happy where he is and not having to worry about the extra paperwork.

 

I hope that you are wrong about the American people taking up arms against the government. I think that the fear of the people taking up arms against the government is the real reason this last congress and some before have tried to disarm the American citizens. The last time that Americans took up arms we lost over 680,000 people. I don't think that another civil war is out of the realm of possibility. People are fed up with Washington and all the losses in freedoms that we have observed over the last 20 or 30 years. People are tired of all the government controls. Things have really escalated under this administration and part of the last administration. People are scared and angry. That is not a good combination. For many years people have become more and more apathetic. Well, people have awakened from their decades old slumber and decided to re-engage in the political process. Unless this new congress begins to change directions back toward fiscal responsibility, less government control and a Constitutional government, we are headed for a great calamity. I would hate to see this country revert to fighting and riots in the streets.

I am encouraged to some extent that we seem to have a more diverse group of incoming representatives. I don't see as many lawyers as in previous elections. That has been much of the problem over recent years. Lawyers make laws which benefit themselves and their clients. That is rarely in the best interest of the American people or our way of life.

 

Hey :
I agree and would also hate to see something like this have to happen..

Yes there has been somewhat of a turn around in the political realm. But, {I always say But } It may be too late .. None of us really know.. I think that the biggest fear we all have is not our jobs and such but rather where are we headed ? Who will actually own us and what will happen then.

In the trucking end of it all we have much safer trucks and a national safety record that is improving literally daily. Way less deaths on the road with a truck at fault.
One issue I have with most of this is the root reason for the new rules..
In the real world I do not see safety as the issue when that has been laid aside already..

There are many on here that want a union .. That is exactly what these rules destroyed in the first place.. The rules drove union wages up to a point that most union trucking companies are gone or going under. Those Type of driving jobs have dwindled down a lot... FED-X went to Independents in a lot of their hauls. UPS uses a lot of Independents now.

The union truckers took huge cuts in their pay checks. I know several of them and they shut up and put up to keep their jobs..

The new rules are designed to reduce wages not increase them. Anyone that thinks or thought different was very ill informed.. There is not and will not be any shortage of drivers. They are importing them faster than we can imagine.. How many have any of you seen lately that have a hard time speaking English ????

I hope that some out here are starting to understand why I did not agree with them on the union or uniting issues they dreamed up.. Sounds good but will never ever in this life time happen..
I talked to a drive that came from Russia .. Owns his own truck.. He makes more here in 3 weeks than he did there in 3 months....

Anyone think he is about to buck the system ?????

Many on here must be too young , I remember bricks falling off of over passes. Flat tires in the morning etc..

Make a law that says a broker has to give the fuel surcharge 100% to the truck and lets see what happens..

What was the reason back then for bricks coming off of the over passes ?

Why was there no watch set up for that .. No cops watched those over passes.. Why ???? There were bullet holes in trailers etc..

Unions ?, Deregulation ?, Small trucking wars that would start all over again.

Oh well hope fully we don't go back to those days ..

 

the days before government regulation is the days we all NEED to go back to. Give me the opportunity to feed my family and secure a future for my children. I will gladly accept the risk associated with the perception of no government oversight. Remember what Ben Franklin said regarding safety (security). Those that give up their liberty to gain security deserve neither... The government has driven the majority of good drivers out of the industry and replaced them with foreigners and lackies with minimal experience...

 

Trying to get a Facebook page going for like minded drivers here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Truckers-United/188312557848903

Also Ray Lahood has a facebook page. let him know what you think!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/sec.lahood

 

You are very right ..
The first post was concerned about the government taking out 170,000 drivers.. I think 170,000 drivers will take themselves out..

That said , they did not belong here to start with.. Things have been screwed up for too long and so many are looking to the big boss for the answer or wanting them to see our tears and change things.. Won't happen.

They assumed the position of rule over us and we let them take it.. That was my point .. There is no way on the planet they will give it back.. It MUST be taken back..
Did the bully in your school ever give your lunch back. ?????
Nope , he ate it and tossed the empty bag at you.. And then told you what he wanted for lunch the next day..

Ever walk down the side walk and have a dog come out to a skimpy fence and act like he was going to eat you.. You walk by wondering if the fence will contain him..
This is our government .. How many of you feel 100% confident pulling on to your next scale.???? The red light comes on , your heart races..
Your first thoughts are "What now"" Years ago , I ran totally illegal. I knew it and did it anyway.
I ran the same license plates for 3 years straight.. The fines were less then the plates.. 3 log books and permits when I had to.. temps..

Now I run everything legal.. Never had an accident.. No speed tickets in over 20 years now. My truck will run just over 100 mph..
They got what they wanted, so it is time to stop it already .. Most trucks are set at speeds to the point they can not get a ticket.

The end results here are that WE are the ones that will end up hurt over all of this if WE do not stand our ground..

Unite ???

Right or wrong , why is it that back when the ordeal took place in WACO TX. Not one stood up and said "hey you are going to far with this"
Katrina ? No one showed up . Rather we all sat back and watched our government take over .... later we all said what they did was wrong..

Ruby ridge ?? There is one that will never get to be made right..

This is a matter of gut less Americans ...
Imagine for 1 minute.. 100s or even a thousand armed American citizens showing up and telling the police forces to stop what they are doing to Americans.. Our own neighbors and relatives.

Where is Janet Reno now. ????? our government flexes their mussels on us from time to time. Yet we sit back and watch..

CSA2010 is nothing new.. Trucks are at 95% emissions reduction already.
This their figures.. Yet there are NO emission reductions required for any state operated, county operated, or federal government owned and operated equipment.. All exempt....

But then they are all exempt from the health care plan too. Most are even exempt from murder , rape, grand theft, embezzlement, etc..

The fact is that way back when we became a nation , every one of our fore fathers was labeled a Terrorist at one point in the game. By the Governing power they were ruled under. Next thing ya know they became hero's..

 

And let Ray Lahood know how you feel on his Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/sec.lahood

 

Those events were loosely organized. The Teamsters wanted to flex their muscles. It worked. They shut this country down. A strike could be successful. It would take aggressive tactics that were used before to get some to shut their engines off. Drivers were fearful of being shot or having a cinder block or brick come through their windshield, so they shut down. It would probably take something similar for it to be effective today. The publicity of these events would encourage reluctant drivers and owner operators to shut their trucks down.

 

I don't want to go back to the days of regulation of rates. I prefer the free market. I am doing pretty well with rates, all things considered. I am paying the bills and buying groceries. Keep in mind that anything the government can give you, they can also take from you. We don't need ore regulations for rates or anything else. We need better educated owner operators and drivers. I do agree with the Ben Franklin quote.

 

I have to disagree with you on this to a point. Yes a good rate is important. But you SHOULD be charging your customers a FSC on top of that rate.
Unless you consider that charge to be bundled in the rate. But if I am getting 2.90 a mile to run the freight I'm tacking .37 a mile FSC on top of it.
Now I have had a couple of customers say they can't afford that but they get to write the FSC differently on their taxes, if I have understood a couple of them correctly, at the end of the year. So most don't have a problem. I have told them I would drop the base rate .20 and they would go for it. Still ends up more in the end.
And as the other person stated.. thats just my .02