YES!!!! Let's STRIKE!!!!!!!!

Regardless if union or not we all have the same issues, MONEY! True a few are doing ok (at least they think they are eating peanutbutter sandwiches everyday for lunch) in the new issue of the trucker it speaks the truth our pay has not and will not keep up with the cost of living unless we put our foot inside some rearends and neither will the balance of power. People this is bigger than you can imagine because its the owners of large trucking companies and their fear of loosing control of their drivers thus their huge incomes. Its the ATA who bribe aka lobbythe memebers of congress to do their bidding and the DOT who have lunch with both and feel sorry for them and craft laws that put the O/O under. Our government is no better than Mexico's government!

 

Where has Rick gone off too? Well said. I'm going to make in the high 50's or low 60's this year-depending on snowstorms and such- and I took a lot of days off this past Summer. I'm a company driver currently and I said the above to neither impress (some wont be) nor to P anyone off,but to me that's good $$ and I'm treated with respect.

Now then..without DRIVER'S willing to put up with unfair conditions-the #### company's are powerless. If anyone feels they are being treated unfairly,change your situation. BTW...I was told when I started this 8-9 years ago I couldn't do it because of 2 DUI's a long time ago. Some have called me "lucky." If you knew me you would never use that adjective to describe me. Stand up for yourself always and doing the right thing is a form of striking..

Who came up with what I think is called The Serenity Prayer..St Francis of Assisi? Anyway..

Gawd..Grant me the serenity to accept the things
I cannot change..
Courage to change the things I can..
And the wisdom to know the difference..

Think about it....

 

Here we go again.....a few people screaming about going on strike......and nothing happens.(yawn)

 

I can understand people's frustrations with regards to Trucking;and yes even complaining to vent if nothing else. Still I wish the habitual whiners would either come up with a workable solution for the Trucking Industry as a whole..Or at least for themselves. A strike sadly is not a solution;One of any consequence will never happen.

 

Knowing as I do that a strike has little better chance of happening than I do of winning the lottery (and I don't play the lottery), and believing as I do that if a strike were to actually occur (rarer things have happened) that the American driver would find him/herself immediately replaced with cheaper foriegn labor....I found a fix for myself. I left the industry to collapse without me. Tried coming back, and that just served to remind me why I left. Can't see trying again with the way things are going, either.

 

I have seen trucker strikes work.
Not in the USA but in France , South Africa and a few other countries.
Bringing whole areas to a stand still.
Unfortunately I totally disagree with the common thread in all the ones that work.
Intimidation and deadly violence.
Just a month ago during the National minimum wage negotiations (Yearly occurrence) I had 2 of my trucks damaged by strikers hurling rocks at my trucks because we were working.
This is while we were staying away from known hot spots like fuel distribution depots or ports.
There were quite a few trucks burned out and a few drivers killed.
Our motto is , if you want to strike then do so but don't try to force others.
It is legal to strike in my country and you can't be fired for it as long as you follow the proper procedures.
It is usually union companies that strike.
They then try to force other to strike because they cant cause the effect they need if independents carry on working.
The major strikes reported in Europe and here are usually started by a few trucks that just stop their trucks on the motor way causing traffic jams involving 1000's of trucks.
Some are happy to be caught up because they cant be directly blamed as they can say they were just caught up in it.
They choose a spot and park in a way making it difficult to remove the trucks by force.
I was caught up in one that lasted 5 days about 20 years ago.
Eventually the police were saying they were going to get a D10 and just push through.
The problem with that is that they would be liable for damage if they could not proof that specific truck driver refused to move.
The drivers would also mull around so the police did not know which truck belonged to which driver.
You cant blame a driver if he has switched his truck off and gone in search off food etc after being caught up in a jam for more then 24 hours.
There were vendors with food carts etc making good business.
There were barbeques all over the place night and day.
Frisbee,s flying round.
Everyone sharing war stories.
TV crews.
In fact it was like a 5 day tailgate party.
The gripe was that the police were issuing fines and harassing drivers who parked around toll gates and at truck stop ramps at night.
The drivers had no choice as there was not enough space provided to legally park.
It worked to a certain degree and more parking was provided and standing fines were withdrawn.

A few weeks ago a few of my trucks were caught up in a similar strike at the Zambia /DRC border.
There were about 2000 trucks stuck at the Northbound exit because of a few that refused to move.
They were protesting a proposed new law limiting truck speeds to 25mph , yes 25mph in the DRC.
After a week the authorities backed down and set it at 50mph.
To effect this you however need a few guys willing to risk imprisonment.
I don,t think you have the guys with the stomach for this anymore.

 

Especially when there are a small percentage of drivers who think the new rules will ACTUALLY work out so that they will make more money in fewer hours, along with more "guaranteed home-time". These few drivers say "I have no problem with it. It's just a few more restrictions in place to protect the driver and public." and that's what the powers that be choose to hear, and so it shall be done.

 

Perhaps when the good ol' U.S. becomes a 3rd World Country our strike organizers will model one after yours. Should be happening very soon.

 

Yeah that's right. I'm so tired of hearing that crap. It's the same when they want to raise taxes for whatever reason and say "we have to do it for the children."

 

I've thought about this before, it will never happen, but can you imagine if every truck in the country shut down for a week? Even 5-6 days. No food on shelves, no fuel, nothing. I believe it would completely destabilize an already weak system. Mass panic, violence, the consequences of a strike of that scale would be paid in lives lost.