Truckers unite:is it time to strike?

Call me trucker Dave; I’m a third generation trucker with over 22 years of trucking under my belt. We use to have the respect of all, as kids we were taught by our parents as we were learning to drive, to always drive with the truckers and they taught us the proper use of headlights to signal the truckers and to give thanks to them. Now a days with companies that will remain nameless hiring unqualified dime a dozen good for nothing shouldn’t be driving a car let alone and 80 thousand pound rig. We have become the gas pumpers of society. Are you like me tired of doing the countries work and being charged the highest prices at the pump, and being disrespected at every turn? We haven’t had a trucker strike since the 1970s and another one is long over due. We hold the power and people need to remember that. If it wasn’t for us there would be nothing this country would come to a stop. Oh the ones who don’t understand would say but we have trains and plains to make deliveries. Rely, how would you get the product from the farms to the trains or would drive to the train station to pick up your milk. Oh wait you can’t drive cause we didn’t deliver any gas to the station so you have no fuel to get there either. We truckers affect every single aspect of your life there is no denying that fact.

We are losing our pride, our good names; we have to start talking to these rookie drivers and speak out against our fellow drivers who are creating unsafe situations on the road for everyone. We can regain our respect if we all pull together. And once that occurs we can ban together and consider another strike against the government and big business to get the price at the pump lowered, to get our insurance premiums lowered and so much more. So many of our friends have had to close down shop due to fuel prices, hell I like many of you leased my own rig. My company had a decent year so I thought; I was putting in 15 hour days and sometimes more working 6 days a week locally so I didn’t have to worry about the DOT and logs. I took in well over 100 thousand dollars, then sat down to due my taxes and all the expanses for the year and after all was said and done I cleared a profit of just over 30 thousand. That’s when I had enough sold my rig, retired from trucking and became a stay at home dad as my wife went out into the working force of America simple because she is able to make more money than me in here field.
The labor union refuses to recognize us as a skilled labor force. Well you know they have never run a rig or had anything to do with the trucking industry to title us as such.

We are the backbone of America and it is time to wake up this country to that fact because it is obvious they have forgotten that. Lower the fuel cost raise our salaries and you will see that the price of items on the shelf will not change on the other hand keep charging us high fuel prices and keep taking more money out of our pockets you will continue to get the dime a dozen unsafe drivers and that’s bad for everyone.

So truckers tell me: have you had enough? Have you had to sell your rig and get out to the business or go drive for someone else at let’s say 10 dollars an hour? And for none drivers due you now understand and due you support our cause?

Let me know how you feel. And give me idea’s to help change this around.



[edit on 4-12-2009 by drmeola]

I'm not a trucker, but when I was in high school I had the opportunity to live with one due to some unique circumstances.

This was about the time that the recent changes in the log book hours were being debated or were just changed. I can't really remember neither how they were being messed with, but I do remember one thing I was told:

If the truckers were to strike, Manhattan Island in NYC would only survive 3 days.

Since then I've become more educated and this fact has become more and more buried in my mind that it is indeed true. I respect your work and I really wish you got the kudos you deserve.

And I agree with you: truckers are a skilled work force. It takes a lot more ability to operate a rig and pay attention to the road four hours at a time. Most people couldn't do this for more than a few minutes before screwing up, but you guys are expected to drive thousands of miles in a single trip in this state. So I tip my hat to you and the entire trucking industry.

Drive safe.

[edit on 12/4/2009 by Sir Solomon]

reply to post by drmeola


Nixon freaked when the truckers threatened to strike in the 70's. I say go for it.

reply to post by Sir Solomon


Thank you for your encouraging words they are greatly appreciated. And like most thanks aren’t given often enough to those who truly deserve it. We are quick to judge those that show fault, and slow to give praise. This world would be a better place if we just switch that way of thinking.

reply to post by concernedcitizan


If I can gather the troops, as they say I will be at the front of the line. Thank you for your response.

reply to post by drmeola


I keep hearing all this talk from armchair "revolutionaries" who want to run around in the street waving their bright, shiny, guns around. You want revolution. Shut down trade and commerce. Do that, and TPTB will be kissing our ass and calling it ice cream. Good post.

reply to post by drmeola



Don't get me wrong because I do feel your pain, but a truckers strike would not only affect the PTB but also all the small businessmen like myself that rely on supplies being delivered in a timely manner.

We appreciate you efforts but please don't cause us to suffer because of events that are completely out of our control.

You kill small business in this country and you kill the country not just the power structure.

There is a big picture.

reply to post by whaaa



Just deliver to Walmart. lol
That will teach em!

reply to post by whaaa


Small business is another backbone to this country, and as a small business owner I would expect to see your signature on a petition of sorts so we don’t have to strike. I wish you all the luck in the world and thank you for sticking it out in these hard times we need you.

reply to post by whaaa

Wouldn't it also benefit the you in the end also? I understand how it would be impossible for some small businesses,, but the way I see it, the way things are heading, it's going to drive you out in the end anyhow.

Your prices are going to get to a state where nobody will buy, because nobody will be able to afford anything, the more it costs to ship, the more you have to pay, which is passed over to the customer, who then cant buy your goods, it is going to happen eventually, waiting for it to get worse just makes it worse for you.

I am not a Trucker , and I live in the UK, and the same thing is happening here, I support you and our truckers and believe all truckers should strike everywhere, I see the rookie truckers on our Motorways, and they scare the crap out of me, weaving all over the road, cutting you up because they don't see you, and the pay is crap, my Brother drives all over Europe, and even he has said, he hates his job now, he used to love it, he just cant afford it, eventually he will be out of a job because of fuel prices.

Most of what we pay at the pump is added tax, I believe it's more than 50% is Government taxes, and I think I am underestimating it, Diesel is now over £1.10 a litre, not a gallon a Litre, thats nearly $1.80, so a gallon is way up there, they don't show the gallon price anymore, so as not to scare the crap out of people.

I would gladly accept the hardship a strike would bring, because you would not only be fighting for you, but for us all.

reply to post by whaaa


Then maybe it might be in your own best interest to support a strike and help bring change?

I would fully support a strike.

I suggest that it take the form of simply stopping big rigs on the highest-traffic offramps for five-fifteen minutes at the busiest time of the morning at each major trucking terminus. Such an interruption would throw the system into chaos for a day and point out the necessity of a healthy trucking system, without necessarily doing too much damage to small businesses. Be prepared with a set of demands, suggestions, and accolades for companies doing it right. If you are ignored or drivers are arrested, be prepared to fill up the off ramps immediately and collect the drivers for a protest.

I pledge I will call my congresscritters and demand fair treatment and a positive response to your petitions, if indeed I find them reasonable.

The corporate world has an apparent agenda to class all non-financial, non-executive work as unskilled labor so they can drive down labor costs to uniformly minimum wage.

But there is no such thing as unskilled labor. Name the most menial work you can think of and I guarantee you that were you to attempt to compete with someone who's done it for years, you lose every which way. Why? Because they are experienced at doing it and have acquired the skills necessary to minimize effort, resources, and time, be it cleaning toilets, making beds, digging ditches, or washing dishes or cars.

It would help if people gave more respect to each others' work and appreciated the fact that each is part of the whole, necessary to everyone's well-being. Then perhaps we wouldn't use wages to mark social superiority.

The railroads would love to have your business

reply to post by TrainDispatcher

 

Won't work those trailers still need trucks,,,, to get them to the dock don't they.

I drove truck for 20 years as well but, I retired in 01.
I wish you guys good luck.

[edit on 4/12/2009 by Sauron]

reply to post by TrainDispatcher


The railroads are in physically terrible shape and couldn't take up much slack safely. Haven't you noticed the amount of rain and flooding along most of the major rail lines the past few years? And what poor shape most rail bridges are in?

If the railroads put much more stress on system, it would basically break them.

www.fra.dot.gov...

www.infrastructurereportcard.org...

www.aar.org...

www.aar.org...

docs.google.com...:3WJZCbUw0-kJ:www.gza.ch/default.asp%3Fmde%3Ddld%26fnm%3Dcontent/10/downloads/wef_qualityofrailroadinfrastruc ture.pdf+railroad+infrastructure+2009&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg3NTZkT-NwmUCa8zY9a4nqSN2rAgXEqMzjstIUBWRKvxfOzszskI2VTSCKJbcVaYG-TzPzv8nkWA13-h1 h6nTEikqy8c3L7SmsusQxpjanV1d2Dlmx3mi5Dvahh6kK6HtLHR2j&sig=AHIEtbTQftB4ZUUtXX0M5ye-MaJxEXAgYg

While the companies might like extra business, the engineers might have something to say about workloads.

You sound just a wee bit angry. Lets all shoot ourselves in the foot, that'l show us....them.... em!!!

What makes you special? Maybe everyone can stop working to show what we are all worth. Like garbage collection, water plant operators, police and emergency services, doctors and nurses, farmers, the millitary...

[edit on 4-12-2009 by liveandletlive]

Wahhhhh....

You have a job that takes a small amount of training and your mad about tons of unskilled rookies coming into the work force. Welcome to the rest of the worlds problem. Almost every work group has struggled with companies paying less and finding younger/less skilled workers to take the higher paid skilled employees jobs.

It's true that if truckers "ALL" striked we would be in trouble but that can be said with many different jobs as they all tie into each other. The problem is that not everyone would strike so you would just end up being out of a job in one of the worst economies we have seen. If respect is what your looking for then you need to go talk to a psychologist or go back to school and be a doctor because you either need to get your issues worked out or be in a highly respected profession.

I'm not saying truckers have it easy or are not important but man up and either work with what you got or its time to find a new job and hang up the keys. Don't let the job define you, respect should come from the person you are, not the job you do for putting food on the table.

I was a Class-A driver for a while... and people talk about this on radio when the gas prices go up. The problem with this is getting all the other drivers to stick to this. Time is money... and with this recession who can afford it, especially the owner-operators. They have a pretty big note that they have to pay off.

reply to post by TrainDispatcher


Ok Mr. train man, how did those trailers get on to the flat car? A crane operator. Better yet how did they get to your yard to begin with? Oh yes a truck. And I’m sorry I see no train tracks leading to my mail box for you to make delivery. So in just a matter of less than a day your yard would be full the trains stopped all together because they couldn’t get off loaded. Don’t get me wrong I love the rail; it serves its purpose and is a cheaper way to get large pay loads from one point to another. But do you were I am coming from now. Maybe I opened your eyes just a little?

reply to post by whoshotJR


A small amount of training you say I am a certified CDL instructor for the tri-state area. Let me tell you all though the basics are usually taught in 8 weeks on average. It takes years to perfect. Just like any instrument I can teach you in 8 weeks the basics to play a piano, does this mean you will be a Carnegie hall pianist in that time.
To address just a few more of the comments I was also a volunteer fire fighter and a marine police officer for the state of New Jersey. And other than crooks, most of society respect and show respect to uniformed officers. Not because of the person they are but for the job they do. Oh and I also server in the US Army. FYI but thanks for the post.