Obama's Unionizing Ways

[Kranky]

[BIGRNTN]

LOOK AT UPS!!!!!!! LOOK AT ABF!!!!! LOOK AT NEW PENN!!!!!! LOOK AT HOLLAND!!!! and yes LOOK AT ROADWAY!!!!!-before Yellow.. All of these LTL lines were and are as profitable as the "nons"!!! Yes, "some" employees goof off because they know nothing will happen to them, this also happens at large TL carriers because they will not pay these guys what this job is worth and the TURNOVER rate is ridiculous! LOOK AT THE RESPONSIBILITIES we have as CDL holders. Is being the operator of an 80,000lb cannon not worth a decent days wages? If you think not then we are in a heep of trouble! I have never understood why truck drivers thought they were making "good" money when you look at their lifestyle, hometime, wages, etc... AMAZING!! But then again, MAYBE thats why they make what most drivers do. Hmmmm!

[Snowman7]

I never said that all union workers are lazy. I did convey my experiences with some of them. My experience is more like that of Sidman. I have seen first hand how little many of them want to work. You may be a good worker, but not all union workers like to work. With performance pay you don't need anyone to represent you if you are a good worker. You produce, you make money. Performance pay is fair for both the worker and company.

Sure GMAN, whatever you say. And all the fat, smelly, non union OTR dirtbags hanging out at the truck stops aren't lazy? Whether or not a person is in a union has nothing to do with their work ethic. You are every bit as belittling as CFM was only you are more subtle about it. But your true colors still come out. You heard about a bad union so there all bad, riiiigggghhhht. OK. Meanwhile corporate America sold or moved everything we ever had of any value to some third world nation where people work for peanuts and now our whole economy is based on credit and retail buying. One big ponzi scheme and when the credit runs out and the buying stops we have nothing to offer the rest of the world. Well now white collar has ****ed themselves with their greed cause the layoffs and hard times have hit all classes.

[BIGRNTN]

Sure GMAN, whatever you say. And all the fat, smelly, non union OTR dirtbags hanging out at the truck stops aren't lazy? Whether or not a person is in a union has nothing to do with their work ethic. You are every bit as belittling as CFM was only you are more subtle about it. But your true colors still come out. You heard about a bad union so there all bad, riiiigggghhhht. OK. Meanwhile corporate America sold or moved everything we ever had of any value to some third world nation where people work for peanuts and now our whole economy is based on credit and retail buying. One big ponzi scheme and when the credit runs out and the buying stops we have nothing to offer the rest of the world. Well now white collar has ****ed themselves with their greed cause the layoffs and hard times have hit all classes.

"Ditto" driver, "Ditto"! Good post.

[Orangetxguy]

There have been a lot of "Union" companies disappear from the road. PIE. Ranger. Matlack. Montgomery Tanklines. Consolidated Freight.

Pie / Ranger...what is left of them is known as "Landstar". Landstar Ranger, Landstar Inway, Landstar Gemini.

Matlack.....Big union tank company...know it is known as Quality Carriers, along with the numerous other, unionized tanker companies that have folded into them.

Montgomery Tanklines is now known as DisTech. No longer union and more Owner Operators than company drivers.

And the CornFlakes...already been pointed out...they are Con-Way. Con-Way Freight was started as the multi area "Regional" carriers that it was, as a "non-union" company...then management filed bankruptcy on Consolidated..to get rid of the union driver pension and health bennies, that Consolidated was on the hook for. Now...Con-Way is one company again...and has purchased truck load carrier CFI...Contract Freighters Inc.

All of those changes were about GREED. Any new changes will be for the same reason...GREED.

[Mackman]

I've said it here before and I'll say it again, I'm a member of the Teamsters union and I bust my f'in as$ every day, if I didn't, I wouldn't be working there, union or not.

I appreciate the superior wages and benefits that result from working union.

These comments about all union workers f'ing off or being lazy just pis$ me off no end.

WTF, should we all just go and work for f'in minimum wage while the corporate bigwigs continue to line their pockets with the fruits of our labor?

And don't give me that f'in sh*t about performance based pay. Union workers are generally more skilled than non union workers, and can command higher pay due to higher productivity.

That "performance based pay" sh*t assumes that every employee is going to f*ck off on the job unless you dangle the carrot on the stick in front of them to make them work.

I feel sorry for any employer that thinks such tactics are necessary to get his or her employees to give a good days work, and I feel even sorrier for the employees that work for that type of boss.

End of rant.

Very good post Kranky.

[GMAN]

Sure GMAN, whatever you say. And all the fat, smelly, non union OTR dirtbags hanging out at the truck stops aren't lazy? Whether or not a person is in a union has nothing to do with their work ethic. You are every bit as belittling as CFM was only you are more subtle about it. But your true colors still come out. You heard about a bad union so there all bad, riiiigggghhhht. OK. Meanwhile corporate America sold or moved everything we ever had of any value to some third world nation where people work for peanuts and now our whole economy is based on credit and retail buying. One big ponzi scheme and when the credit runs out and the buying stops we have nothing to offer the rest of the world. Well now white collar has ****ed themselves with their greed cause the layoffs and hard times have hit all classes.

I never said that all unions were bad. I only related my personal experience with unions in places such as Gary, Portage, New York, New Jersey and Florida, among others. There seems to be a common thread among most of them which discourages efficiency and hard work. That comes from my personal experience at companies in those areas, not something that someone has passed along. It inevitably takes longer for me to get loaded or unloaded at a union company than a non union company. The reason so many jobs have left the U.S. is not just greed from the corporations. There is just as much greed coming from the unions. That is one reason GM and some of the other big automakers are in trouble. They need to fund all those union retirement funds. Unions pit labor against management. It creates a wedge that fosters distrust on both sides. For many years unions have pushed for more money and benefits with less productivity required from workers. Well, it has now come home to the big 3 automakers. The unions may have won the battle but lost the war. If these companies are forced into bankruptcy the union workers could lose their retirement benefits. Only time will tell. The carrot approach works for executives and it works for labor. That is the primary reason paying workers on performance increases efficiency and productivity. You can't blame everything on the big corporations.

[Maniac]

Matlack was just poor management,was heavy in debt when it folded, was privately owned by the Rollins family out of Delaware, remember Rollins truck leasing, same people, also was union, Superior took over most of it.


Chemical Leaman (union) and Montgomery tank lines, merged to form Quality Carriers, to get rid of the union, and have been in the red since they started, now owned by the Appolo group, an investment firm in Tampa, and still in the red.


Manfredi Motor Transit is now Dist Tech don't think there was any union involved.

[Mackman]

What about all the non union trucking company's that go out of business who's to blame for that???

[Jumbo]

What about all the non union trucking company's that go out of business who's to blame for that???

BUSH! lol

[GMAN]

I suppose 4 years from now people will still be blaming Bush for whatever is wrong. Why accept responsibility yourself when you can blame Bush.