You know, just the other day, i was driving down I-30, and heard this lady get on, and go on this rant about how we as drivers just need to shut the country down and not drive for a solid 24 hours....this will get everyones attention, she said.

Okay, first off....you will NEVER get every driver to not drive for the day. Just wont happen. 2nd, if you really want to get peoples attention, you just need to either not drive for 2-3 days, or have drivers take part in clogging major city bypasses, and drive for 11 straight hours, side by side, etc....or both.

But we will never be able to ban together, if we cannot pay enough respect to another fellow driver to waive to them as we pass each other, or give the customary 'thank you' when you pass another driver, and s/he 'flashes' you over to let you know its clear.

If we cannot respect each other as professional drivers (regardless how much experience one might have, or who they drive for, or if they are an O/O or a company driver or not) and do something as little as holding a door open, and just being polite.....a 'strike' will never happen.....so shut up about it already.

 

+1

Remember last year when a few guys bob-tailed on the interstate at 35mph (in FL, methinks)? Remember what that accomplished, besides pissing off the motoring public and burning up a little fuel?

 

Why do we need the nations attention?

 

I am not sure what you want to accomplish, Kevin. If every truck in the country took a day off it would have little, if any, impact on our lives. I think that I have mentioned this before but if you want to shut the country down you don't need every driver to stay home. All you need do is stop the tankers. Without fuel everything stops. But you won't get a lot of attention if everyone stops for a day. It would take about a week to get everyone's attention. Again, I don't know what you hope to accomplish? And you may not like the attention you get.

 

You would demonstrate the need to nationalize the transportation industry, of course.

 

Anyone remember, oh, the AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS UNION?

And the Anti-Commie (Reagan) put end end to that nonsense pretty quick. Whaddya think a Pink-O like Barack Osama would do?

R

 

The government doesn't want the trucking industry to be as strong as it was prior to the strike which took place back around 1980. I don't remember the exact year. Since that time Teamster membership and influence has dropped dramatically. There is more influence from the ATA which represents less than 10% of the carriers who seem to have the strongest voice, and that doesn't necessarily make it good for the drivers or small carriers. The air traffic controllers were government employees. If the trucking industry actually stopped running there is little the government could do about it. I don't see that happening. This industry is too fragmented and there isn't a single voice. Besides, if an owner operator went on strike he would be striking against himself since he is in business. If you want to start a movement then you need very explicit reasons why people should follow you and have a plan on how to accomplish your goals.

 

Just one quick question, Kevin... How much a mile are you getting paid?

Before deregulation, my brother was making more than .35/mile. Look how long ago deregulation happened. Are you making more than that? If not, why not? If more, just how much more. The industry has insured that the average driver can not set enough aside to survive a strike that is long enough to be effective. You gotta pay the bills, and to do that, you gotta keep working. That's why you won't get enough drivers to join in and make it effective.

Looking at the increases in various costs since deregulation... Look at insurance. Look at food prices. Look at fuel costs. Look at your electric bill. How much has rent and property tax gone up since then? How much has realestate gone up since then? (A nice home would have sold for about $40,000 back then.) If the pay for the trucking industry had kept up with any one of them, you should be making more than $1/mile... Are you? If not, you can not afford to strike and try to pay your bills.

 

I think part of the problem is drivers aren't willing to do the heavy lifting themselves. Look at how quickly many drivers bulldoze through their carrier choice, or sign a lease "fleece" contract. Every single CR England driver falls into this category.

I think education is key. As more and more drivers get educated about how much they could potentially make, and how to get there, rates will steadily climb.

 

SO TRUE!! I bet there's a gvmt contigincy plan sitting in a file somewhere just for that to happen