Strike shutdown october 26, 2009
 

Has anyone heard of a Strike /Shutdown on October 26, 2009?? Just asking...

I have not heard about it, and please tell me just how many hours is it supposed to go on.

I have no idea, there is a guy on another forum promoting this and I was just wondering if it had any momentum.

I haven't heard anything about a strike. I am curious as to who is going on strike and against whom?

Sad, that SOLIDARITY & INDEPENDENT just don't seem to ever go together.

While I doubt an actual STRIKE (that is ongoing work stoppage) could ever be pulled of - a symbolic nationwide 10 minute shutdown - MIGHT - be able to get enough trucks in "strategically publicized areas" to shut down and block traffic for 5-10 minutes.

Was discussing with a friend yesterday, that so many people from all business and walks of life are so used to LIVING IN FEAR because of the economy, that it doesn't even seem SCARY ANY MORE. Pretty sad, when you're so NUMBED by it, that it just doesn't bother you any more...

Rick

The sad part is that you can't get 2 drivers to agree on something much less get hundreds of thousands to. It's the same thing "they" try to do every year, and every year nothing happens.

First of all, in this economy, there are too many of us that are finding freight hard to come by. And, we have bills to pay, on top of the cost of eating which is not free either. A strike mentallity in this economy just is not realistic. With the freight down as far as it is, a shut down might even go amost completely un-noticed. Not a good economic time to think about a strike.

Thus you bring it here...to promote it here.


*YAWN*

Wake me up when it works.

What exactly would a strike accomplish?

Yes, tell us.......inquiring minds want to know......

Even if you could get a large group of owners to strike, I don't see it accomplishing much with this economy. All it will do is take some capacity out of the market. Since there isn't enough freight for all the truck right now, I don't see what you would accomplish. Besides, what are you going on strike about? High fuel, low rates, or some other reason?

Ask 10 drivers, get 10 different answers. Last truck show I went to I didn't notice recruiters with guns forcing drivers to sign on, have yet to see a broker or shipper forcing someone to haul cheap, run illegal or what ever the bitch is.

The only ones who scream for a strike, are steering wheel holders who are clueless when it comes to running a business.

I'll go on strike...against the oversupply of trucks out there chasing freight. I demand that the government step in shut down 20% of the freight-chasers out there.

Other than that, I can't fathom what people would be striking against. Fuel is as cheap as it's been in several years. Maybe the goal is to pressure factories into producing more so we have something to haul. Who cares if there's no market for the stuff, right?

Number of THINGS to "strike against" - just NO ONE IN PARTICULAR that would CARE. Not that I'm advocating a union or anything.

1 - Lack of rest areas with states shutting down more and more weekly. They REQUIRE US to stop for 10 hours EVERY DAY, but don't give us enough places that are SAFE or have ADEQUATE FACILITIES. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES want us to shut down, they should make sure we have safe/decent places to DO SO.

2 - Anti-Idling laws. Don't get me wrong, I'm ALL FOR a cleaner environment - but if you forced a DOG to be locked in a truck with no heat/AC for 10 hours, you'd go to JAIL. Try idling to maintain SAFE and comfortable temperatures in order to get the MANDATED REST - and some states have JAIL TIME as a penalty for doing so. Why don't we STRIKE and get Osama/Obama/Barry (whatever his name is today) to BAIL OUT each INDEPENDENT TRUCKER with a coupon for a FREE APU of their choice? He'd save enough OIL in the first year to actually PAY FOR THEM (unlike all his other plans that have no means of getting PAID FOR). While he's at it, he can provide a G.I. Sleep Apnea Machine, as most of us are going to NEED ONE if the BMI recommendation gets ushered in.

3 - Insert your pet beef here...

Low Freight? This is linked to the current economical situation. There are IMPORTANT HEALTH AND WELFARE ISSUES that a "strike" or even a 10 minute shutdown might bring to the PUBLICS ATTENTION. It is the GENERAL PUBLIC we need to wake up - not the government (they KNOW they are screwing us left and right).

While a strike is a nice "sentiment", it would NEVER HAPPEN, for lack of support, for the fact the we ALL have to keep the wheels rolling in order to FEED OUR FAMILIES. I WOULD support a grassroots effort of say, at 12 Noon on 10/26 - everyone just SHUTS THEIR MOTOR OFF FOR 10 MINUTES. Wherever they may happen to be. ENGINE TROUBLE (cough cough). If even a HALF MILLION people would get onboard with that, with ATA & OOIDA holding a press conference in DC to air our grievances - while not getting freight rates boosted - MIGHT - draw some PUBLIC ATTENTION to the issues the hardworking folks that bring EVERY PRODUCT IN THEIR HOMES from where it gets made/imported - to where THEY BUY IT...

/soapbox

Rick

Shutting your engine off for 10 minutes won't accomplish anything. that isn't a strike, it is a brief rest period. ;)

you better wake up before that, if you wait until it works, you will starve to death

Even if I agreed on the reason for the strike there is one thing you need to understand, in the few years I've been on the road there will never be a real strike. The companies with more than a dozen drivers will be glad to have thier drivers bring in thier trucks and fill those seats with other drivers should they choose to strike. I don't know about you but that's incentive enough for me to stay driving.

Well, I'll have to bow out on this next strike. I went on strike for the week of Labor Day. Seemed appropriate to do it then. No one joined me. So.... I did my part. Now everyone can do theirs without me. Did I say I went on strike? My bad. I meant to say my truck went on strike. Until I met the demands that it went on strike for, it refused to haul freight. Had no choice but to give in and ante up. Now if we could just get all the trucks to go on strike in a uniform way. Man, if these trucks ever get unionized, we are in deep shinola.

It is funny that the only ones screaming for a strike/shutdown are the weak, and the ones with no business skills.

Well now wait a second, let's not be so dismissive.
Oct. 26 is a Monday.
Nice cool weather by then.
Make a great three day weekend.
So, party at my house, everyone's invited.
BigD, you know what to bring.
I'll handle the chicken and ribs, 1/2 keg.........hmm 2 half kegs.
everyone else, bring a dish or meat of your liking.
We'll show them.......

A shut down will give the Mexicans more ammo to say Americans don't want to work.

you were NOT alone..I joined you that week

i'm there dude!!

Both of those issues (like most) are solved by refusing to work for insufficient revenue. Changes such as these increase your cost, whether they necessitate buying an apu, more hotel stays, increase route planning, more sitting, whatever. If you don't raise your rates to account for the increased cost of doing business, these changes become a hardship. If you don't have the pricing power to increase rates, it's either do to poor business skills or a poor business climate (overcapacity).

:lol::lol::lol: No worries on me straving!!! :p On the way to Buffet as we speak!!! :rofl: :rofl:

I read a well written report somewhere, I'll try and find it. Basically it says right now there are actually many businesses that should be going under, but the banks are propping them up hoping that the business will turn around. This is the problem, as it keeps too much supply in the market place.

A friend of mine read something similar in one of the trucking papers. The writer was interviewing one or more of the larger carriers and that is what they stated in the article.

It's due to the depreciation in the value of the underlying assets. Given the severely depressed used truck market, if you were a bank, how would you like to be in possession of a few thousand repo trucks? It costs money to repo, store, and sell those things and right now, it's probably a money losing proposition. They've taken the position that it's better to let the carrier keep them for now and deal with the headache. Maybe he'll actually turn things around and you can collect all those penalties for delinquent payments and if not, you'll wait until the used market is better before you turn the repo man loose.

The same thing happened and is still happening to an extent in the housing market. Banks are not foreclosing on some homes that are eligible because it's not in their best interest.

It really does hit the trucking industry though. Imagine you're a carrier that can no longer make the payments. Until the bank takes them from you, you can run those trucks without paying for them. Not to mention cutting way back on maintenance since you couldn't care less about how long they will last. Take those things out of the cost equation and you can run some awfully cheap freight and still make a few bucks.

I think that I would want to check any truck purchase especially close right now. If they can't make their payments they also may not be able to do oil changes and basic maintenance.

Thanks for taking it to the next step no_worries. Makes sense to me.