Why a strike won't work for YOU

No it won't work just for the simple fact you could not organize enough drivers to get it done.

 

A strike by the trucking industry would cripple the country in a matter of days , if not hours in some places. Not good for an image. I would like to take a moment to compare the trucking industry to strippers. Both are independent contractors, both can make alot of money or none, both can be fined heavily by law enforcement, and you cant either to unionize too many people willing to do the work.

Now I think unions are bad. Why? Because people need to figure out that demanding more pay sometimes shoots yourself in the foot. For example the pilots union, I hate that group of ######## more than I hate foot fungus. Their company could be in bankruptcy and they demand more money. God forbid working 1,000 hours a year would require them being paid 100k+ a year. Unions are a thing of the past, its not like someone cannot pick up and move at the drop of a hat. No longer are people stuck in one place and do work that most of the community does, for example coal mines, farming, or tobacco.

 

This is true of most of the unions, if the economy is bad and the company is looking at forclosure the union will demand more money..

Look at what happened to CF, they were 100% union and the company was strangled to death...

 

I don't think it will ever work. The scab situation is pretty much as bad as I have ever seen it. Always some gung-ho guy fresh out of truck driving school to take a drivers place. Not to mention so many O/Os with too big of payments on trucks running freight for cheap because they are hungry. Then there is always the "wannabe big time operator" just waiting to scab everyone because he thinks he is going to take over the market.

 

A truckers' strike could be construed as a criminal act under the RICo statutes, in that it would be an organized attempt to disrupt the economy.

 

If anybody had any thoughts about going on strike it would not happen industry wide, it would only be in pockets it happens at all...

 

If every single trruck driver out there who drives OTR, and not local, were to go on strike for better wages and better working conditions including waiting pay, and fair and realistic HOS rules. It would work. The reason it realistically wouldn't work, is because in real life, every truck driver out there wouldn't wouldn't partake in it.

That's the reason the guys on the sidelines wouldn't drive while a trucker's strike is going on. They know and understand the merits of a trucker's strike. Those guys (And I'm including myself in this category) would be right there with the striking driver knowing and understanding exactly why he's doing what he's doing. In my opinion the striking driver is doing what he should have done a long time ago.

I have to disagree with you on this point. I can't speak for you and your uncle, but I can speak for myself. If I know that freight pay is suddenly going up to try to punish truck drivers who are sacrificing for better working conditions and better pay, which I think we all can agree are deserved and lacking in this industry, there is no way I would hinder their efforts, and anybody who would, I would look upon as a piece of #### in this hypothetical situation. If working truck drivers and CDL holders sitting on on their licenses got together to make a strike work, I'd love to see companies move their freight with drivers coming straight out of trucking schools and CDL mills, with no trainers in those cabs. It's not that easy to SAFELY move a truck from point A to B. Just knowing how to fuel is something that must be learned. Yeah, let's suspend the HOS rules and jeopardize public safety, cuzz it takes a newbie longer to get the freight there.

I think the implication here, is that as soon as they can find a replacement for you, you're out of there. NO. By going on strike and showing your unity, that shows companies and the government, that they can't pull ########### stuff like that. That's why strikes work.

No, they wouldn't take my place. They'd be there with me, thanking me for the sacrifices I made to give them better working conditions.

Yes, it's all speculation, except that in my speculation, Truck drivers and CDL holders are sticking together. CLD holders aren't waiting to jump into bed with big companies and the government to spit on and keep our fellow drivers oppressed and disrespected. I don't believe they'd be willing to cut out the legs from under someone who they know is doing the right thing. I would look at it as an us against them situation and would choose to side with the truck driver. I know God's on his side.

If wages are good, and working conditions are fair, morale in the industry would go up and there would be less turnover and less need for inexperienced drivers. I believe a lot of people that tried driving and quit driving would be there striking with the working driver. I think they quit driving because the conditions and wages sucked for them. If they see truck drivers are finally doing something about it, after the strike is resolved, then they'd be willing to drive again under the conditions they and their brother drivers sacrificed for. But maybe at 36 years of age, I'm still taking a naive view on human nature. Maybe you're right and most people with CDLs would only look out for themselves and would help derail the efforts of the driver, like vultures jumping on a carcass, or hyenas cannibalizing an injured member of the pack. Maybe most CDL holders only see the short term and can face themselves in the mirror knowing EXACTLY why drivers would be taking a stand, but siding with the enemy. It's like during the war of independence, you had your Patriots, and you had your Loyalists, your Paul Reveres and your Benedict Arnolds. Like you wrote earlier, it's all speculation.

Yes a strike would work if everyone partakes.