I'm not getting it. Why were turn around routes the reason trucking companies were unionized?

 

Where drivers have regular runs, reporting to the same terminals, the possibility of a union is greater. Secondly, by operating out of one terminal drivers have personal contact with one another. Something the OTR drivers don't have.

I make no bones about it I never needed a union. I was respected and thereby received all the benefits union people received and I didn't have to pay union dues. The only time I was paid union scale was the couple of times I was in a union. All the other jobs I had I received an income and benefits higher than union scale.

If you or anybody else needs a union then by all means find a company that has a union. It makes to difference to me one way or the other.

Irregular route came about because of de-regulation. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry could get into trucking. In the process they drove down the rates. Add to that the unions inflexible demands and company after company closed their doors.

The other major factor was the change to just-in-time freight. Truck companies no longer had the luxury of taking extra days to make a pickup/ delivery.

What I can't understand is why all the talk about "coolie carrier." A term I find offensive and racial. If someone doesn't want to drive OTR then don't. For those drivers that like to travel around the country I find nothing wrong with it. The same with unions. If someone want or needs a union then find a company that has a union.

kc0iv

 

Yes, such an arrangement would help facilitate an organizing effort. But you dodged the question: WHY were trucking companies organized in the first place?

LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers made $40.5 million last season. And you know what? He's a card-carrying union member who shells out union dues. Hmmmm...why would someone who earns $40.5 million see the value of a union?

Here we go again. Deregulation did not CAUSE irregular-route trucking, but I would agree that it did help to facilitate it.

 

Here are some amazing numbers to look at.

When I went to Schneider to train in 2006 they were taking in about 80 students a week like 50 weeks out of the year.

About 50 out of 80 students graduated each week.

A trainer who worked there for several years told me that basically out of the 80 students who came each week only 10-15 students actually complete 1 year.

80 students X 50 weeks= 4,000 students a year
12.5 students X 50 weeks= 625 who complete 1 year

Bring in 4,000 a year end up with 625 :? :?

In order to maintain a fleet of 15,000 + trucks, Schneider has to hire several thousands to keep hundreds.

Those are just rough numbers out of thier Green Bay facility, they have like 5 other major training facilities.

 

Let's not forget that most of the problems encountered by these drivers were caused by the drivers themselves. By no means is the company responsible for problems.

 

True belpre122, Schneider is a good company. I left them because I am not a fan of OTR. If I ever decided to go back to OTR I would probably go back. I found a local Class A position and now get home daily

I was treated well by Schneider for the 15 months I was there, I would suggest them to anybody trying to get started.

 

The only reason I was ever in a union was because I wanted a certain job and I was required to join the union. As your example of LeBron James I suspect it has to do with the NBA being unionized and to be a ball player he is required to be in the union.

I see this is turning into to a pro - anti union discussion in which I really don't want to get into.

Let me repeat if you want to be a union member so be it.

kc0iv

 

15,000 drivers and a 120% turnover rate in 2006 meant that Schneider had to hire 18,000 people per year to replace those that quit. :shock:

No they vote on whether to keep the NBA Player's Association every year. Believe it or not, a union is a very democratic institution. For a couple of years, the NBA Player's Association was actually voted out and the players operated without a contract. This is also true of the NFL and MLB Player's Association as well.

The answer to the question is that these players earning millions see value in having a collective bargaining agreement with the owners. That's the advantage of operating under a legally binding contract - both parties sit down and negotiate a set of written agreements such that neither side can screw the other over.

In trucking, the carriers hold all the cards. They can starve a man out, leave him sitting, roll back pay, play dispatch headgames, etc because the driver's only recourse is to quit or say "that's trucking" and suck up the BS.

 

Or, what is the standard mantra of the apologists? Oh yeah.

"It's a lifestyle."

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

Your lifestyle maybe.

 

LeBron James wrote:
Because if the NBA wasn't unionized, those guys would all be getting paid a flat fee per game, cutting each others throats for the opportunity to play, and the race to the bottom would be underway, just like in OTR trucking. :lol: