Why Shouldn't Truckers Strike......?

Question

The cost of the economy has risen to life altering changes, fuel prices, food, electric, etc everything has risen except wages. The money being gained at the top is not filtering down to the low man on the Totem Pole.

You figure it out. A driver starts with 2,200.00 of his pay from the previous weeks (that is what he made after the company took all of their cost out and what he has left to support his home and pay for his fuel for the next week), he drove from Pa to Mass, and then from Mass to Georgia, from there to Va, and the cost of fuel was 2, 019.00 how much money did he actually bring home to pay his bills????

That is what truckers are looking at even company drivers aren't much better they only get a percentage of the money per mile so they aren't really making much more the the independant or lease ons. Fuel surcharges are not always being passed back to the driver/owner operator who pays for the fuel, loads are paid the same as 5 yrs ago....how to wake

everyone up??

Answer 1

A strike will never work for the reasons Forest has mentioned.  Too many drivers HAVE to work.  But it's not just the truckers that are having a hard time making it.  I changed careers about 6 months ago.  My husband has been a his blue collar job for 8 years.  Since my career change we have a "net income" growth of $500.00 or more a month, but we can't even afford to pay the some bill's we had 1 year ago.  Why?  Because everything under the sun has sky rocketed in price and employers are not paying any more than they did 10 years ago!  

I also don't think the strike is a good idea because we don't need the government having control of yet another situation in America.  We, Americans, have all had to make changes in our spending habits, so why doesn't the government?

Answer 2

Its a d**n shame.I just parked.Anyone want a super cat Pete?I'm done.

Answer 3

well this is a problem that all truck drivers are facing. i'm on the west coast in california and diesel is at $4.15 ! owener / operators are being hit real bad. my family is in the trucking business and has been for the past 20 years and we are dealing with issues we've never dealt with before. not only with the price of diesel but also with the lack of work. it is a problem of the economy all together and not only are trucking companie feeling it just ask around. things are gettting really bad for everyone, while we are spending billions to continue with the war!

Answer 4

you are missing something....if truckers strike, prices of things would skyrocket even more. Use your brain.

And...i watched Ice road Truckers...they make good money.

Answer 5

I don't think there's a simple answer to the problem we're facing.

But I don't think the solution to the problem is as simple as a strike.  I can understand why people want to strike- it's frustrating watching fuel spiral out of control & drivers feel like they ought to do SOMETHING.  But I think it deserves a little more thought than just "s***w it, let's strike".  

First, there's the problem of getting EVERYONE to go along with it....independent owner/ops (those who own their own tractor AND trailer and run under their own authority) only make up 10% of the industry.  If only they shut down, the big companies are there to pick up the slack (and probably for cheaper than an independent could haul it).  

So far, this strike looks like a pretty small-scale effort, made up of mostly independents.  I believe VERY strongly in the rights of the independent trucker & small fleet companies (I work for a 17 truck company) and I would HATE to see them cut off their nose to spite their face.  

Even if we COULD get a large majority of the companies (or company drivers) to go along with the strike....if the strike is actually large enough to interfere with the supply of goods & services for the country, we risk the wrath of an angry government.  

We could very well set ourselves up to learn the same lesson the air traffic controllers learned when THEY went on strike.  Every last one of them was replaced, overnight.  A large-scale trucker strike could in effect cause the entire country to collapse.   Do you think the government would sit idly by and watch people panic as every last Wal-Mart ran out of milk & eggs?  Doubtful.  Our job isn't THAT hard.  If the country needed trucks to move- I'm thinking the government would find a quick & easy way to find warm bodies to move those trucks.   (Funny how the government JUST passed the Mexican Truck pilot program despite massive opposition from all sides....I WONDER where they'd find cheap, quick replacements for our striking American drivers?)

And I also doubt their reaction would be what we're hoping for...."Gee, shucks, I'm sorry trucker folks!  What were we thinking with those high fuel prices- now, now....let's lower fuel prices to $2.00 a gallon and control freight rates."  

No....I think the government would be more likely to seize total control of transportation.  And who do you think their partners would be?  I'm not thinking they'd be reaching out to the independent truckers with their subsidies and grants....they'd work with the "Big Name" trucking companies to create a wholly government-controlled industry.  

In no way am I trying to belittle the frustration that the owner/operators are feeling.  My husband and I drive for a small company and we have a close working relationship with the owner.  We watch the economy & price of oil as closely as he does, and he shares some of his daily concerns and struggles with us.  We want him to stay in business as badly as he does.....we like driving for him & it's helping us learn the "business end" of trucking (we'd like to be owner operators ourselves, one day, if there's a light at the end of the tunnel!)  

But looking at the "big picture"....there are so many other factors at play here that aren't getting any attention.  Drivers are just PO'd and they want to "do something"....I just hope we don't all go and do something that screws us in the end.

Just my worthless little opinion :)