XPO | Xpo Union Thread.

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In a thread a long time ago I think Highspeeds elaborated on his union time. I vaguely remember he worked for Coke or Pepsi.

In the past , the standards were MUCH higher for LTL jobs so you HAD to have experience to even THINK about driving for ANY of the big companies...sooooooo that means MOST of the older drivers have EXPERIENCE from othe jobs. Union and non-union.

Fast forward to now , and a lot of drivers have no real experience and no frame of reference for what a good job is or a bad job.

The audience you need to reach nowadays to make a union push typically have no idea what a union is supposed to do and have never seen or experienced "good benefits" ( in fact , they may think the current situation with benefits at XPO is completely fine compared to how bad things are in general with most jobs )
Soft drink and beverage is a totally different animal than LTL freight.There a multitude of different contracts nationwide.No master in the beverage industry.Some people like it that way..It’s very diversified being different entities own there own districts or regions .and negotiate seperatly.
 
In a thread a long time ago I think Highspeeds elaborated on his union time. I vaguely remember he worked for Coke or Pepsi.

In the past , the standards were MUCH higher for LTL jobs so you HAD to have experience to even THINK about driving for ANY of the big companies...sooooooo that means MOST of the older drivers have EXPERIENCE from othe jobs. Union and non-union.

Fast forward to now , and a lot of drivers have no real experience and no frame of reference for what a good job is or a bad job.

The audience you need to reach nowadays to make a union push typically have no idea what a union is supposed to do and have never seen or experienced "good benefits" ( in fact , they may think the current situation with benefits at XPO is completely fine compared to how bad things are in general with most jobs )

  • All one needs to do is walk up to the first US Post Office , UPS or ABF driver and ask him or her about their benefits and work conditions. Ask them about their compensation packages. I will stipulate that YOUR first contract will look quite a bit different from theirs, but you will be on your way to a better future. In fact:
  • I dare any one of you to do this and then come back here and tell me you're still happy with your situation.
 
Don't most LTL's already have OT after 40? I'll agree it's a reason to seek union representation, but I think there are many more reasons for doing so. If OT after 8 became Federal Law, companies would still do their best to cut hours.

I think it's safe to say most ( ALL? ) companies do their best to cut hours , overtime or not. ( or at least they would like to )

My point remains the same for private sector unions:

Clean up your house before you do anything else.

Straighten out the problems with the multiple employer pension plans.

Get rid of -15% ( or any percent ) when the economy is doing decent AND there is a shortage of drivers.

Get new leadership for one of the largest unions. ( even if Hoffa is not corrupt his name carries a negative stigma )

Modernize. Like many of the companies that drivers work for , unions have technology BUT the it usually is a day late and a dollar short and ass backwards how it is utilized. I'm sure there's a limited budget that most unions are working with yet ( if done right ) unions could have a much bigger impact on the internet for example. ( try contacting the Russians...joking...relax )

Finally , is there a way for the blue collar everyday worker to hold the union officers more accountable for cozying up to the companies they are supposed to be negotiating against? Looking at some of what everyday working people have to say , this seems to be a huge problem.
 
  • All one needs to do is walk up to the first US Post Office , UPS or ABF driver and ask him or her about their benefits and work conditions. Ask them about their compensation packages. I will stipulate that YOUR first contract will look quite a bit different from theirs, but you will be on your way to a better future. In fact:
  • I dare any one of you to do this and then come back here and tell me you're still happy with your situation.
Hollywoodz , the people that post and drop in and view this board are not the ones you need to convince or "dare" - honestly , even with all of the different opinions on here MOST seem to agree that there is room for improvement.
 
Hollywoodz , the people that post and drop in and view this board are not the ones you need to convince or "dare" - honestly , even with all of the different opinions on here MOST seem to agree that there is room for improvement.

Agreed. Yet, no one has offered any alternative solution. There is much room for improvement and talking or posting about it may help with the anxiety, but it does nothing to resolve it. We see the train coming straight for us and we're discussing how unfair it is that we're about to get run over. Wouldn't it be a smart move to do something about it? There may be a huge puddle of ::shit:: on both sides of the tracks. All I'm saying is let's not worry too much about getting our shoes dirty. Jump!!! Save your ass and clean off your shoes later. There will always be time to address the problems you addressed in your previous post.
 
I think it's safe to say most ( ALL? ) companies do their best to cut hours , overtime or not. ( or at least they would like to )

My point remains the same for private sector unions:

Clean up your house before you do anything else.

Straighten out the problems with the multiple employer pension plans.

Get rid of -15% ( or any percent ) when the economy is doing decent AND there is a shortage of drivers.

Get new leadership for one of the largest unions. ( even if Hoffa is not corrupt his name carries a negative stigma )

Modernize. Like many of the companies that drivers work for , unions have technology BUT the it usually is a day late and a dollar short and ass backwards how it is utilized. I'm sure there's a limited budget that most unions are working with yet ( if done right ) unions could have a much bigger impact on the internet for example. ( try contacting the Russians...joking...relax )

Finally , is there a way for the blue collar everyday worker to hold the union officers more accountable for cozying up to the companies they are supposed to be negotiating against? Looking at some of what everyday working people have to say , this seems to be a huge problem.
Never gonna be perfect as you see officers on local and international have been replaced.

Pension problem is a hard problem across the board union and non union.

You the mention the 15% like union runs the company. How would YRCW affect XPO they have their own self inflicted problems.

Again if you look at the past elections you will see the changes were made (6 new regional VP). Takes time

What technology would you need to represent a member?

Unions aren’t to be against the companies. They actually need to coexist together as long as members aren’t violated.

Holding membership accountable is by learning language within your craft and if smell bull you go thru chain of command at local till top if necessary or nlrb.
 
Never gonna be perfect as you see officers on local and international have been replaced.

Pension problem is a hard problem across the board union and non union.

You the mention the 15% like union runs the company. How would YRCW affect XPO they have their own self inflicted problems.

Again if you look at the past elections you will see the changes were made (6 new regional VP). Takes time

What technology would you need to represent a member?

Unions aren’t to be against the companies. They actually need to coexist together as long as members aren’t violated.

Holding membership accountable is by learning language within your craft and if smell bull you go thru chain of command at local till top if necessary or nlrb.
Well Covered
 
Anything is possible, but the more bullets in the gun, the better chance of hitting your target. Lets face facts...the THREAT of a strike is the best tool in the union toolbox. Maybe more so than a strike itself. If one or two terminals decide to strike, we have maybe a 50/50 chance of success. Who blinks first??? If 20 or 30 terminals stand strong together, we win.

Disagree. Strike is bad for all. No one benefits from a lack of work. You are getting twisted in the wind again. This line of thought is crazy talk and nothing more.
 
Disagree. Strike is bad for all. No one benefits from a lack of work. You are getting twisted in the wind again. This line of thought is crazy talk and nothing more.
No one likes a strike but it remains as a last ditch tool if its needed. I don't see it as crazy talk.
 
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Lots of assumptions on both ends. Things go wrong sometimes. I still maintain that in the big picture, and especially considering the willingness of both unions and companies to negotiate a FAIR contract that saves jobs and doesn't bankrupt companies, we are extremely better off with union representation. One reason why I don't understand the union bashing with respect to the YRC negotiations. They haven't even begun yet. Company financials are disclosed, correct? The union will negotiate the best contract possible based on those financials. Without the union, we would NEVER see those financials. There would be no negotiation. We would get whatever the company felt like giving...or taking.

Zero assumptions. CF was union bargained. They lost it all. My father worked for a steel company. He lost it all. His job, his retirement. That really happened.

Contracts can turn out just as bad as they could turn out good. No assumptions there.

Agreeing that the union will aid you in keeping your job. I did assume a bit there. They might not like you. Might help get rid of you. It could happen. This being the only flawed statement in my post. I am standing behind what I wrote.

It's your opinion that we would be better off with a union. Others feel the opposite is true.

People have been bashing YRC for 10 years. The company for doing what they did and the employees for letting them and the union for talking the employees into letting them.

My statements to troubleman84 were giving him what he is giving us. He didn't seem to like it. Maybe he did. You ask him. See if he will read any of your posts or answer any of your questions. And ask him if he feels being told to vote yes or we are closing the gates is much of a negotiation.
 
Don't most LTL's already have OT after 40? I'll agree it's a reason to seek union representation, but I think there are many more reasons for doing so. If OT after 8 became Federal Law, companies would still do their best to cut hours.

I think the ones that give OT after 40 is rare. Even we don't have OT after 40 country wide.
 
You made a statement and I asked you nicely to respond and that’s it Bud!!!!You claim you were one a steward and a union man Tell us how you got screwed!!!Thats a conversation for a union thread isn’t it .

And I politely, as I possibly can, declined. Stay on topic. Please and thank you.
 
In a thread a long time ago I think Highspeeds elaborated on his union time. I vaguely remember he worked for Coke or Pepsi.

In the past , the standards were MUCH higher for LTL jobs so you HAD to have experience to even THINK about driving for ANY of the big companies...sooooooo that means MOST of the older drivers have EXPERIENCE from othe jobs. Union and non-union.

Fast forward to now , and a lot of drivers have no real experience and no frame of reference for what a good job is or a bad job.

The audience you need to reach nowadays to make a union push typically have no idea what a union is supposed to do and have never seen or experienced "good benefits" ( in fact , they may think the current situation with benefits at XPO is completely fine compared to how bad things are in general with most jobs )

Very strong post. I wonder what perspective some of these guys speak from. A very fanciful world they are living in.
 
You know they do things very differently out there than any place else,It’s never impossible,If there’s a will then there is away.But I lived in So Cal for 6 months long and ,they are very different out there.Nobodys a native ,There all from some place else looking for something that is different.


Where there is a will there is a way. Damn right. There must be a way to get OT after 40 nationwide for all job descriptions.
 
Soft drink and beverage is a totally different animal than LTL freight.There a multitude of different contracts nationwide.No master in the beverage industry.Some people like it that way..It’s very diversified being different entities own there own districts or regions .and negotiate seperatly.


Still the exact same local and the exact same business agent and the very same everything else. Or do you doubt the union or unions abilities to represent more than one party ? Or are you trying to portray that a union or a local will only represent one party exclusively ?
 
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I think it's safe to say most ( ALL? ) companies do their best to cut hours , overtime or not. ( or at least they would like to )

My point remains the same for private sector unions:

Clean up your house before you do anything else.

Straighten out the problems with the multiple employer pension plans.

Get rid of -15% ( or any percent ) when the economy is doing decent AND there is a shortage of drivers.

Get new leadership for one of the largest unions. ( even if Hoffa is not corrupt his name carries a negative stigma )

Modernize. Like many of the companies that drivers work for , unions have technology BUT the it usually is a day late and a dollar short and ass backwards how it is utilized. I'm sure there's a limited budget that most unions are working with yet ( if done right ) unions could have a much bigger impact on the internet for example. ( try contacting the Russians...joking...relax )

Finally , is there a way for the blue collar everyday worker to hold the union officers more accountable for cozying up to the companies they are supposed to be negotiating against? Looking at some of what everyday working people have to say , this seems to be a huge problem.


Another very strong post. You have been consistently awesome for a good bit here.
 
Disagree. Strike is bad for all. No one benefits from a lack of work. You are getting twisted in the wind again. This line of thought is crazy talk and nothing more.

I said the THREAT of a strike is the most powerful tool in the union toolbox. No one wants a strike, however, strikes have resulted in favorable outcomes for working men and women for decades.
 
Hollywoodz , the people that post and drop in and view this board are not the ones you need to convince or "dare" - honestly , even with all of the different opinions on here MOST seem to agree that there is room for improvement.

Guys with over 20 years are quitting. It's that bad. Him telling us there is room for improvement is like saying rain is wet. Thanks for that handy bit if info, really couldn't have gotten along without it. Hollywoodz really saved the day.
 
Agreed. Yet, no one has offered any alternative solution. There is much room for improvement and talking or posting about it may help with the anxiety, but it does nothing to resolve it. We see the train coming straight for us and we're discussing how unfair it is that we're about to get run over. Wouldn't it be a smart move to do something about it? There may be a huge puddle of :::shit::: on both sides of the tracks. All I'm saying is let's not worry too much about getting our shoes dirty. Jump!!! Save your ass and clean off your shoes later. There will always be time to address the problems you addressed in your previous post.


The alternative. The solution. It's an application. Jumping is exactly what people are doing.
 
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