ABF | Another slap in the face by Fort Smith

Vote them out! Vote them out! If Hoffa and Co. no longer have the spine to fight the companies, then they should step aside. If Mr. Hoffa is convinced he can't do....."anything",.....well, it's way past time he retired,.....because he's lost sight of what his job is.....If it's a forgone conclusion that all the LTL carriers will fold if the Union fights for ...."anything"....then TAKE THEM TO THE WALL!,.....and get everything you can BEFORE they close,.....instead of mealy-mouthing them into prolonging the agony and piecemealing our paychecks, dignity, and conditions into oblivion,.....and making themselves just that much richer in the process.....

When a company threatens "closure" like that,....you've got two courses of action........you acquiese to their demands, and they gradually bleed you dry, and then they close,..........OR,...you ask for,.....DEMAND, rather.....the Moon,....Everything,.....Pay raises , increased vacation, permanent health care,.......EVERYTHING!..........The company will either close immediately,........OR THEY'LL BLINK,......and back down, and start negotiating honestly,.....without the threat of closure hanging over the contract talks.....

If our current so-called....."leadership"......no longer has the intestinal fortitude to bargain like a TRUCK DRIVER,....instead of like a spineless bunch of office-dwelling wimps too worried about the nice featherbed they've made for themselves,........and, in the last five years ,they have PROVEN that beyond the shadow of a doubt,....then
they truly no longer have the "cojones" to actually fight lies and propaganda spread during contract negotiations,......then it's time to step aside and retire,....to polite and somewhat quiet applause and muted accolades,.......AND GET THE HECK OUT OF THE WAY!

There's a driver shortage going on....worst one ever, and it certainly isn't getting better...., and we got 'em by the proverbial short hairs,.....and both the companies AND the IBT are going to bend heaven and earth to convince us it ain't so.....
 
There's a driver shortage going on....worst one ever, and it certainly isn't getting better...., and we got 'em by the proverbial short hairs,.....and both the companies AND the IBT are going to bend heaven and earth to convince us it ain't so.....
And we have a contract that has what, 2 1/2 years to go? I don't see them making any changes to our benefit in the meantime.
 
If I learned anything coming to ABF five years ago it was that changing jobs ain't that bad.
That fear of change is one large factor in drivers staying where they are instead of moving on. I would prefer to not do it but there are worse things that could happen.
 
And we have a contract that has what, 2 1/2 years to go? I don't see them making any changes to our benefit in the meantime.
Ahhh,.........But there's a convention coming up in July,.......Can't you just see the signs on the convention floor and outside on the street?........."Where's my Contract Book?"....."My Uniform is Made in Guatemala "........." My Grievances are Three Years Old"......"Where's My Third Vote on My Contract? "…..." Where's My Pension?"......"Where's My Vacation?"......"Where's My Bonus?"......Lots of media coverage in Las Vegas. Maybe the rest of the Teamsters in the smaller regional contracts will sit up and take notice. Maybe there will be enough anger to vote them out.

It would be nice to think that the first thing a new regime would do is to re-open the contracts and re-negotiate them. Some might say that is an impossible task,.....,. But that's only because we're used to the speed, fortitude, and resolution of our current regime, who move at glacial speed. One can only hope the remaining two years are spent in putting all the companies on notice that they can no longer spread lies and propaganda and have a willing,.....or witless,.....partner in the new IBT leadership.
 
I like the idea, are you organizing a trip?
No,.....but I'm insuring the guys going from my Local aren't going to be rubber stamps for the current IBT regime. Big angry UPS presence here. If I have to, though, I'll crank up the '72 Buick Skylark and have a road trip, like Hunter Thompson........Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas indeed..........I'll call you.......
 
announced it has acquired Bear Transportation Services, L.P., a private, non-asset truckload brokerage firm headquartered in Plano, Texas, effective today, for cash of $26.0 million.

A non-asset truckload brokerage firm for $26m?
They couldn't just copy what they were doing for about a 1/4 of that amount?
Sounds like a YRC deal. Spend millions for actually nothing while filling the pockets of the executives.
Somebody got a huge kickback for that move.
 
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