I would like to point out that the union does help with company oppression and benefits us with work rules that keep the company respectful of its employees but it is the government that has increased our wages over the last 10 to 15 years. The hours of service regulations, medical standards, CDL licenses (not having multiple licenses in multiple states), Haz-Mat testing, back ground testing, CSA reports, etc, have all reduced the number of eligible truck drivers. And in this way has created a driver shortage which has led to increased wages, benefits, and job security. But it is the union and its work rules that has kept the companies respectful of their employees. That is what we pay the union for and most of us appreciate it even if we don't go to the union meets as often as we should and we sometimes complain about them. not-von.
That's true, Brother,....But you've got to remember that the HOS regulations, HAZ-MAT rules, and medical rules ...were all lobbied heavily by the insurance industry that insures the companies and equipment,....to defray part of the liability onto the driver..
Having worked through de-regulation in the '80's,....I saw how companies hired the....barely marginal, to drive the marginally legal,..and get paid marginally.......
The ..."standards"....pre-CDL......were ..putrid.., to say the least.... This is when companies were allowed to "self-regulate" their own hiring standards.......
....With sometimes disastrous results.........
There was no....moral compunction,...for companies to put good, qualified people behind the wheel, and pay them to be....professional.....
The Hiring ideal back then ,..was to hire the most desperate, economically-challenged people you could find,.......because they would accept the cheapest pay and wouldn't know what a legal violation of either equipment or HOS was........
All in the name of ....Profit........To Hell with "Highway Safety",....and the general public........
All those things you mentioned,.....were instituted in RESPONSE to companies' FAILURE to regulate their workforce.......
The...."cowboys"...of the '80's....bragged about driving 30 hours straight,.....running 110,000 lbs......running cars off the road.......pushing unsafe equipment to the extreme........
YeeHaw!
........And,...Who Profited?
Prior to deregulation,....the HOS rules hadn't changed for 30 or so years,......and company fleets prided themselves on appearance and maintenance....
...and about 70% were Teamster,...under a National contract,.....negotiating the highest Blue Collar wage in America,.....to reflect the difficult and long hours truck drivers worked,....as opposed to other blue collar occupations.......
See how Corporate Greed impacted an entire industry,...(..still does..).....and , eventually , all of our wallets......?