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XPO | Xpo Union Thread.

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Serene Gene said:
Good god, man, you sound like a bumper sticker. They're really not that great. They were once, but now they're just your old angry uncle, telling football stories and bringing up politics at Thanksgiving.



Because there's just no way that those barns had a large number of intelligent, thoughtful, rational people that weighed the options and voted for the status quo. No one is getting their info from one source.

Sometimes I wonder if you guys really understand how insulting that is to a lot of people- many of whom haven't even had to vote yet.
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I disagree. XPO drivers are getting their information from one source. The company and their union busters have an overwhelming advantage when it comes to spreading propaganda. And they have the advantage of using their power to spread fear. Fear is a far more powerful emotion than hope.

If you voted for status quo, then the joke is on you, because status quo is not what you're getting. They are taking from you and will keep taking from you until there is nothing left. One by one, they are changing company policy and every single change to date has benefitted the company at your expense.

Intelligent and rational people would have realized by now that they are being bamboozled with lies and innuendo from company hacks and union busters. My angry old uncle has a bumper sticker that says "MY Company cares about me". He's a fool to believe that. Anyone who believes that any company today values the quality of your life over profit is a fool.
 
icuicp said:
Due to the nature of how LTL used to be ( required several years of experience and you had to know someone to get a shot at a job ) most of the older drivers have worked at a union job. Most have YEARS of experience in the workforce and have seen ups and downs.

I get the impression from your posts that you truly mean well. Trying to win potential union members over by pointing to what may happen ( in your example Amazon ) is not as messed up as having Hoffa Jr. impose supplements that union members continually voted no on - effectively taking away their voice...IN A UNION. And it's happened more than once.

What in the world do you do when your leadership gives away your advantage before the company even asks for anything? This is demoralizing just reading this.

If you have caught up on the regular posters you'll find many of the regulars agree with a pro-driver , better benefits and working environment stance. Convincing people based on things in common always seemed like a better way along with openness and honesty ( as much as you can be online )
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Of course I mean well. I am completely honest and forthright in my posts, as I value my credibility above all else.

Hypothetically, which situation improves the quality of your life. 1... my company is sold and I am forced to reapply for my job at a 25% cut in pay and loss of any control over how company policy is decided. 2...My union management has forced unwanted policy on me but I keep my benefits and get a 4% raise every year.

I have 46 years behind the wheel and although I have not been a Teamster during most of that time, I was intimately acquainted with the New York Teamsters through the 70's, 80's and 90's. Local 295 in Kennedy Airport was the most corrupt of any organization I have ever witnessed and still the drivers were infinitely better off than their non union counterparts. I am not suggesting that this should have been acceptable, but I will tell you that there is no comparison between that organization and the Teamsters of today. 25 years of Federal government stewardship has seen to that.

In any event, we are still discussing issues that do not reflect the situation today. In light of the fact that companies no longer have a social conscience,( and maybe they never did ), and care only about their next quarters profit , the question should be "Am I able to influence my company to apply policy that sacrifices profit and benefits me without representation?" If you answer that honestly, you then understand my motivation.
 
Serene Gene said:
You and I both have the same influence in demanding a raise. You just feel better about it because you have your little club and another layer of important-sounding bureaucracy. Ultimately, we both get what they choose to give, and they value me a lot more than they value you.
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Our opinions are clearly polar opposites, however, this may be your most ridiculous post yet.
 
Serene Gene said:
The government happened, basically. We've had a long run of leadership that is in it for the CEOs, not the middle class, and a population consistently willing to vote against their own self-interest. Believing in BS like trickle-down economics and people being on welfare or not climbing the class ladder just because they're lazy. Until that pendulum swings back, it won't get better. Hopefully the current top moron in office hastens the swing- it'll be the only good thing he does for this country.

I don't disagree with you or Sucker about the problem, really. It's the solution that we disagree on.
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And, this is definitely your best post yet.
 
Serene Gene said:
Surely you can see the workaround here. I know they know it, because I've heard it very specifically every single time compensation has been discussed since the days of Con-way.
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Yes, but it still confirms the fact that they can't just simply refuse to bargain wages. If they say they can't afford it, they have to prove it. And if they say it puts them at a competitive disadvantage, we can prove other wise. Of course, if we are the highest paid in the market, we would be unlikely to be able to bargain for higher wages. Why would we even try?
 
Serene Gene said:
Not quite. It's more like being dragged against your will to a barbecue you never wanted to attend. Why would someone contribute to a hostile takeover? Freeloading is the price of subjecting me to your nonstop soap opera.
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If I have to drag you to a barbeque where you would receive a better compensation package, a grievance and arbitration process and a much improved health care plan, maybe you should rethink your decision not to attend. Hostile takeover???Really?
 
whip1 said:
What am I twisting? Are these statements not contradictory?
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No, they are not. I still contend that Teamsters raise the bar. What I also said is that we have no intention of raising the bar past what UNION companies have. We are union without a contract and still have a long way to go to improve what this NON UNION company offers.
 
Serene Gene said:
Where are all the guys that always ask, "Why do you bring up CSPF? There are many different funds." It looks like many of them are doing just as well as Central States.
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Sen. Brown was not referring to Teamster pension funds alone when he stated hundreds of multi-employer where ailing. Multi-employer plans have nothing to do with us nor ever will. It is just a distraction in this topic and nothing more. I have not heard one person bring this up even in the remotest possibility of something we would participate in at any point, outside of the persuaders who use as a deterrent.
 
Serene Gene said:
Yeah, but that shift in priorities was dictated by the customer, not the corporations. You can lament it all you want, but it's not coming back. Big legacy companies giving the house away in pay and benefits on the backs of the consumer is a dinosaur that is fading fast, and this isn't Jurassic Park.



We always have been, always will be. Labor is a commodity- a line item on a P and L for CEOs to complain about. No union will change that. Do you think the CEO of UPS or YRC really loves and respects their drivers and considers them peers?
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Labor precedes capital, and as such, capital cannot exist without labor.

I'll agree that no corporate entity considers drivers as peers. I refuse to depict fair compensation as "giving the house away".

Labor costs are always passed on to the consumer. The simplest analogy I can think of is the $15 minimum wage. McDonalds
customers would have to pay about 20 cents more for a Big Mac in order to fund a $15 dollar minimum wage. If I ate at McDonalds, I'd have no problem paying that extra 20 cents so that someone could earn a living wage.
 
Serene Gene said:
The government happened, basically. We've had a long run of leadership that is in it for the CEOs, not the middle class, and a population consistently willing to vote against their own self-interest. Believing in BS like trickle-down economics and people being on welfare or not climbing the class ladder just because they're lazy. Until that pendulum swings back, it won't get better. Hopefully the current top moron in office hastens the swing- it'll be the only good thing he does for this country.

I don't disagree with you or Sucker about the problem, really. It's the solution that we disagree on.
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Gene, unfortunately the company is not interested in listening to it's employees by any other way, remember we have worked with company for a lot of years without a union . If we didn't feel it was the only way at this point to have are say we wouldn't be doing it.
I will take some voice even as imperfect as some may paint it, than non at all.
 
Serene Gene said:
It's a huge decision by any company. They have to balance what will keep the people they have, what will attract new people, how much money they need for expansion, what do the shareholders want, what is the economy/ regulatory environment going to be in the future, etc.

The union just looks at the profit and says, "My, that is a large number. I deserve more of that, guaranteed, for the next 5 years." That's not a smart way to run a business.
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You are over simplifying how contracts are negotiated. All the things you mentioned are considered. The difference is that with union representation, the employees needs are valued and addressed well before considering what the shareholders want. When the shareholders climb into a truck and run my route, I'd be happy to consider their opinion. If they knew the value of labor, they might actually understand the value of compensating it fairly.
 
Serene Gene said:
Good employees don't get fired, and no one is fired for "nothing". The people afraid of being an at-will employee should maybe ask themselves why anyone would want to get rid of them. They're just trying to scare you- like the goons that wanna "protect" your store. Especially in this market, you've really gotta work to get canned.
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Absolutely false. I will refer to my post about how Delta Airlines disposed of their senior employees. Health benefits, flight privledges and much more out the window for temp status employees who were paid a fraction of the regulars.

Look at what Ceva is doing right now? That's a very attractive business model for companies who want to pad their bottom lines.
 
Serene Gene said:
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Yeah, but that shift in priorities was dictated by the customer, not the corporations. You can lament it all you want, but it's not coming back. Big legacy companies giving the house away in pay and benefits on the backs of the consumer is a dinosaur that is fading fast, and this isn't Jurassic Park.
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I don't buy it. CEO's are raking in the excess that could impart go to funding better pay and benefits for employees. That's the only difference between now and the past. As union participation slumps corporate greed at the top picked up the gains quickly. The same earnings are there in some cases more , it's just who benefits from it that's shifted .
Try not to be so easily defeated you deserve better.
 
Hollywoodz said:
You are over simplifying how contracts are negotiated. All the things you mentioned are considered. The difference is that with union representation, the employees needs are valued and addressed well before considering what the shareholders want. When the shareholders climb into a truck and run my route, I'd be happy to consider their opinion. If they knew the value of labor, they might actually understand the value of compensating it fairly.
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Good drivers are in demand and a scarce resource, they will follow the highest bidder. Bargaining power
 
Serene Gene said:
Good god, man, you sound like a bumper sticker. They're really not that great. They were once, but now they're just your old angry uncle, telling football stories and bringing up politics at Thanksgiving.



Because there's just no way that those barns had a large number of intelligent, thoughtful, rational people that weighed the options and voted for the status quo. No one is getting their info from one source.

Sometimes I wonder if you guys really understand how insulting that is to a lot of people- many of whom haven't even had to vote yet.
Click to expand...
I was there during the vote at our location you were not. I can tell you I saw guys that did not want to here the union side at all and only listened to the company, through the persuaders skewed lectures in captive audience meetings that they had no choice but to attend. I don't think for the most part it had anything to do with peoples intelligence ,but there willingness to here from both sides and their fear of retribution from the company. The company has the distinct advantage with these people . They don't want to be seen in anyway by the company as possibly engaging in getting info from the union and will avoid any contact with them for fear of this. I think if you are ever involved in a campaign you would see what i'm referring to if you kept an open perspective during the process. Fear , is the best tool the company has and it has nothing to do with peoples intelligence.
 
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Hollywoodz said:
Of course I mean well. I am completely honest and forthright in my posts, as I value my credibility above all else.

Hypothetically, which situation improves the quality of your life. 1... my company is sold and I am forced to reapply for my job at a 25% cut in pay and loss of any control over how company policy is decided. 2...My union management has forced unwanted policy on me but I keep my benefits and get a 4% raise every year.

I have 46 years behind the wheel and although I have not been a Teamster during most of that time, I was intimately acquainted with the New York Teamsters through the 70's, 80's and 90's. Local 295 in Kennedy Airport was the most corrupt of any organization I have ever witnessed and still the drivers were infinitely better off than their non union counterparts. I am not suggesting that this should have been acceptable, but I will tell you that there is no comparison between that organization and the Teamsters of today. 25 years of Federal government stewardship has seen to that.

In any event, we are still discussing issues that do not reflect the situation today. In light of the fact that companies no longer have a social conscience,( and maybe they never did ), and care only about their next quarters profit , the question should be "Am I able to influence my company to apply policy that sacrifices profit and benefits me without representation?" If you answer that honestly, you then understand my motivation.
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Great answer.

Yet , in the Teamsters , you have a man at the helm that will and has acted against the wishes of the membership. Hoffa Jr. seems to cut the membership out and not be transparent when negotiating supposedly for better and more for the membership.

So , in essence , everything you do and vote on and work hard for , can be invalidated by the wishes of this one man who's supposed to be on your side. Forcing less and accepting less goes opposite to the entire goal of what unions stand for.

What is the democratic remedy for a dictator messing all of your hard work up?
 
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