I live in an at will/right to work state, have been in the work force for 22 years, and have never had a problem. Do your job, don't be a cry baby, or part of the gossip girl clique, and you won't have problems. Management doesn't just pick fights with you.
I did 2.5 years at ABF, and finally had to leave, inconsistent hours, pay, slow not getting to work, layoffs..you can't provude for a family on that type of environment.
I'd say most of the non-Union guys don't have many problems at work...........but, at the turn of the 19th century,...it was commonplace to ..."tip"...your foreman on Friday to get a good job on Monday.
Loss of Labor rights and the ability to speak up at work is the proverbial slippery slope.....It starts with tiny, little things,....like XPO's recent decision to hand out raises on an...."individual"...basis. Sounds reasonable,....reward the hard workers, punish the slackers....
Do you see a chance for management to...."exploit"....that in an unscrupulous way? It will start small,...........and then 20 years from now, it will be an accepted practice.........To discriminate, classify, and expect "favors",....in return for those raises....
Anyone from XPO care to comment?
Management never starts anti-Labor campaigns with the "full avalanche"...........they start with a few tiny "pebbles"......so most of their guys shrug, and say; "That's not so bad....".........(....like driver-facing cameras...).......
It's a shame that ABF made it intolerable for you to stay,......and completely understandable. I was an O/O for 9 years because I couldn't afford to be "on call" for years at a time.......
Union carriers have their own set of problems.......being the highest wage in the industry for the last thirty years,....(...until recently..)....made management at Union carriers arrogant as far as their hiring to the "club" went. Negotiating teams created two and three-tier wages and casual/preferred casual/new-hire "hoops"....to jump through,.........only because they knew Union jobs were highly preferred by drivers.
But,...once on at a Union carrier,.........discrimination,....in ALL forms,......is a violation of law. Companies hate that,.....because they feel they have the.."right"..to adjust your pay,..adjust their work force,....and adjust their health insurance and benefits........SOLELY to suit their needs. Without sounding insulting,....they kind of feel..."ownership"...for their Labor force,.......instead of a..."partnership"....
The rules for getting hired at a union carrier are....archaic,...to say the least. They are a holdover from the last.."century"....when guys would put their families "on hold" for several years at a time,...knowing the eventual payoff.......Arrogant local managers used and abused many guys,.....KNOWING that, once on and a dues-paying member,.......there would be no more abuse,.....without consequenses.....
Good luck, Brother,....and thank you for your perspective.....