I am indeed very bitter. I have watched the IBT destroy the unionized LTL industry by refusing to adapt and grow with the times. By insisting on unsustainable benefits, classifications and work rules, the union made companies unable to compete in the competitive free market. In the years immediately following deregulation, the companies that closed were poorly run and could not survive without the government subsidy called regulation. Then came the slow death imposed upon those whose companies that could no longer be profitable because of the cost disadvantage of unbending union contracts.
Fast forward to 2023. The IBT forces Yellow out of business by insisting on compensation, classifications and benefits that Yellow was never going to be able to pay. "Pay the rate or shut the gate". That same year, the Teamsters Union brags about the large gains made at ABF and TForce. Is O'Brien blind? Is he unaware of how that strategy has played out in the past? Will he not be happy until all the unionized LTL companies are gone?
This is where you answer that ABF is doing just fine. One company has to be the last one standing until they too close the doors.
Yeah, I'm bitter. Very bitter and pissed off that the union, my union, whose primary responsibility is job security put so many people out of work. People who now have those scarlet letters IBT following them into every job interview.