What's new

Yellow | Trucking, labor haggle over driver work rules

Steward of the Rock said:
So I guess you are the deciding authority on who is over paid and under worked? It is so good to know we have someone that knows everything to keep us underlings informed. And you claim to be a Teamster? Hopeful, they broke the mold after they made you.
Click to expand...
Interesting that you single me out when 90% of this board screams about CEO compensation and bonuses paid out to executives. Maybe those executives aren't overpaid after all.
 
Razorblade said:
Interesting that you single me out when 90% of this board screams about CEO compensation and bonuses paid out to executives. Maybe those executives aren't overpaid after all.
Click to expand...
I single you out because you are the only one that I have seen saying that we are overpaid and that Unions are Socialist programs. I single you out because you were once a Union Steward, Organizer, and worked under a Teamster contract which you now draw a pension from because of what the Union negotiated for you and us. And now you turn your back on Unions and Labor in general. That is just a few of the reasons that I single you out. Do you need any more?
 
Steward of the Rock said:
I single you out because you are the only one that I have seen saying that we are overpaid and that Unions are Socialist programs. I single you out because you were once a Union Steward, Organizer, and worked under a Teamster contract which you now draw a pension from because of what the Union negotiated for you and us. And now you turn your back on Unions and Labor in general. That is just a few of the reasons that I single you out. Do you need any more?
Click to expand...
There can be no debate that unions are based on socialist ideology. As I have said, America works because the socialist unions balance the capitalist corporations. Do you deny that a highly regulated transportation industry with government deciding how many companies can exist, where they are allowed to operate and how much they must charge was socialist? My pension will continue to exist because the mighty IBT went begging to government to subsidize the funds, more socialism. Overpaid? Yes, some classifications of employees are overpaid. All labor is not of equal value, that's socialism. Skillsets define the value of labor. Driving a forklift from 106 door to 93 door does not require the same skillset as pulling a set of triples from Cleveland to Gary Indiana.
Today is as different from my 30 year tenure as 1974 was from the days when Teamsters actually drove teams of horses pulling wagons. Unions that negotiate, and members who ratify contracts that don't allow their companies to be competitive in the marketplace will eventually kill their jobs. The Teamsters Union has moved on. Freight is no longer a priority and no longer the focus of their business. Yes, I said business. The Teamsters Union is big business.
 
Razorblade said:
There can be no debate that unions are based on socialist ideology. As I have said, America works because the socialist unions balance the capitalist corporations. Do you deny that a highly regulated transportation industry with government deciding how many companies can exist, where they are allowed to operate and how much they must charge was socialist? My pension will continue to exist because the mighty IBT went begging to government to subsidize the funds, more socialism. Overpaid? Yes, some classifications of employees are overpaid. All labor is not of equal value, that's socialism. Skillsets define the value of labor. Driving a forklift from 106 door to 93 door does not require the same skillset as pulling a set of triples from Cleveland to Gary Indiana.
Today is as different from my 30 year tenure as 1974 was from the days when Teamsters actually drove teams of horses pulling wagons. Unions that negotiate, and members who ratify contracts that don't allow their companies to be competitive in the marketplace will eventually kill their jobs. The Teamsters Union has moved on. Freight is no longer a priority and no longer the focus of their business. Yes, I said business. The Teamsters Union is big business.
Click to expand...
I'll bet you were a fantastic Organizer with that mind set. I would sure like to hear your pitch to potential future Teamster's by telling them they are over paid and under worked. And, we have to agree to disagree on the Socialism thing. Here in freight we vote for Union representation. It is not forced on us via the government. It is highly recommended by their co-workers that they join as they will be getting the benefits that were negotiated by the Union, but none the less it is not required in most states. And before you say that Union Shop states require it, bare in mind that those individuals have the choice to seek employment at other Non-Union freight companies as the freight industry itself is not required to be Union by the government. Somewhere along the way, you lost sight of all the great things about being a Teamster and are now trying to turn it into a bad thing.
 
Last edited:
Steward of the Rock said:
I'll bet you were a fantastic Organizer with that mind set. I would sure like to hear your pitch to potential future Teamster's by telling them they are over paid and under worked. And, we have to agree to disagree on the Socialism thing. Here in freight we vote for Union representation. It is not forced on us via the government. It is highly recommended by their co-workers that they join as they will be getting the benefits that were negotiated by the Union, but none the less it is not required in most states. And before you say that Union Shop states require it, bare in mind that those individuals have the choice to seek employment at other Non-Union freight companies as the freight industry itself is not required to be Union by the government. Somewhere along the way, you lost sight of all the great things about being a Teamster and are now trying to turn it into a bad thing.
Click to expand...
It's amazing how somebody can reap the benefits and then forget about what and who got him those benefits and now has nothing good to say about being a teamster member. I guess some people have short memories.
 
ROADY said:
It's amazing how somebody can reap the benefits and then forget about what and who got him those benefits and now has nothing good to say about being a teamster member. I guess some people have short memories.
Click to expand...
I have forgotten nothing.
My frustration is with those who are killing the unionized freight industry by refusing to change with the times. If anyone thinks the unions in this country can operate today just as they did 20 years ago, they are very wrong. Every company, every union, every organization and every person adapts or dies. The United Auto Workers recognized that decades ago. The UAW and the car companies together embraced robotics. Thousands of UAW welders were replaced by machines. Difficult but necessary changes must be made to compete and save the companies that sign the paychecks. When companies shut down, the wages and benefits stop. The one constant truth is this, business is where the jobs are.
 
Razorblade said:
Overpaid? Yes, some classifications of employees are overpaid. All labor is not of equal value, that's socialism. Skillsets define the value of labor. Driving a forklift from 106 door to 93 door does not require the same skillset as pulling a set of triples from Cleveland to Gary Indiana.
Click to expand...
In case you did not know it, a forklift operator is paid differently than a road driver. A hostler is paid differently than a road driver. Apparently, you have no idea what you are talking about. These different classifications have had a different payscale even when you were still working in the freight business. And as far as the value of a forklift operators skill set goes, he/she is paid the hourly rate negotiated for that skill set. As far as your comment about a forklift operator being overpaid, you have no idea what you are talking about once again. A road driver pulling a set of triples in most cases has no clue of how to operate a forklift properly. Unless said road driver has been trained on how to properly load freight high and tight with the knowledge of distribution of the weight of the freight and taking into account the due dates and proper blocking and bracing techniques of the freight, he is clueless on how to do the job just like the forklift operator is clueless on how to hook trailers or "pull a set of triples to Gary Indiana" as you stated without the proper training. So don't try to compare the values of a job to a road drivers value as each job has its own set of skills and knowledge required to do the job properly.
 
Razorblade said:
I have forgotten nothing.
My frustration is with those who are killing the unionized freight industry by refusing to change with the times. If anyone thinks the unions in this country can operate today just as they did 20 years ago, they are very wrong. Every company, every union, every organization and every person adapts or dies. The United Auto Workers recognized that decades ago. The UAW and the car companies together embraced robotics. Thousands of UAW welders were replaced by machines. Difficult but necessary changes must be made to compete and save the companies that sign the paychecks. When companies shut down, the wages and benefits stop. The one constant truth is this, business is where the jobs are.
Click to expand...
Oh there have been plenty of changes at the YRCW and ABF companies since the days when you were still working. Relo-Cubes, Bulkheads, the UE classification, more meet and greets as opposed to lay runs, and that is just to name a few. Not to mention pay and benefit cuts to both companies. I am happy to say that so far, I know of no robots or machines taking the place of a co-worker. You were just not around to see these changes when they happened. So please do your research in the future before making false claims about the business.
 
Razorblade said:
I have forgotten nothing.
My frustration is with those who are killing the unionized freight industry by refusing to change with the times. If anyone thinks the unions in this country can operate today just as they did 20 years ago, they are very wrong. Every company, every union, every organization and every person adapts or dies. The United Auto Workers recognized that decades ago. The UAW and the car companies together embraced robotics. Thousands of UAW welders were replaced by machines. Difficult but necessary changes must be made to compete and save the companies that sign the paychecks. When companies shut down, the wages and benefits stop. The one constant truth is this, business is where the jobs are.
Click to expand...
Razorblade, you and I know thatthe Teamster union is not operating the way they did 20 years ago. Ask any YRC employee present or past if they adapted to new wages, pension contributions, work rules and all of the day to day bullshit that happens at their terminals. This company goes thru changes of operations like a new mother goes thru diapers for her child. Moving, picking up your family to work in a new facility only a little time later to find out there is not enough work for you to survive and support your family. Road operations changed, utility runs established only to scrape that system and start all over again. These teamsters adapted to the new rules because they were told it would help the company survive. What did it accomplish? Yes they still have a job with substandard wages, pension contributions and work rules that the company said would put the company on the way to profitability. Did it ? No the company carries more debt now than when all of these changes started. So what I am trying to say is YRC workers changed with the times to help the company but without management who knows how to run a company even with government assistance even with union help this company will eventually fail and you will blame it on the Teamsters. Yes my friend you have a short memory.
 
Razorblade,
After I made the post #36 above, I remembered a job that a lot of my brothers and sisters did lose their job to due to robots or machines. The Clerical classification has lost many jobs in this industry due to computers doing their jobs now. Here at the "Rock" alone, since I first started here in 1994, the Clerical classification has been reduced from 26 full time/casual jobs to just 5 jobs today. How is that for adjusting to the changing times for you!! As I stated before, you have been out of the business for to long to know what changes have been made to adapt to the changing times.
 
Last edited:
Razorblade said:
I have forgotten nothing.
My frustration is with those who are killing the unionized freight industry by refusing to change with the times. If anyone thinks the unions in this country can operate today just as they did 20 years ago, they are very wrong. Every company, every union, every organization and every person adapts or dies. The United Auto Workers recognized that decades ago. The UAW and the car companies together embraced robotics. Thousands of UAW welders were replaced by machines. Difficult but necessary changes must be made to compete and save the companies that sign the paychecks. When companies shut down, the wages and benefits stop. The one constant truth is this, business is where the jobs are.
Click to expand...
The other truth is that they can only do so many jobs.
They need us to do that.
And as humans....we WANT too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top