id say 99% of the people don't want the doors closed , they are just tired of paddling the sinking ship by themselves,
if the company and upper management just keeps doing the same old crap how can anyone expect improvement and not just be waiting until they come back for more time and time again .
they will keep taking until there is nothing left to take or someone says NO MORE .
I agree with you Mr Longblade in that the majority probably don't want to lose their jobs due to a closure.....Further, I can fully understand how everyone feels about concessions...and the very thought of more concessions....
Everyone always brings up the point about Management doing the same things......While that may appear to be the case from the Employees frame of reference...that may not necessarily be the case in actuality...... What exactly do you, and others, mean by "
upper management just keeps doing the same old crap" ? and in your view, what would you do that would be so dramatically different that would make YRCF profitable?...
Another factor that needs to be kept in mind is that it is not just the management that is exerting pressure for more concessions...or at the least, an extension of the present contract....it is also the Lenders that have an even larger say in the matter as they are the ones that have the power to keep the Company afloat or to decline further financing and let it slip into bankruptcy.....
This is not a matter of just another "routine" contract negotiations of a bygone era.....Simply voting No and it just goes back to the "Table" to be rehashed....It is not that simple anymore......It's actually a matter of if the Company survives...or gets to keep struggling in the hope of a future....
Another thing worth considering is the amount of time and effort that each and everyone of us has invested in this Company....for many of us that represents a large part of our lives.....That is a lot to just throw away because of not wanting to take more concessions to keep the Company going until they can compete on a profitable level.....I realize that at some point it will not make sense to continue to grant deeper concessions...but at this point I don't believe it has sunk to that level... as of yet....Look around at what the prospects of a better job are for the majority of the Employees in the event of a bankruptcy.....Does YRCF still offer a better job than most of what is available out there? ... as long as that answer is yes...then it should make sense to stay the course....if it sinks to a level that the average trucking job becomes the "better" job...then it makes a lot more sense to let it go...
All I'm doing is trying to get people to think of things at a deeper and more broader scope than just themselves and their own personal dissatisfaction with their workplace experience......While for many, short sighted thinking and all the bravado that goes along with it, seems that it somehow makes them "Better" teamsters..or "Real men"..or "Smarter" than everyone else. That is simplistic thinking and does no one any good......It's a serious matter and deserves serious reflection on just how to use the power that we have as a Brotherhood of Union employees....and to use it for the benefit of our Brothers and sisters in the craft.....and those that will want to follow.....
I appreciate your viewpoint on the situation and I understand those concerns...and I appreciate your adult level of discussion....