XPO | Xpo Union Thread.

[icuicp]

So educate us so we can make a informed decision. This thread has been around a while and I doubt any minds have been changed

Well , personally I believe making professional driving into a skilled trade would go a long way towards the mindset of being dependent on companies and unions. The independent mindset and freedom from a typical 9 to 5 job are an attraction to those that drive.

If the professional drivers realized how much political power they have if they acted as one ( regardless of being in a union or not ) they could change things instantly. INSTANTLY! Healthcare , retirement , pay. It could be fixed almost overnight because professional drivers have the ability to impact almost EVERY part of the economy and people's everyday life.

But the problem is education and getting everyone on the same page. Unions have their place. But , with some of the advances in technology and communication , if the will to unite was there and a goal was set , would you need a union?

 

[XCCX]

Well , personally I believe making professional driving into a skilled trade would go a long way towards the mindset of being dependent on companies and unions. The independent mindset and freedom from a typical 9 to 5 job are an attraction to those that drive.

If the professional drivers realized how much political power they have if they acted as one ( regardless of being in a union or not ) they could change things instantly. INSTANTLY! Healthcare , retirement , pay. It could be fixed almost overnight because professional drivers have the ability to impact almost EVERY part of the economy and people's everyday life.

But the problem is education and getting everyone on the same page. Unions have their place. But , with some of the advances in technology and communication , if the will to unite was there and a goal was set , would you need a union?

Unfortunately I wish we lived in a world where that could happen and companies found it within themselves to respect drivers and compensate fairly. It’s not going to happen though. Key to profit in a deregulated and largely unorganized workforce is taking thing to the lowest possible means of compensation. Just look at the history of our own company alone . Lured many of us with decent compensation and benefits only to slowly chip them away when they thought the possibility of unions ever getting a foothold of any degree again. The history speaks for itself and says it all .
Yes I wish it could work the way you stated but unfortunately it won’t.
Things are not going to improve under Jacobs. He has shown that. Yes we have power but you have to push for change or it will never happen

 

[Hollywoodz]

So educate us so we can make a informed decision. This thread has been around a while and I doubt any minds have been changed

I don't presume to be able to "educate" anyone. It's fact versus fiction. There is nothing more obvious than the fact that gains in the workforce have been made when people stand together for a singular purpose. A group of people can make changes that no one individual could ever hope to make.

It's not a difficult concept. There are those on this site who are vehemently anti union and no one will ever change their mind. I do not post for them. This thread has over 1 million views and I post for those thousands who are sitting on the fence and choose not to make their opinions public. I wish they would. Those that have been lied to by management and may still be concerned about retaliation for taking that leap of faith. I was one of the concerned and I was afraid to take that first step. That should no longer be an issue for anyone. 6 terminals have certified and have been able to protect what they have in terms of policy. No policy can be changed until and unless it is addressed in a contract. It is a fact that 7 have been fired over the years, but it is also a fact that every one of those guys were reinstated and received all of their back pay in a nice fat check. Some returned to work and others took their check and left for union jobs with other carriers. These are the guys I post for.

 

[Hollywoodz]

Well , personally I believe making professional driving into a skilled trade would go a long way towards the mindset of being dependent on companies and unions. The independent mindset and freedom from a typical 9 to 5 job are an attraction to those that drive.

If the professional drivers realized how much political power they have if they acted as one ( regardless of being in a union or not ) they could change things instantly. INSTANTLY! Healthcare , retirement , pay. It could be fixed almost overnight because professional drivers have the ability to impact almost EVERY part of the economy and people's everyday life.

But the problem is education and getting everyone on the same page. Unions have their place. But , with some of the advances in technology and communication , if the will to unite was there and a goal was set , would you need a union?

INSTANTLY is correct, because 90% of everything you see in super markets, malls, restaurants, car dealers and on and on and on...got there by truck. The country stands still without us. I do believe that there needs to be some kind of central organization to coordinate the will to unite and it's just my opinion that unions do that very well and fairly inexpensively as well.

 

[Dracula]

I do believe that there needs to be some kind of central organization to coordinate the will to unite and it's just my opinion that unions do that very well and fairly inexpensively as well.

The problem with your idea is, who leads this massive organization? With respect to contract talks, Hoffa has sold the teamsters down the river so many times, he should be required to pass an annual Coast Guard inspection. Who?

 

[Hollywoodz]

The problem with your idea is, who leads this massive organization? With respect to contract talks, Hoffa has sold the teamsters down the river so many times, he should be required to pass an annual Coast Guard inspection. Who?

I can't say that I agree with your statement,because I just don't know the facts. However, I can say that there are many Teamsters who do agree with you. It was the Canadian membership that saved Hoffa in the last election. He would have been voted out. There is another election coming up soon. Right now, for us, the Teamsters are the only game in town. The best way to solve any problem is to become part of the solution; become part of the team. Sign a card, become a Teamster and vote him out.

 

[ED FORCE ONE]

You are right.

There's one problem with this though - those on the bottom will be on the bottom until they put time in with a union or non-union company.

I guess one solution to this problem would be to make professional driving a trade and have your skill level follow you to your job and have your level of skill dictate your pay.

Ya or at least have a date of original inception on cdl licence so to whom it may concern will know if your a newbee or a stiff

 

[ED FORCE ONE]

You are right.

There's one problem with this though - those on the bottom will be on the bottom until they put time in with a union or non-union company.

I guess one solution to this problem would be to make professional driving a trade and have your skill level follow you to your job and have your level of skill dictate your pay.

I doubt when a construction project is finished all the tradesmen go back to school and start over

 

[upnorth]

I can't say that I agree with your statement,because I just don't know the facts. However, I can say that there are many Teamsters who do agree with you. It was the Canadian membership that saved Hoffa in the last election. He would have been voted out. There is another election coming up soon. Right now, for us, the Teamsters are the only game in town. The best way to solve any problem is to become part of the solution; become part of the team. Sign a card, become a Teamster and vote him out.

I’d say it was voter apathy of American teamsters that saved him.

 

[Hollywoodz]

I’d say it was voter apathy of American teamsters that saved him.

I think you may be right about that.

 

[Songremainsthesame]

In deference to you, I will use your terminology, but I'd rather have a "communist" than a nuclear war!

Given the choice of communism and the Donald, if you pick communism you might have nuclear war anyway...

 

[Songremainsthesame]

Good discussion going on here so let me throw in my 2 cents. A couple of guys hit on the 2 wage earner family being today's status quo, the question is why has that become so? Without reviewing any data, I'm just gonna take a stab in the dark, but here is my best guess. The apex of union power in the country was after WWII through the early 1970's. Where did that strength come from? The easy answer is numbers, but I think it runs deeper than that. Union strength came from a large availability of money in the private sector, money that isn't so available now. But there's more. Buying power was greater then than it is now, by far. I remember when I was a kid in 1973, my father bought a new 3/4 ton Chevy window van for, if I remember right....$3700.00. How much would that same van cost today? What's a 3/4 ton pick up truck cost today? What happened to the value of our currency from then to now? Let's look at cars again, this time moving up 10 years. The late seventies ushered in the era of unleaded gasoline, why did we need it? Because of new emissions standards that required catalytic converters. And this wasn't isolated to just cars, oh no, the government started mandating all kinds of new rules and regulations pertaining to everything from pollution, to water conservation, to workplace safety, and tort law which makes it way easier for frivolous law suits to be viable. Along with the new regulations came compliance costs in the form of fines, fees, permits, and expenditures, just like the latest expenditure our company is about to fork out for the new mandated ELD software. Now I'm not saying I'm against all govt intervention, but there is no denying the cumulative effect of all this bull:::::: occurring over time, not to mention the new taxes we've had to fork out as the federal govt expands, eventually pulls money out of the private sector, both from businesses and individuals. What else has changed for the worse? Oh the new global economy, that's what. I think one of the worst things that ever happened to our country was Nixon giving China access to the United States. Look at what an economic monster China has evolved into. Over the decades Congresses and Presidents since Nixon have made trade deals with China and then stood by and watched them take our good paying jobs. As a kid, my best friend's dad drove truck for Zenith, the company that used to make television sets right here in the USA, it was Teamster job and he made damn good money. Zenith went away and so did his job, like so many other solid manufacturing jobs of durable goods. Bringing it up to today. Looking back after the 18 months or so, as to how our company has reacted to a slowing economy and depressed freight levels, I am open to hearing about what the Teamsters can do for the drivers. But at the same time, I also must realize that while our company has relatively deep pockets, they aren't the same deep pockets of decades gone by and that it's no longer possible that today's union benefits ever equate to those of years gone by.

Another thing Nixon “gifted” us with was taking us off the gold standard. That’s where this inflation bullshit really kicked into high gear. That’s why that van your dad bought back in the day sells for probably $50,000 or more. Money is just paper now, zeros on a page, and all of it controlled by a federal reserve bank that essentially holds the whole country by the short hairs.

 

[Songremainsthesame]

INSTANTLY is correct, because 90% of everything you see in super markets, malls, restaurants, car dealers and on and on and on...got there by truck. The country stands still without us. I do believe that there needs to be some kind of central organization to coordinate the will to unite and it's just my opinion that unions do that very well and fairly inexpensively as well.

Minus the corruption I might tend to agree with you...

 

[Hollywoodz]

Minus the corruption I might tend to agree with you...

If it were still 1980, I would also agree with you. There is no denying the influence that organized crime had over the Teamsters back then. They endured 25 years of Federal Stewardship for the specific purpose of cleaning up their act. And, they did. In every organization, including our own government, there are people who will abuse the position of power they have been given. The actions of a few individuals should not destroy the reputation of any organization.

 

[smokin'joe]

Unfortunately I wish we lived in a world where that could happen and companies found it within themselves to respect drivers and compensate fairly. It’s not going to happen though. Key to profit in a deregulated and largely unorganized workforce is taking thing to the lowest possible means of compensation. Just look at the history of our own company alone . Lured many of us with decent compensation and benefits only to slowly chip them away when they thought the possibility of unions ever getting a foothold of any degree again. The history speaks for itself and says it all .
Yes I wish it could work the way you stated but unfortunately it won’t.
Things are not going to improve under Jacobs. He has shown that. Yes we have power but you have to push for change or it will never happen

Didn't you complete the recent employee survey? That should help greatly.

 

[Fly-by-night]

Now there’s some unbiased facts from great trusted source 1 888 no-union .com Thanks I think I will call

So you are saying they are FACTS?

 

[Fly-by-night]

What Teamster pension are you referring too ? You do know there are hundreds? Ranging from multi employer funded plans , single employer, and 401k style plans . Their is no one Teamster pension plan. Why do they dye a slow death ( your words) ? Could it be all the non union companies who employees settle for less driving compensation down . Does anyone know here what the total compensation for let’s say an Abf driver is per hour ?

This report from 2016 says 114 multiemployer pension plans covering nearly 1.3 million workers are severely underfunded.
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/multiemployer-pension-fail.aspx

About 1.3 million Americans could have their retirement funds at risk if Congress can’t come up with the money to pay the benefits people were promised.
We the taxpayer NEVER promised this benefit so why should we pay for it
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/12/the...risk-of-going-broke-lawmakers-need-a-fix.html

 

[Fly-by-night]

That was not at true our location with our vote. The only guys who voted against it were lower seniority ass kissers. Guys feared they would loss there ill gotten gains too a union forced seniority


It’s funny one observation I have made on this forum is the guys who rail the most against unions seem to know the least amount about unions and how they work.

Why do you have to go down that road of name calling.

One thing I learned on this form is that if you vote against the union or don't want a union you are a company ass kisser

 

[Fly-by-night]

You are right.

There's one problem with this though - those on the bottom will be on the bottom until they put time in with a union or non-union company.

I guess one solution to this problem would be to make professional driving a trade and have your skill level follow you to your job and have your level of skill dictate your pay.

So my pay would be dictated by my skill level. Do you also mean that my seniority will be based on that too. If this so then my skill level is way higher then 98% of the drivers at my barn. I'm all for it I would be one of the highest paid at my place.

Ya or at least have a date of original inception on cdl licence so to whom it may concern will know if your a newbee or a stiff

They do know that when they get you lifetime driving record why does it have to be on my license? For those who haven't filled out an app in a long time. When you apply at a trucking company you must list the last 10yrs of driving employment history? So just by you app they will know you have atleast driven with a CDL for the last 10yrs

 

[Fly-by-night]

Why don't you PM me with the name of the person who told you that,. I know all of the organizers personally and I don't believe that any one ever told you that you would get a UPSF contract.

I didn't get a name I was to busy laughing as I walked away