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XPO | Xpo Union Thread.

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I tell ya Gene ,I do miss when your not posting here ... Sometimes it’s good to have the companies views right out in the open and posted here.
Please stick around.
 
Serene Gene said:
Union status is irrelevant to your story. If it's overweight, you don't pull it- union or not. If you choose to pull it, you'd better be sure you don't hit anything. He made the choice to drive with an illegal load.
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His dispatch told him pull it or your fired . He told me and said what do I do ? I told him I sure as hell wouldn’t pull it . He hadn’t been with the company very long so did what they told him . Was just a young guy and was worried about his job . I hope he wound up with a good company .
 
BabyJ5525 said:
Years ago , maybe 2001 a non union driver pulled an overweight load and got into an accident on his way back to the terminal . I was on the same dock and heard him call dispatch to tell them .I was told 2 weeks later he got fired even though he called and told dispatch it was over . They told him to pull it anyways . If it were union he could have told dispatch to tell the customer to pull enough off to make it legal . Union driver pulling same load but legal weight may have gotten into an accident as well and depending on who was at fault may have gotten a letter or may not of . But , the load would have been a legal one and driver wouldn’t be fired for pulling an overweight load .
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Regardless of unionization or not it's wrong ( and in almost every case illegal ) to knowingly pull unsafe equipment. Don't. It could be your family or friends that get hurt or worse.

The Surface Transportation Assistance Act offers a form of whistleblower protection if you really have to go there.

Effective in 1983, Section 405 (49 U.S.C. § 31105) was enacted to encourage employee reporting of noncompliance with safety regulations governing commercial motor vehicles. Congress recognized that employees in the transportation industry are often best able to detect safety violations and yet, because they may be threatened with discharge for cooperating with enforcement agencies, they need express protection against retaliation for reporting these violations. See, e. g., 128 Cong. Rec. 32698 (1982) (remarks of Sen. Percy); id., at 32509–32510 (remarks of Sen. Danforth). Section 405 protects employee "whistle-blowers" by forbidding discharge, discipline, or other forms of discrimination by the employer in response to an employee's complaining about or refusing to operate motor vehicles that do not meet the applicable safety standards.

Congress also recognized that the employee's protection against having to choose between operating an unsafe vehicle and losing his job would lack practical effectiveness if the [481 U.S. 252, 259] employee could not be reinstated pending complete review. The longer a discharged employee remains unemployed, the more devastating are the consequences to his personal financial condition and prospects for reemployment. Ensuring the eventual recovery of backpay may not alone provide sufficient protection to encourage reports of safety violations. Accordingly, 405 incorporates additional protections, authorizing temporary reinstatement based on a preliminary finding of reasonable cause to believe that the employee has suffered a retaliatory discharge. The statute reflects a careful balancing of the relative interests of the Government, employee, and employer. It evidences a legislative determination that the preliminary investigation and finding of reasonable cause by the Secretary, if followed "expeditiously" by a hearing on the record at the employer's request, provide effective protection to the employee and ensure fair consideration of the employer's interest in making unimpaired hiring decisions.

Truck drivers who believe they have suffered retaliation for reporting violations, refusing to commit violations, or participating in proceedings, can seek relief from the U.S. Department of Labor. Under STAA, truck drivers who believe they have suffered an adverse employment action (such as discharge, demotion, discipline, or denial of advancement), have 180 days to file a simple written complaint with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The complaint can be postmarked or faxed to meet the deadline. If OSHA determines that a violation did occur, it can issue a preliminary order requiring reinstatement during further proceedings. Both sides will have an opportunity to present their evidence in a recorded hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). The ALJ's decision is reviewed by the Administrative Review Board, and parties can appeal to federal courts of appeals.

In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brock v. Roadway Express, Inc., 481 U.S. 252, that due process requires that employers receive prereinstatement notice of the employee's allegations, notice of the substance of the relevant supporting evidence, an opportunity to submit a written response, and an opportunity to meet with the investigator and present statements from rebuttal witnesses. These procedures provide a reliable initial check against mistaken decisions
 
Serene Gene said:
What percentage of the bargaining unit signed the decert petition at LLA? If you don't want to post the actual number, I understand. How about more or less than 30?
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It's funny that a "gringo driver" from the west coast knows EXACTLY how many signatures were on that petition? You must have many friends in Laredo, or...you get your information from another source. I wonder how many drivers reading this thread know how many signatures they forced in Laredo? If you count the names that the company prodded into signing. it was a bit over 30%.
 
Serene Gene said:
Anyway, this is a great example of how the Teamsters only care about your rights and the law when you're on their side. It's all an act. Scotch was right.
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Scotch was wrong and so are you. Teamster always care about your rights. This is an incredible statement from you. You actually said that the Teamsters don't care about your rights when you're not on their side. What insight? In fact, not only do they care about your rights in any situation, in a " right to work state" they are forced to care about your rights...even for free loaders.
 
Serene Gene said:
Unnecessary- but again, if this is important to you, you should take a hard look in the mirror and ask yourself why. Good employees don't worry about at-will employment.
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I know at least 3 GREAT employees who would still be with the company if they had union representation. There are hundreds throughout this system who have suffered similar fate to the whims of a company supervisor or manager. I don't need to look in the mirror. I know who I am and what I do and I know that XPO's company policy states that they can issue discipline at any of the 5 levels an any time , based only on the discretion of the company. This includes termination.
 
Serene Gene said:
A Central States Health Plan based in Chicago, says the website. That's what's known as a "hint". Anyway, I thought the company declined this proposal- so why are you advertising it as a benefit?
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Clever attempt at linking health care to pension through the Central States tag. Team Care, unlike the pension, is alive and well and thriving. It has been rejected for the 6 terminals currently at the table. When there are enough terminals at the table, they will have to reconsider their position. It's simply a question of numbers. If enough people demand it, they get it.
 
Serene Gene said:
Which is the same fear mongering I've heard since I've been here, which is at least CTS long. Purchase transportation is a terrible replacement for linehaul, and cartage is more expensive than in-house P&D.
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I thought the same, however, consider that when using purchased transportation, whether it be line haul or local P & D, there are no expenses charged back to the company. No costs for the vehicles or maintenance or insurance. No benefits to drivers, no vacation pay or PTO, no disability insurance and no unemployment insurance and no health insurance. No contributions to medicare or social security or T Rowe Price. The mileage rate may be higher, but the company saves a small fortune by using IC's, whether it be City P & D, or line haul.
 
sucker666 said:
I’m sorry Gene but do you work or are you personally involved at one of the union locations negotiations? If not what you post is your opinion and not fact . Your opinion is welcome but it is just opinion. Unless ,you want to tell us how you are provided the information you state as fact ? No manager at Any location is provided any strategic planing let alone share it with a driver at a none union locations. Now you may be well versed in labor unions and a avoidance of unions in the work place but as a driver you do not know what is exactly going on at the union locations or negotiations at Xpo . So, for you to state your opinion ( and that’s all it is) versus someone such as Hollywoodzs who works at and is involved with the day to day happenings at a union locations can only be taken as that but please continue with your views :guiness::guinesssmilie:
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I recognize the right for everyone to have their own opinion, however, I do not welcome the opinion of someone who skews facts and misrepresents truth to convince hard working people to act against their own self interest. Someone who tries to convince people that this company actually cares about their employees is not representing the truth; this company cares for profit above all else and the drive to maximize that profit will eventually come out of our pockets, sooner or later. That is, unless we do something to prevent it.
 
Serene Gene said:
So, are you going to tell us what I said that was incorrect in posts 8890/8891, or just continue to indulge this weird obsession you have with me?
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I just did. I took the liberty since it was my posts to which you were responding. Most of your posts hold some small degree of truth, but twisted in a way to suit your own purpose. The things you do get correct are a result of information not readily available to drivers in this system. I get the information as a result of participating in these negotiations every single month for nearly 5 years. Where do you get it from?
 
Hollywoodz said:
Completely false statement when you say decertifying is difficult. It's only difficult if the majority do NOT want to decertify. It takes only 30% to validate a petition to decertify and call for a vote. Then, 50% plus one gets the decertification. The only caveat is that you may not decertify while under contract. Thirty days before the contract expires, you can file your petition and as long as you have a simple majority, you're done.

I'm not desperate for anything. You mistake me for the company that's desperate to avoid the union:

Did you ever ask why they are willing to spend millions to avoid giving the money to you?

Your first hand knowledge of LLA is also incorrect. Some have been discouraged, it's true. But, as one might expect from a desperate organization, the company went on a hiring binge and made sure to scare the :::shit::: out of their new hires to be sure they would be opposed to unionization. Then, offered assistance in generating the decert. Once again, no respect for the law and processes in place brings them back to court. Whether or not they were able to hire enough scabs remains to be seen.

So, I'll ask once again, specifically...why are you personally so opposed to union representation?

AND..PLEASE EXPLAIN THE RISKS!!!

In the meantime, I'll explain the benefits.
1. Grievance and Arbitration Process - automatically mitigates "at will" employment. ALL discipline, including termination is eligible to be reviewed by a 3rd party arbitrator to determine if the discipline is just.

2. Team Care - a genuine zero premium plan that not only saves most drivers thousands of dollars in premiums, but also provides much better coverage than the Cigna plan we have now.

3. The company still gets to run their business and set policy, however, they cannot arbitrarily change policy anymore. The only avenue for them to do so, is to negotiate it when the contract expires.

4. No more wondering if the company will grant raises from year to year. You raises will be defined and spelled out in your contract. You'll know what you are getting and when.

5. The limitation of independent contractors and purchased cartage which will most certainly protect your job. No outside carriers can enter your yard unless and until every bargaining unit member is working or has been offered work.

And, there's more!​
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Reasons why I don't want the Teamsters/don't like organized labor.
Customers who use union carriers get concerned around contract negotiation time, it's never good for a company to sow doubt in the heads of customers for any reason. Because companies are bound by contract and unable to arbitrarily chance policy including pay, they lose a critical degree of flexibility to adjust to rapid changes during times of economic volatility. The YRC Teamsters were given a choice a little over 10 years ago. Take a 15% pay cut and 75% pension reduction or we close the place up. During that same time period, Conway forced a 5% pay cut on us to weather the storm. The storm passed a couple years a couple of years later and Conway was able to restore the 5% wage cut and start giving raises again. The same cannot be said for YRC, in part because they had to come begging the employees who I will remind you, have no real monetary risk invested in the company, to take a wage cut that had the company been able to force sooner, might have been smaller and the financial damage to the company might have been less. You talk about guaranteed raises via contract, ok. But what if those raises aren't commensurate with current economic times. I believe the last raise we got was $1.08/hr. Was the last raise that YRC and ABF got that large? I don't know, but I doubt it. In Q2 of this year YRC had an O/R of 98 vs XPO Freight with an O/R of 82. If I were a YRC driver I'd be concerned over the future of my company and I would have come to resent the union because when your company is only keeping 2 cents on the dollar, the union, with it's stifling work rules and job classifications is certainly offering little help in improving profitability. I've read lots of your posts and you seem to have propensity for mistaking profit for greed. No American company stays in business if they go too long without turning a profit. I have other reasons why I don't like unions. Take the situation we have in our company where we have drivers who have been asked by the company to take on roles like driver trainer, driver trainer manager, district safety manager, all the drivers involved with the ELD rollout. These are opportunities for drivers who have potential outside their job description to pad their resumes and learn more about their company, and make new friends and colleagues. What does a union shop offer the employee when it comes to excellence outside of their job description? Do your job, but don't do it too much better than someone else or you will be branded a kiss ass? For myself, I can't do mediocrity, I can do conformity and for me, other than health insurance I don't see myself happy in a union environment.
 
BabyJ5525 said:
Years ago , maybe 2001 a non union driver pulled an overweight load and got into an accident on his way back to the terminal . I was on the same dock and heard him call dispatch to tell them .I was told 2 weeks later he got fired even though he called and told dispatch it was over . They told him to pull it anyways . If it were union he could have told dispatch to tell the customer to pull enough off to make it legal . Union driver pulling same load but legal weight may have gotten into an accident as well and depending on who was at fault may have gotten a letter or may not of . But , the load would have been a legal one and driver wouldn’t be fired for pulling an overweight load .
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It their truck while it in the yard, it's mine when I pull out of the gate. So since I am responsible for the truck and load when I leave the company property it is my call on what is safe or not safe. The only way I will pull an over weight load, that is the total weight on the manifest, is if they have a scale on the property were I get a scale ticket. No scale, no scale ticket, it one and an empty or take some weight off.
 
BabyJ5525 said:
His dispatch told him pull it or your fired . He told me and said what do I do ? I told him I sure as hell wouldn’t pull it . He hadn’t been with the company very long so did what they told him . Was just a young guy and was worried about his job . I hope he wound up with a good company .
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You guy need to know your dispatchers manager and so on up the chain. As we see this happened back in 2001 when everyone says the Con-way took care of there driver, sarcams. I know at my place all I have to do is call our local safety guy and this would have been taken care of in 5 mins and if I took it higher we would see who still had a job after that.
 
Serene Gene said:
So, are you going to tell us what I said that was incorrect in posts 8890/8891, or just continue to indulge this weird obsession you have with me?
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I would hold you breath on getting an answer. The most they will say is "that's a lie" or attack you credibility. Just look at post #8821
 
Fly-by-night said:
You guy need to know your dispatchers manager and so on up the chain. As we see this happened back in 2001 when everyone says the Con-way took care of there driver, sarcams. I know at my place all I have to do is call our local safety guy and this would have been taken care of in 5 mins and if I took it higher we would see who still had a job after that.
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It wasn’t Conway but another regional LTL
 
ScotchNeat said:
Customers who use union carriers get concerned around contract negotiation time, it's never good for a company to sow doubt in the heads of customers for any reason.
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Partially true, however, considering that YRC was involved in the most contentious negotiations in recent memory, and kept virtually all of their customers, I don't think this is an issue in today's market. Shippers choose their carriers based on cost, not service. Xpo should be grateful for that, considering the level of service we provide.
 
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