Diverted Containers

[wildman]

How many of you guys know that your agent diverts a lot of containers. Do you know what it means? If you pull an import container load and bring it back it empty, your agent does not always turn it in, they have an export booking that calls for the same sized box, they call the steamship line and divert it to a new export load they booked, you are still charged for the box going back to the port--the container does not go back to the port, you are still charged for a turn-in and another driver pulls the same box for an export load--guess what, he is charged for a dray for a pick-up that never happened and you are charged for a turnin that never happened. Slick would you not say. This is worse than the fuel surcharge theft. This s#*t is frequent.

[HardTimeTrucker]

It's just more of the same story. The motor carriers' or their agent has long been in the drivers seat to make up the rules. Insurance fraud, charge offs, money added to 1099's at the end of the year, collection of additional services never shared with the trucker. Wonder what these folk are going to do when their cash cow (owner/operator) they continue to screw every week completely goes under. It doesn't look so good for a peak holiday freight bailout this year in transportation. Many drivers who have trucks paid for are finding other work. Some have just resorted to parking them for a while until the - haul for peanuts - crowd is reduced at the intermodal terminals. A few less truckers availiable for dispatch is sure to hit the industry hard within the next six to twelve months. Diesel prices, no money for repairs, coupled with lack of work is taking it's toll on remaining truckers faster than expected. According to several shippers the steamship line customers know the discount freight rates they now enjoy won't last when the intermodal market rebounds. Sometime next year when ocean cargo picks up there will be fewer truckers to move the boxes. As for now no one seems to care or sense the damage to highway transportation because it's a great time to get your product moved dirt cheap even though fuel prices are through the roof.

[greaseman]

Hey Wildman, do you work out of the Georgia ports? Most all these container companies are full of s#*t as far as I am concerned. I have worked at over a dozen including BTT which was supposed to be one of the better ones. I soon discovered they are just like all the rest, only a step above their sister company HUDD which is a real scum bag operation. The guy at Horizon in Savannah is also a pri@k who needs to serve some jail time. He is worse than a common low life thief when it comes to stealing from drivers.

[wildman]

Yes I work out of Savannah, city only. I also pulled for BTT back when they called themselves MCSC (Maersk Container Service). I also worked for the cheese eating Crawford. He was the first one I discovered screwed drivers on the old diversion crap. If it makes you feel any better, he has had his a** whipped on his own yard more than once by drivers. Must be worth it to him to keep up with the same old crap.

[greaseman]

Yeah, that's his name. Crawford, another real dirtbag. We have a whole area full of lowlife trucking management feeding off the current glut of drivers who are willing to do what ever asked of them. What is it? The majority around here don't know what it cost to remain in business? What a wonderful place this is if you want to set up shop and fu@k several thousand truckers working the Georgia Ports.

[badcompany]

you guys should make a sh*t list of all the crooked trucking companies in the georgia - south carolina area and post them on this site. you should also post their chicken sh*t freight rates along with them so everyone can see before they consider a truck lease arrangement!

[dieseljockey]

The list of bast@rd motor carriers along with their twisted agents would take up too many pages!

[dieseljockey]

First of all, most of these idiots who think they are somehow independent truckers are nothing more than dependent truckers working from paycheck to paycheck for the motor carrier. It's this false sense of independence that keeps most truckers from joining together to fix the real problems. Driver- truck ownership doesn't make us independent of anything. We would have plenty more independence if we were able to collective bargain a real intermodal contract for ourselves and at the same time get better freight rates for use of our equipment. We are no different than a union carpenter that supplies his own tools on the job except we don't have their employee recognition to legally bargain. If we ever organize using the majority of truckers who work the marine terminals we could all be doing as well as the International Longshoremen who work the docks

[timeout]

I work for the International Longshoremen. What is keeping you guys & gals from joining our union? You have the power to make them all pay so use it. I'm sure our union would give you your own charter to join up. Has anyone asked?

[leftlane]

Why bust up a good thing while we can all continue to work for nothing?

[fatsam]

First get rid of the d*mn junk trucks. These clowns have no investment in many of these trucks. When the garbage breaks down they just scrap it and drag another piece of sh*t onto the highway. Next look at some of the driver freak's behind the wheel at the port now. We need an industry face lift. The only way to get the rates back up to where they should be is for the DOT to really enforce public safety laws outside the port gates. Hell have them sit out there everyday not just once a month.

[mackdaddio]

I agree w/fatsam. The Junk in and around the ports hurts all of us who take pride in our trucks and our careers. As far as rates go we all signed lease agreements. If you don't like like your choice hook to a dry van or flatbed and try something else. The biggest problem w/the GPA is The ILA. The last thing we need is more unions. The GPA is totaly inefficent and the workers are overpaid for the job they do. A clerk checking in or out boxes is only worth $12 to $15 per hr. and these guys are getting paid 3 to 4 times that. There's some of the the excess the steamship lines are paying for and not paying the trucks. If this port was operated by a private company and not the the state & was non union it would be so much better. But, like I said earlier I signed my aggrement and if I need to I have a choice to try something else.

[leftlane]

The bottem line is drivers here need to be uniting together to work on the issues! Who cares if the ILA is making $60.00 an hour. the CEO of this wonderfully screwed up GPA port system makes over $460,000.00 a year. What has he done recently to correct any of our problems? He thinks even Burger King jobs created from the GPA by just being here contribute to raising a family in the community.. (said so to the media at this years state of the port address after being questioned about including those jobs in with the one hundred thousand great jobs his port is responsible for helping to create) We would have a better chance of seeing progress on our port issues with an illegal Mexican migrant worker running the GPA for $5,500.00 per year. Compensation is something between the ILA workers and the steamship lines to work out which BTW we pay for the cost involved in the moves as a retail customer at the store not the steamship lines. They pass it all along except your fuel surcharge they collect from the liner customer. It only shows the longshore are smarter than we are because they do have a good contract and it also shows the profit is in this ocean shipping business to pay us if we too had a contract. Thinking the money paid the ILA or anyone else is taking away profit from the steamship lines is like Congress wanting to add a tax at the pump on the oil companies. Those folk we elected in DC actually do think that tax won't be added right back to the price at the pump? The problem here is not only with the port it's also the stinking trucking companies who have no oversight from anyone. Not even federal law on the books protects us from whatever they decide to screw us on in the leasing agreement. Sure everyone signs it. Why not its a worthless piece of paper that provides you little to no protection under any law that will be enforced. You can cancel leases all day long and that will solve nothing. They'll just hire another two idiots to work in your place. I don't want to leave this business after twenty years. I want to find a solution with others to correct what went wrong in Savannah over the past twenty years. We need a plan that will allow us together to negotiate a legal hauling contract and if it takes working with, joining them, or creating our own union that doesn't concern me as long as it gets done. As far as being better off without any union at the port, what kind of service do you get out of the GPA lift operators? They are non union folk and I have hauled out of other ports that are non union including the Port of Charleston which is union and non union. Show me the difference in speed? It doesn't matter if it's a state port or not, it's the management operating the facility that can change everything on the ground. These folk who operate the GPA don't give a crap if we sit in line all day long because as of now it cost them nothing. We have no legal means without any contract to stop any of it but we could with a little effort from truckers if the majority wants to work together around here to accomplish that

[Caterpillarman]

Please guys, what about the hiring hall deal talked about at the meeting I attended?
Can it work?
What do we do to get it started here?
I am willing to join whoever, whenever that has a plan of action.
I know nothing works overnight but what do we need to do now?

[largecar]

Like leftlane says,"why bust up a good thing?" Those d^mn lazy union dockers' making all that unnecessary $$$ from poor people like Hanjin or Evergreen Lines. That would certainly keep me from wanting to join some D^mned old organization like the ILA. We need to take back what belonged to us in the first place. Not beg for it. I too like the idea of a trucker hiring hall in Savannah. I like the idea of truckers having some control around here again. If I understand this proposal correct it would even limit the amount of companies that could haul cargo at this container port. That's the same operating pricipal as the ILA locals are based on making it perfectly legal for any container trucker to participate. Ownership of a truck or no truck ownership, everyone can join if they desire. When the hall opens for business, participating companies would only be allowed to hire from the large pool of truckers who now belong to the driver hiring hall. Seems to me it would not only be good for Georgia container haulers but for the remaining companies who would then prosper from more stable rates. The trick in making this entire program work is that the majority of truckers don't pull any boxes for those who don't sign a contract with the hall. We also need the support of the ILA on this. Talk about shoe on the other foot! Driver power is what this is about. Will it work here in Savannah or are we doomed to continue with the present system? Who knows

[mackdaddio]

I too have hauled out of N. Charleston & Wando and they are much faster and effeicent. There are too many unnecessary steps in the GPA operations. I have been doing some more thinking about the hiring hall proposal and believe it could work. A complete work stoppage for as long as necessary during the upcoming "peak" months would get a whole lot more attention than what we got in the spring. Our terminal manager would really be having to do some serious explaining on why our customers freight is not being pulled.

[caterpillarman]

I agree. When is the Next driver association meeting in Savannah coming up? I have seen nothing posted at the port in a while or here. We need one soon to discuss the task at hand to prepare for some type action this fall if that is the plan.

[mackdaddio]

I was talking w/ one driver a few weeks ago and he told me that the meetings are supposed to be the first mon. of the month. But, I'm not sure if that's still the case. I live two hours away and would like to make the next one if I know in advance.

[greaseman]

Yes, when someone finds out on the next meeting please post it for all. thanks, RD

[HardTimeTrucker]

OK everyone, the next Savannah, GA "Intermodal Owner Drivers Association" meeting will be in late August on a date to be announced on this site. It will also be posted at the port terminal. We will make sure everyone has at least two weeks advance notice or more to make plans to attend.

[slowpoke]

I think it's hightime we weed some of these trucking companies out of our flower bed

[ROADKILL]

i didn't even bother to crank my truck this morning. it's a slow hot Monday morning. i'm sure the gpa wizards won't miss one less truck today.

[wildman]

I do not mind the ILA checkers and their money, if we were making the same thing. The ILA mechanics are the ones that run a hot rod up my a**. Ever walk a chassis to inspect and a no good mechanic sees what you are doing and tells you, I can ban you from the port for what you were doing. Take this unit to M&R, for about a 1-2 hour sit around, for free.

[wildman]

Too many operators will not shut down and they are broke as blazes, depending on the few of us that have the guts to shut down to do it for them. Big misunderstanding, all of us have to do this as the unit we are. It will not happen under this sunario. Too many operators want to look good to their agent and continue pulling freight for free hoping the rest of us can get their pay raise. Guess what boys--got any money for your family?

[wildman]

Does your agent live in a new big expensive house and drive a BIG SUV to work.