trucker created organizations

[shortcircut]

So , I had been in PMT for about 2 hours , after spending over 35 minutes looking for a " road worthy " chassis , when it came across my mind about the things I have seen and done over the last 16 years trying to make a living in a truck. 13 of these years have been hauling these ragged a** containers. I have seen atleast 4 attemps in the Hampton Roads area in trying to organize Owner ops and atleast 1 attempt to organize company drivers . What is so sad is that all of them including the current one , has accomplished not a single D*#N thing. I am sure I will hear a bunch of crap from the current one, but I really don't give a crap and will tell that to anyone who confronts me.What is really sad is, that they haven't accomplished anything on these ports that they claimed that they would, just like the previous groups.
The drivers in this area are too scared to stand up for themselves and that is a shame. Although we have the power to cripple this area and as a trucking community whole throughout the US , can cripple this country , it shouldn't have to come to this to get the attention of the General public and Washington DC.
We get cheated daily out of $$ we work for and are made to do free labor on these ports and surrounding areas or we are told to take our trucks somewhere else.
Not a day goes by that I don't wonder , why the H*@L am I doing this under these working conditions.
"I have a dream" , a dream that one day these drivers will wake the H*!L up and get off their asses and stand up for themselves. Not just for themselves but also for those who will one day follow in their footsteps by pulling these containers in the future.

[nomore]

Hey shortcircut , well said my Friend, I parked my ride weeks ago and it was the best thing I have ever done . I sleep good at night now , no tossing and turning anymore. Good luck man.

[firefly]

Not to worry, the environmental do-gooder groups with help from the Obama administration are soon going to take away our trucks while at the same time force everyone in America to speak Spanish so we won't have to worry about all this port s#*t any longer. I'm going to take my 359 Pete and go haul Mexicans from AZ to Washington,DC where they can start doing legislators jobs the Congressmen don't want to do. At the current Congressional pay scale level we can get one hundred & five illegals to do the work of every Congressmen & save the taxpayer big $$$ plus the trouble of voting anymore.

[shortcircut]

well said firefly

[laira]

The yankee Trucking Associations (ATA), founded in 1933, is that the largest national trade association for the trucking trade. Through a federation of alternative trucking teams, industry-related conferences, and its fifty affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents over thirty seven,000 members covering each style of motor carrier within the us. Former Governor of Kansas Bill Graves is ATA's President and CEO.
Semi Trailers for Sale

[dieseljack]

the ata sucks. that organization is for the motor carriers who are screwing us in the ground just like what the tidewater trucking association members are doing. we need our own assoc, here in virginia for truck drivers only.

[findthatmoney]

I look at the same trucks everyday , we all follow each other around from our customers and back to the ports all day everyday . I think we might need to learn RUSSIAN before spanish . Can any body explain to me why I have to sit in line to have a chassis inspected by some one who does not have a CDL . I inspect the chassis I plan on taking out of the port , If I find a problem with the chassis I donot hook to that chassis . Think about how much quicker the interchange lines would move if we did not have to sit while some jack off inspects the chassis that we just looked over ourselves . Half of those guys looking at the chassis wan't to screw with us anyway ! I am just venting about NIT I swear they screw with me every day .