Post by ilovdieselsmoke on Dec 25, 2012 16:45:26 GMT -5
SO the ILA may launch a STRIKE this Saturday at Midnight
Myself and many other truckers around the Savannah area will not enter the port with our trucks if the union strikes. NO, we have no contract nor do we gain anything from the strike. However I'm not going to drive through any legitimate picket line set up by the dock workers just so Wall-Mart will receive another steel can full of cheap Chinese junk on time. Too bad we don't have any protection or contract like the union does but sadly there are not enough truckers at this port out the thousands who haul here willing to stand up against the cartel of shipping companies or the hundreds of trucking companies who gladly bow to their intermodal customers wishes. It's a daily transportation rate cutting war that goes on here in Savannah. I hope the Longshoremen get everything possible from the liner industry because this lucrative port industry steals enough money from truckers around here to make up for whatever they have to pay out to the dockworkers. Ever wonder why so many trucks are in such poor condition moving freight out of the Savannah ports(when the port business is so successful and so profitable) or why so many idiots are behind the steering wheel of big semi's today? Well to answer that just go figure what it cost to operate a class 8 tractor today not including a decent wage for a professional driver.. (yes a professionally qualified safety conscience driver/not a cheap working steering wheel holder with a critically sick CSA safety score-the kind most of these companies like to hire to cut their labor expenses) Try doing the math on every day trucking operating expenses. Sadly the pathetic transportation rates paid to move containers out of Savannah,GA don't come close to what's considered making a profit today so most(truck owners)independent truckers can't make it from one week to the next without borrowing from the company store. The break even margin for a container trucker is a very thin line effected by any small miscalculation, delay, or unexpected deduction from their trucker settlement check issued by the motor carrier they lease their truck to. Now to add more insult to injury the GPA port authority's top leadership encourages motor carriers to cut transportation cost to the bone in order to please their port ocean carrier shipping customers. In fact the GA port authority advertises in national shipping magazines around the world that this southern area in the U.S. is one of the very cheapest ports for doing business along the Atlantic so now they have a vested interested in maintaining that scenario. Local freight agents under pressure to produce strive to squeeze every dollar possible out of their independent drivers who many in turn are forced in the position of skirting the law on a weekly basis. Some drivers do this by pulling grossly overweight containers, or doing only minimal vehicle maintenance, running further on worn dangerous tires,bad brakes,some burn untaxed fuel,or forced to purchase substandard parts,some drive their truck like d**n lunatics, and many operate or work without proper sleep because of a 24/7 company work load schedule mindset to beat it back to the docks in order to pull every cheap load possible before payday.. Yes trucking needs serious help, but we don't need enforcement vultures circling overhead at every intersection. Please don't think for one moment that the regular GA state enforcement people do not make a difference out here. Yes , they do. We don't need local city truck cop enforcement returning. The state of GA does just fine without repeating past local city governments interference of using truckers as (as Garden City once did) an instant ATM machine. Increasing fines or enforcement is not the answer. It's going to get worse as the economy strengthens because there will be more trucks moving more boxes from the docks. An army of enforcement will not get the job done because the volume of future container freight will overcome them. There is a simpler solution to the port trucking problem. Truckers need to at least be paid for the work they do so enforcement should turn to new ways of making sure everyone is on a level playing field. As of now this is not the case. There is destructive corruption within this industry that seeks out harbor trucking because of a total lack of enforcement. No trucker should have to chose between feeding their family or replacing a worn tire but that's exactly the situation today. Making the GA port, the steamship lines, and the ports ocean customers share equal responsibility is the answer before any one else dies in the name of providing discount rates for the big box retailers. The GA port needs to step up to the plate(something they have always been reluctant to do) and enforce some corporate responsibility rules on their own. For example; stopping overloaded export shipping containers from being excepted at the port gates or overloaded imported containers from entering the street. They know many of these boxes are grossly overweight and a real danger to the public while being transported but yet they chose to do nothing. The port should demand a special type transportation vendors license with a bond posted from trucking companies who wish to do business here at the GPA like they do construction contractors on site. This has been done at other ports with success. If a trucking company steals from their sub-contractors the money will be paid from the bonding company to the injured party unlike today where an unscrupulous company terminates the truckers lease knowing full well there will be no consequence. Most small truckers can't afford an attorney to seek justice from these thieves so the crime spree continues. The GA port authority as a landlord can implement regulations which will stop further unscrupulous practices by companies who now routinely violate the rights of their workforce. This will deter bad business practices if they know they'll no longer be able to enter the docks. The point is motor carriers or their agents who feel they must scam or steal money from their independent truckers or company drivers should no longer be welcomed at the Georgia ports. These same companies could also be monitored( as the FMCSA is now doing with carrier safety issues)to discourage the same company or individual from opening up under a different name a week later and re-entering the local dray business. NO,, we don't have a trucking contract nor do we have any powerful union like the ILA dockworkers to speak up for us so maybe it's time the Savannah port authority leadership showed some real leadership and did something beside mouthing kindly words for the media or produce cute little commercials with smiling faces talking about all the wonderful worker or trucking jobs which they can't account for. I will be very surprised if responsible change ever matters to the port of Savannah without truckers finding a way to force them to make those changes. Too bad we don't have the ILA in our corner.. And they wonder why people form unions!
Myself and many other truckers around the Savannah area will not enter the port with our trucks if the union strikes. NO, we have no contract nor do we gain anything from the strike. However I'm not going to drive through any legitimate picket line set up by the dock workers just so Wall-Mart will receive another steel can full of cheap Chinese junk on time. Too bad we don't have any protection or contract like the union does but sadly there are not enough truckers at this port out the thousands who haul here willing to stand up against the cartel of shipping companies or the hundreds of trucking companies who gladly bow to their intermodal customers wishes. It's a daily transportation rate cutting war that goes on here in Savannah. I hope the Longshoremen get everything possible from the liner industry because this lucrative port industry steals enough money from truckers around here to make up for whatever they have to pay out to the dockworkers. Ever wonder why so many trucks are in such poor condition moving freight out of the Savannah ports(when the port business is so successful and so profitable) or why so many idiots are behind the steering wheel of big semi's today? Well to answer that just go figure what it cost to operate a class 8 tractor today not including a decent wage for a professional driver.. (yes a professionally qualified safety conscience driver/not a cheap working steering wheel holder with a critically sick CSA safety score-the kind most of these companies like to hire to cut their labor expenses) Try doing the math on every day trucking operating expenses. Sadly the pathetic transportation rates paid to move containers out of Savannah,GA don't come close to what's considered making a profit today so most(truck owners)independent truckers can't make it from one week to the next without borrowing from the company store. The break even margin for a container trucker is a very thin line effected by any small miscalculation, delay, or unexpected deduction from their trucker settlement check issued by the motor carrier they lease their truck to. Now to add more insult to injury the GPA port authority's top leadership encourages motor carriers to cut transportation cost to the bone in order to please their port ocean carrier shipping customers. In fact the GA port authority advertises in national shipping magazines around the world that this southern area in the U.S. is one of the very cheapest ports for doing business along the Atlantic so now they have a vested interested in maintaining that scenario. Local freight agents under pressure to produce strive to squeeze every dollar possible out of their independent drivers who many in turn are forced in the position of skirting the law on a weekly basis. Some drivers do this by pulling grossly overweight containers, or doing only minimal vehicle maintenance, running further on worn dangerous tires,bad brakes,some burn untaxed fuel,or forced to purchase substandard parts,some drive their truck like d**n lunatics, and many operate or work without proper sleep because of a 24/7 company work load schedule mindset to beat it back to the docks in order to pull every cheap load possible before payday.. Yes trucking needs serious help, but we don't need enforcement vultures circling overhead at every intersection. Please don't think for one moment that the regular GA state enforcement people do not make a difference out here. Yes , they do. We don't need local city truck cop enforcement returning. The state of GA does just fine without repeating past local city governments interference of using truckers as (as Garden City once did) an instant ATM machine. Increasing fines or enforcement is not the answer. It's going to get worse as the economy strengthens because there will be more trucks moving more boxes from the docks. An army of enforcement will not get the job done because the volume of future container freight will overcome them. There is a simpler solution to the port trucking problem. Truckers need to at least be paid for the work they do so enforcement should turn to new ways of making sure everyone is on a level playing field. As of now this is not the case. There is destructive corruption within this industry that seeks out harbor trucking because of a total lack of enforcement. No trucker should have to chose between feeding their family or replacing a worn tire but that's exactly the situation today. Making the GA port, the steamship lines, and the ports ocean customers share equal responsibility is the answer before any one else dies in the name of providing discount rates for the big box retailers. The GA port needs to step up to the plate(something they have always been reluctant to do) and enforce some corporate responsibility rules on their own. For example; stopping overloaded export shipping containers from being excepted at the port gates or overloaded imported containers from entering the street. They know many of these boxes are grossly overweight and a real danger to the public while being transported but yet they chose to do nothing. The port should demand a special type transportation vendors license with a bond posted from trucking companies who wish to do business here at the GPA like they do construction contractors on site. This has been done at other ports with success. If a trucking company steals from their sub-contractors the money will be paid from the bonding company to the injured party unlike today where an unscrupulous company terminates the truckers lease knowing full well there will be no consequence. Most small truckers can't afford an attorney to seek justice from these thieves so the crime spree continues. The GA port authority as a landlord can implement regulations which will stop further unscrupulous practices by companies who now routinely violate the rights of their workforce. This will deter bad business practices if they know they'll no longer be able to enter the docks. The point is motor carriers or their agents who feel they must scam or steal money from their independent truckers or company drivers should no longer be welcomed at the Georgia ports. These same companies could also be monitored( as the FMCSA is now doing with carrier safety issues)to discourage the same company or individual from opening up under a different name a week later and re-entering the local dray business. NO,, we don't have a trucking contract nor do we have any powerful union like the ILA dockworkers to speak up for us so maybe it's time the Savannah port authority leadership showed some real leadership and did something beside mouthing kindly words for the media or produce cute little commercials with smiling faces talking about all the wonderful worker or trucking jobs which they can't account for. I will be very surprised if responsible change ever matters to the port of Savannah without truckers finding a way to force them to make those changes. Too bad we don't have the ILA in our corner.. And they wonder why people form unions!
