Post by FUSION on Mar 12, 2014 19:19:41 GMT -5
Excerpt from: Truck Driver Strikes of 1979
In some cities, as angry motorists waited for hours in gas lines for gas that was now up to 80 cents a gallon, double what it had been a year before, strikers egged them on and urged them to join their cause. The cause of the independent truckers was not just fuel costs. They were battling a system that, at times, had seemingly petty regulations, such as permitting any driver to haul raisins but only specific companies were authorized to transport raisins covered with chocolate. Time magazine reported in July 1979, "The independent truckers are trying to blow apart a time-honored system, and that drives the Teamsters, the trucking industry and various politicians and lobbyists right up the wall..." Many independent truckers believed that deregulation was at least part of the solution to their financial crisis.
Support for the strike ultimately faded as President Carter instituted measures in June to hold down the costs of diesel fuel and many strikers could no longer afford not to work. Major changes came to the trucking industry in the 1980s with deregulation. Neither the Teamsters nor independent drivers were major players in the trucking industry anymore, but they are both still part of an important – and volatile – era in trucking history.
Fusion: The lesson here is that the man behind the curtain sold a con job on what an independent trucker (owner / operator) could protenially make if you own your truck and are deregulated. Where are we now?
In some cities, as angry motorists waited for hours in gas lines for gas that was now up to 80 cents a gallon, double what it had been a year before, strikers egged them on and urged them to join their cause. The cause of the independent truckers was not just fuel costs. They were battling a system that, at times, had seemingly petty regulations, such as permitting any driver to haul raisins but only specific companies were authorized to transport raisins covered with chocolate. Time magazine reported in July 1979, "The independent truckers are trying to blow apart a time-honored system, and that drives the Teamsters, the trucking industry and various politicians and lobbyists right up the wall..." Many independent truckers believed that deregulation was at least part of the solution to their financial crisis.
Support for the strike ultimately faded as President Carter instituted measures in June to hold down the costs of diesel fuel and many strikers could no longer afford not to work. Major changes came to the trucking industry in the 1980s with deregulation. Neither the Teamsters nor independent drivers were major players in the trucking industry anymore, but they are both still part of an important – and volatile – era in trucking history.
Fusion: The lesson here is that the man behind the curtain sold a con job on what an independent trucker (owner / operator) could protenially make if you own your truck and are deregulated. Where are we now?
