I know, I know. There are many of you scratching your heads, knowing I'm anti-union. What no one sees is the fact that even the worst differences should be put aside for the greater good of the industry and the truckers. I'm hoping the next time I call Hoffa, I can remember the time differential, and we can actually speak, for I barely missed him, but was not brickwalled by Teamster headquarters.
There's a lot of issues the Teamsters and I will never see eye to eye on, for, truthfully, we are both hard headed entities with hard headed drivers backing us up. On the other hand, there is one issue we agree on.
The issues are that Mexican trucks should not be coming into the U.S. I'm mainly against this due to one major threat...............safety! With the cartels vying for power in many of the border states, I truly believe that they will get the power they are looking for through the trucks coming in. No matter how much money is spent fighting this "war," the politicians and enforcement forces are forgetting one train of thought, the thoughts of a criminal. Unless they can get the craftiness needed for some of the blatant crimes, they will never be able to figure out how to stop them. Also, with the illegal immigration numbers blowing up out of control, why risk it? Basically, they can come in on a truck, and just disappear. There is no promise these truckers will go back to Mexico. I grew up in the South, I remember the spike in semi caused accidents due to the unsafe drivers and unsafe equipment. Why risk it all?
The Teamsters have quoted this site twice on their blogs. They know we are united on this front, and they deserve all the credit for doing what this industry honestly needs, uniting! Too many people can't put differences aside and move toward the greater good. I'm including the links to the Teamster blogs for you to see for yourself.
Teamsters, kudos!
Now that I've successfully got your attention......................
What do these people have in common? You would think not a lot, and you are now showing why I don't pay you to think. But all four have a lot in common.
The wiccan is straight, the druid is bi, the vampire is bi, and the Christian is straight. So, that can't be it.
The wiccan is a female, the Druid is a female, the vampire is a male, and the Christian is a male. So, that ain't it either.
The wiccan drives, the vampire drives, the Christian drives, but the Druid is a co-pilot and doesn't, so that can't be it.
The wiccan is human, the Druid is human, the vampire is human, and the Christian is human. We've got one commonality.
The wiccan is spiritually guided, the Druid is spiritually guided, the vampire is spiritually guided, and the Christian is spiritually guided. Hey, there's another one.
The wiccan is well educated, as is the Druid, the vampire, and the Christian.
The wiccan is a kindhearted, give the shirt off their back type person, as is the Druid, the vampire, and the Christian.
The wiccan is a gypsy and loves trucking, as are the rest.
The Druid is an advocate for trucking, as is the rest.
The vampire fights for equal rights, as do the rest.
The Christian understands personal attacks and persecution, as do the rest.
They all fight for the same things. They might not always agree with each other, but they professionally agree to disagree.
So, once again, what's the difference?
(The names of all but the Druid are protected as is any information on close friends. I, of course, am the Druid.)
Just remember, just because they aren't the same race, sex, sexual orientation, or religious preference as you are, doesn't mean that they're evil. Standing Against Paganism only provides for further separation of unity (for you that stated this, it is in pdf format........well done!)
This industry has to listen to, and adhere to, an at best shady governmental group. Scratch that, groups. The first group is the FMCSA. They are awesome at cooking documents, tests, polls, and results to put them in their favor. They also have been recorded taking bribes. This isn't the only stuff they've done in my opinion. (For more information on what they've done, please read the article on this link, and other articles on themThey would rather spend money replacing the world's street signs than take care of the tru. e issues in trucking. The federal DOT is hand in hand with the FMCSA. They are totally disorganized. The federal DOT and state DOT's have got things so mixed up as far as laws that you don't know whether to come or go. Oversized? Don't run your strobes if you have an escort in California. It's an automatic OOS, according to the Banning scale. Yet, every other state requires it. (Don't run your 4-ways in California either.) Utah won't allow jaking in the SLC area due to a golf course. Real safe! These are a few of the things that make me scratch my head daily. We need one set of federal laws carried out throughout all the states, and all the old, past-dated rules to be taken out of the books. We also need all weigh stations to be formatted the same. A lot of drivers get confused for the lights are different, the signs are different, etc. We also need total government transparency! Something for us to understand better and make it where there is no confusion. Do to President Reagan being a smart man, the government has to really act up before we can do a strike. A strike would then turn the general public against our plight due to the damage it would do to them. So, we will write! We will email! We will call! This is our first forceful baby step for forceful baby steps get heard, and forceful baby steps start a stampede!
Here is an example of the letter to send. (If you do your own please keep in mind to sound intelligent, professional, and nice! DO NOT go in their sounding like a super trucker! They won't listen to you cuss, demand, sound narcissistic, etc)
Dear Congressman/Congresswoman/Senator _____________________________,
Hello, my name is _________________________. I will first apologize for taking up your time, but there is a huge issue bothering me. I am concerned for my future, my friends' futures, my family's future. I am hoping you will read my letter and help our industry with the action needed.
I have read the recent issues with the FMCSA and DOT. I am highly concerned. I am part of the trucking industry and everything they decide affects not only me, but my friends, and everyone who lives in the country, for we haul most of the goods everyone needs.
We are asking for a congressional and senatorial review of the entire FMCSA and federal DOT. If the FMCSA is constantly under scrutiny, I do not believe they should be making laws and determining how we should live. This is a group of law makers who do not understand trucking, and haven't been out here year after year. They also refuse to listen to those with experience. How can you honestly make laws concerning something you know nothing about? It would be the same as me telling an astronaut how to fly a rocket; it just wouldn't work. Next, the federal DOT has their own rules, and then every state DOT has their own rules. We need a set of rules for the entirety instead of the guessing game for every state. It would be helpful to have all the scale houses/weight stations to be made the same. Find a time efficient way, and make it nationwide. Also, there are a lot of rules that have been around since the start of trucking (like white sheets in trucks due to exhaust leaks in the old trucks) that are wasting time in the books. We would also like transparency from the FMCSA and DOT. We want to know what our government is thinking when it comes down to our livelihoods.
Please help us get a congressional and senatorial review of the FMCSA and DOT. It is needed for all of us to be able to work more efficiently together. Thank you for your time, patience, and understanding.
Sincerely,
(signature)
(printed name)
(phone number)
(address)
(email address)
This is just an example letter to help people see how to write this more effectively. Please, even if you aren't a driver, a co-pilot, a trucking wife, etc get involved. Canadians, you're driving here and can send letters also. I will comment momentarily all the names and addresses.
|
RSS Feed