Independent Truckers Strike?

[Kathianne]

At least West and South, seems it may happen. This would not be a good thing regarding prices:

ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=8097511&nav=0RY5



SHREVEPORT, LA
Independent Truck Drivers Are Ready To Strike

Posted: March 31, 2008 08:23 PM

Updated: March 31, 2008 08:30 PM
Independent Trucks Ready For Midnight Strike


Rumors of a possible truck driver strike are speeding up around the country and here in the Ark-La-Tex.

The word at truck stops around Shreveport is that at midnight Tuesday morning, independent truck drivers will park their rigs and hit the picket line.
Many of the drivers we spoke with say diesel fuel prices are so outrageous they're hardly able to turn a profit.

Many drivers believe if the strike is successful, it could bring the country to a halt in a matter of days.


More:

http://www.koaa.com/aaaa_top_stories/x408981307


Truck drivers call for a strike on April 1

Nicole Vandeputte
Colorado Springs Published 9 hour(s) ago

If you think you are paying more for essentials like food and gas, just wait, it could get worse. Tomorrow, on April fool's day, independant truckers across the world are planning a strike. Truckers are calling on each other to pull off the roads for at least three days, to send a message about skyrocketing diesel costs Diesel is now above $4 a gallon.

Their days are spent on the roads, pulling freight from coast to coast. No matter how far they go, there's one thing truck drivers can't run away from, the high cost for diesel. We went to the truck stop, off I 25, between Pueblo and Colorado Springs. Sonny Carl is an idependent truck driver. He says it costs about $1,000 to fill up his truck, and that will only last about a day and a half....

[mundame]

Very interesting. Last time this happened, weren't there shootings at highways to break the strike? I remember my husband and I were on an overpass to I-95 on foot at that time and a truck below suddenly swerved and veered into another lane. We figured out he was afraid we would shoot him!! So we walked home directly; not a good thing to scare people.

And I seem to recall high gas prices were part of the problem last time, too --- it does cut independent truckers' profits.

That's what we need ----- a big truck strike on top of this failed war and the home prices falling and credit freezeups. http://bestsmileys.com/sad/5.gif

[Kathianne]

Well it's all Bush's fault:

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/15759612/detail.html


Truckers Strike In Washington, Beaver Over High Gas Prices

POSTED: 8:05 am EDT April 1, 2008
UPDATED: 1:32 pm EDT April 1, 2008

Independent truckers are upset over record high diesel prices and are taking a stand with a one-day nationwide strike in which no freight will be hauled on Tuesday.

Trucks were lined up in park along the side of Interstate 70 in Washington County on Tuesday morning.
Check Out the Video

"You can't make a living watching the prices go up," said one driver, Dale Tussey. "They're blaming it on the fuel. It is the fuel, but it also starts at the White House. They can control the fuel, I believe."

[mundame]

Wow. One day, huh? It wasn't on the news last I checked, but maybe tonight.

I wonder if it will spread. I remember when there was a truckers strike and good did NOT get to Computer City shelves ------ I went in there to shop and it looked like Poland during the '80s, bare shelves everywhere.

[Kathianne]

and another, seems pretty widespread:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080401/ap_on_re_us/truckers_protest


Truckers protesting high fuel prices

By TOM HESTER Jr., Associated Press Writer 26 minutes ago

Independent truckers around the country pulled their rigs off the road and others slowed to a crawl on major highways in a loosely organized protest of high fuel prices.

Some truckers, on CB radios and trucking Web sites, had called for a strike Tuesday to protest the high cost of diesel fuel, saying the action might pressure President Bush to stabilize prices by using the nation's oil reserves. But the protests were scattered because major trucking companies were not on board and there did not appear to be any central coordination.

On New Jersey's Turnpike, southbound rigs "as far as the eye can see" were moving at about 20 mph near Newark, said Turnpike Authority spokesman Joe Orlando. Other truckers had gathered at a service area near Newark chanting and protesting.

Outside Chicago, three truck drivers were ticketed for impeding traffic on Interstate 55, driving three abreast at low speeds, said Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Luis Gutierrez.

Near Florida's Port of Tampa, more than 50 tractor-trailer rigs sat idle as their drivers demanded that contractors pay them more to cover their fuel and other costs...

[avatar4321]

i understand their feelings. but i dont think this is going to help at all

[Kathianne]

i understand their feelings. but i dont think this is going to help at all

I don't think it's their 'feelings', rather their checkbooks.

[avatar4321]

I don't think it's their 'feelings', rather their checkbooks.

Yeah, well im not thrilled about the affects on my checkbook either.

[Kathianne]

Yeah, well im not thrilled about the affects on my checkbook either.

We'll see. Let's hope those commodities do fall.

[avatar4321]

We'll see. Let's hope those commodities do fall.

well maybe we will see an act of God change things. Cause Washington sure wont.

[Kathianne]

well maybe we will see an act of God change things. Cause Washington sure wont.

My biggest culprits: state, county, and city taxes on fuel.

[avatar4321]

My biggest culprits: state, county, and city taxes on fuel.

exactly

[mundame]

Thanks for posting this news, Kathianne ---- surely the news outlets will start to pick it up soon!

Basically, it's a gas-price protest, and we may see more of that from more than one segment of society, unless the recession pushes fuel lower.

[mundame]

Thanks for posting this news, Kathianne ---- surely the news outlets will start to pick it up soon!



Okay, Reuters has it now. And several sites on Google News.

http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/CA6546848.html

WALTHAM, Mass.—As reported by LM last week (http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/CA6545569.html), it appears that a trucking shutdown staged by owner-operators may be under way, according to media reports and Internet discussion boards.


The reason for the shutdown is primarily driven by the current run-up in diesel gasoline prices. Although the nationwide average price per gallon of diesel gasoline slipped 2.5 cents to $3.964 cents this week, according to the Energy Information Association, a unit of the Department of Energy, prices hit new records over the past several weeks. And in some parts of the country diesel is already over the $4 mark.


It is widely believed that the talk of a shutdown originated on a trucking Website entitled “Trucker to-Trucker,” where Dan Little, owner of Little and Little Trucking LLC, who goes by the handle of Trucker Dan, is called for truckers to shut down for one day, beginning at 8 a.m. on April 1.

Little wrote that when the shutdown begins truckers would not accept any loads at any price until the Federal Government admits and puts into action a plan that will give all owner-operators some help. He said this government help should come in various forms, including: suspending all federal and state fuel taxes until the economy recovers; having the federal government create an oversight committee to oversee insurance premiums charged for Class 8 truck insurance; and to stop allowing large trucking fleets to self-insure, which would create a more level playing field for all trucking companies, among others.


Some media reports published today have reported that the shutdown is already underway or is slated to kick off at midnight tonight and last until April 3, while others have indicated it will last until April 5. And others said that it would be for today only. While it is difficult to specifically pinpoint when it may begin, coupled with its potential scale and impact, it is clear that it is more than a rumor at this point.


This was made evident from a report released earlier today from Central Florida News 13, which said that 70 trucks were lined up at the Port of Tampa to join the protest. The report also quoted a driver whom said if the shutdown were to last for five or six days it should be viewed as a statement that owner-operators are not going to tolerate increasing diesel prices until their compensation increases and they receive purchasing power that is more in line with what large fleets receive. Another report from WESH 2 in Orlando stated that drivers are saying that if diesel spikes another 50 cents per gallon they will have no other choice but to park their trucks. The report added that as part of the planned shutdown, truckers said they plan to either park their rigs, go 45 mph on highways or post protest signs on their trucks.


And an Associated Press report published earlier today said that truckers hope today’s strike might pressure President Bush to stabilize fuel prices by using the nation’s oil reserves, but it added that many truckers still doubt the shutdown will be effective because trucking companies are not on board and there is no central coordination. It also said that rigs on the New Jersey Turnpike today were going as slow as 20 mph, and that other truckers were protesting and chanting at a service area near Newark, N.J.

[remie]

I don't think it's their 'feelings', rather their checkbooks.

I feel bad for them sort of...I feel certain that they will pass the additional costs on to the comsumer. Thats how it usually works. The buck stops with the end user.

[mundame]

I feel bad for them sort of...I feel certain that they will pass the additional costs on to the comsumer. Thats how it usually works. The buck stops with the end user.


No, these are independent truckers. The fuel comes out of their pockets; they get a fee for the hauling. The more the fuel costs, the less they make. That's why they are always the first to strike and get upset when gas goes up.

[Sitarro]

This isn't exactly related to the thread but it is in a way..... I just think it would be a waste to start a new thread.

What has always amazed me is how truckers and the people that serve them at truck stops, continue to run their trucks all night while they sleep. I know, they love to tell you how it doesn't burn that much fuel but that is bullshit. If you have a small diesel generator, it will only run so long on a gallon of fuel, it burns it at a constant rate just like idling in a truck stop parking lot does. Why don't the truck stops provide plug in power for a fee....... plug in your rig and take a shower for 10 bucks..... whatever. Just because you can't see the nastiness of the air over those thousands of trucks burning fuel all night doesn't mean it isn't there. It's an inefficient use of fuel that adds to the pollution of the planet and lowers the life and efficiency of the power plant of the vehicle.

There are many ways we could do better in all forms of transportation..... drive thru lines and stop light synching are two things that over the entire country adds up to a ridiculous amount of wasted fuel.

The airline I work for has made great strides to lower it's fuel consumption. It has converted to electric vehicles on every gate, bag room, and runners. There are only a handful of gas driven vehicles on the entire ramp now, there was at least 500 gas tugs and a hundred gas belt loaders last year. The aircraft are towed with amazing vehicles to maintenance facilities rather than taxiing them there saving millions for the company each year.

The point is...... we could all do our part to lower consumption and put pressure on the prices. We are the ones that continue to drive a block to pick up a pack of cigarettes, we are the ones driving 85 miles an hour down the highway instead of leaving 5 minutes earlier and driving a much safer and less fuel consuming speed. The oil companies are just riding the wave of cash we give to them because we are too spoiled to make minor changes in our lives to burn less fuel. I'm not totally innocent but I have made a concerted effort to do better. I refuse to sit in drive thrus, I have slowed down a lot and I ride my bike whenever possible.

[Roadrunner]

My hat's off to these truckers. It's about time Americans stood up and showed their displeasure over the ridiculous prices we are paying for fuel. I hope more Americans will join the truckers. It's the only way to get the attention of the "power" :rolleyes: brokers in Washington that things are not fine and dandy.

It would certainly get the attention of the "wannabes" on the campaign trail and just might give them some incentive to give time, thought and energy into making America energy independent. We have the talent to do this. Any nation that can land a man on the moon and precisely knock a malfunctioning satellite out of the sky with a missile has the know-how to make us energy independent. The road block is the powerful gas/oil lobby.