All News Pipeline – by Susan Duclos
A couple of links over at Steve Quayle’s website on Sunday caught my eye: First one about upcoming Trucker’s strike scheduled for April 12, 2019 and the second one from Business Insider explaining exactly what to expect if long-haul truckers stopped, from day one, into the day two-three scenario, then as long as a week, and it isn’t pretty.
The first story about the planned Trucker’s strike itself was written on January 2, 2019, detailing how a Facebook group called “Black Smoke Matters” is calling for a one day nationwide strike on April 12, 2019, to protest the “state of trucking.” As of that Jan. 2 story the group’s Facebook page had 9,000 members, the same number referred to in an interview with Charles Claburn, the organizer of the event, published on January 11, 2019.
By Sunday, January 13, that Facebook group had nearly doubled in numbers to almost 18,000 members, with over 10,000 joining in the last 30 days.
While Claburn’s group “Truckers Stand As One,” is not part of a union, the members are scattered all across the country, and at the rate of growth seen over the last 30 days, we are talking tens of thousands of truckers potentially participating by the time April rolls around.
The goal is garner attention to issues harming truckers, in an industry that is already seeing a shortage of drivers, that is expected to triple to 175,000 drivers by 2026. In Claburn’s interview he lists the issues he and the others are concerned about: The first issues listed is HOS (hours of service) reform that makes sense. The second is parking, where there is an approximate shortage of 78,000 truck parking spaces, which grows from 1,000 to 1,800 a year. Third on his list is driver training and having set standards for all drivers. Lastly they are requesting that drivers be involved in the process of making new regulations.
Via their goal page they explain the actions multiple groups have tried in order to get the U.S. government to address issues that are harming drivers.
In December 2017 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) implemented a federal regulation requiring all truck drivers of large commercial motor vehicles to use electronic logging devices to record the drivers hours of service. Truck drivers have taken issue with many regulations that they are required to follow. However, the electronic logging device has pushed the American truck drivers too far. As a result, the truck drivers have organized, in Facebook groups, to protest the forced use of electronic logging devices. The first of these groups, called ELD or Me, was created on May 14, 2017. Shortly after, on June 15, 2017, another group was formed called Operation Black and Blue. These two groups went to Washington D.C. on October 3, 2017. They addressed their grievances with Congressional members and the FMCSA. The FMCSA made declarations that they held a productive meeting with the six truck drivers sent in to meet with them and decided that they would be interested in having more meetings with truck drivers in the future. For the truck drivers, this was a groundbreaking effort but they soon discovered that the FMCSA is more capable of placating truck drivers than they are at resolving the issues with the truck drivers.
Since their initial attempt to resolve the issues with government officials in Washington D.C., truck drivers have formed many Facebook groups and have made many attempts to reach out to government officials. Monday Information held a media blitz and visited many different government agencies in April 2018, to no avail. The United States Truckers Alliance and Black Smoke Matters visited officials from the FMCSA during an event called “That’s a Big 10-4 On DC” in October 2018 and still truck drivers feel as if they aren’t being heard. What will it take for truck drivers to be taken seriously?
The Facebook group administrators of Black Smoke Matters decided that if they are not going to be taken seriously then the time has come for them to do something to give our federal officials a reason to take truck drivers seriously. The solution is to call for an industry-wide shutdown. This seems like a sensible idea because no one can force an individual to work. We, the American truck driver, have found that the FMCSA has made false claims in favor for regulations that force truck drivers of large commercial vehicles to use electronic logging devices and feel that is a common practice for the agency.
In Claburn’s interview with American Trucker, he explains that this strike would not include blocking roadways, and why he believes even younger drivers would be willing to participate at the risk of losing their jobs. Claburn expands on that by stating “There is a risk to anyone who stands up for anything. But remember this, there’s a driver shortage; isn’t that what they keep telling us? If a company is going to fire you for taking the day off to support your industry, I’m pretty sure the driver can find a job tomorrow. The industry can’t have it both ways. They can’t say there’s a shortage and then say because a guy is going to participate in a movement to stand up for better industry standards that they’re going to fire them.”
A TRUCKER STRIKE WOULD STOP AMERICA
With the increasing truck driver shortages set to triple over the next seven years, the reason the increasing unhappiness and complaints of the growing number of Independent trucking groups that are sprouting up is so important, is the necessity of what they do, which is where the second link from Quayle comes in, titled “Grocery stores would run out of food in 3 days if long-haul truckers stopped working.”
It begins with “Trucking moves 71% of the freight in the United States. And if it were to suddenly cease, the effects would be more drastic than you might expect.”
Trucks and their drivers, quite literally keep our nation, and therefore our economy going. Following the link provided from that article brings us to a study from the American Trucking Associations which details the effects that would start being felt within the first day of a truckers strike.
The report also explain “News of a truck stoppage — whether on the local level, state or regional level, or nationwide — will spur hoarding and drastic increases in consumer purchases of essential goods. Shortages will materialize quickly and could lead to civil unrest.”
As Stefan Stanford pointed out in his Sunday article, it only takes “nine meals to anarchy,.”
Granted without the participation of the larger and/or unionized trucking companies, the worse case scenario won’t play out immediately, but Independent truckers, and businesses with smaller fleets of trucks are growing exponentially compared to the larger companies, as seen in a September 2018 report at Trucks.com.
The number of new drivers working in fleets of fewer than 100 trucks grew 322,000 between 2012 and 2018. The number of new drivers at fleets with more than 500 trucks rose 153,000 in the same six-year period, according to Tucker.
With over 23,000 members in the ELD or ME Facebook group, almost 18,000 in the Black Smoke Matters group, and other trucking groups on social media, if all of them stood together in this fight against the regulations that are strangling them, as well as violating their civil rights (explained on the Truckers Stand As One goal page), they could significantly impact everything in less than a full 24 hours.
GOALS ARE REASONABLE CONSIDERING THEY MOVE AMERICA
Truck drivers have gotten a bum deal in America.
According to Business Insider truck drivers’ salaries have decreased by as much as 50% since the 1970s.
With the new ELD regulations the time they can spend working is limited, which some would appreciate except for the fact that hours upon hours wasted doing nothing but waiting at loading docks, which is now included in that allowable work time. As explained in an article from May 2018, one driver used to use the hours it took to unload his truck, napping, so he could spend more time on the road already rested, but that is no longer an option as that wasted time is now considered part of the 14 hours they are allowed to work overall in a day.
Truckers are paid by the mile, but usually don’t spend a full 11 hours driving. They might spend six unpaid hours at unloading sites, which cuts into how many hours they spend driving and earning money. With the cap now set at 14 hours of overall work a day, Wright is unable to squeeze in an extra five hours of driving after unloading his truck.
In addition, Wright said drivers are also forced to take 30-minute breaks every eight hours, even if they just spent six of those hours at an unloading site.
A few hours here and there add up over time. Wright said squeezing in an extra 1,000 miles in a week translates to $450.
The simple goals behind the upcoming April 2019 trucker strike are not unreasonable in any manner, and they are hoping, according to Claburn’s interview that the shippers will be the ones to contact their congress members and ask “what’s the deal,” when their carriers don’t show up to load or unload because they stopped the trucks for a day.
BOTTOM LINE
The Trump administration needs to step up efforts to help these truckers get reasonable reforms passed in order to help them keep America moving. They are the life-force of America, they keep the nation moving and they deserve better than what they are getting.
I am giving the bottom line to another Trucker, Will Kling, a truck driver based in Reno, Nevada, who previously told Business Insider, “Trucking has been forgotten. When you go to that store and you pick up that bottle of wine or that ketchup, you don’t think about the process it took to get it where it is. He continued on to say “If I could tell everybody something about trucking, it would be that there are heartbeats in the truck. They don’t drive themselves. We all have families, we’re all just trying to do a job, like everybody else. Our job is just really different and way more dangerous.”
Proving there are not only heartbeats in those trucks we see along the roads but actual generous and good hearts, we see a series of videos on the Black Smoke Matters website, showing what some of their truckers spend their time doing when not long-haul driving……. feeding the homeless and hungry hot soup on cold days.
everything you own
anything you plan to buy
came to where you got it or can get it
BY TRUCK
not a bunch you want to piss off
yet this government and its lackeys just dont freaking get it , but nothing new there …. dead from the neck up fckers
My Company wont be shipping anything on this date …
I got what you need …its time we get what we need
I as a Owner Op. I want full country wide reciprocity for my guns
and the right to have them in my truck, This should be pushed for too
these trucks are our homes, we have the right to this
“I as a Owner Op. I want full country wide reciprocity for my guns
and the right to have them in my truck, This should be pushed for too
these trucks are our homes, we have the right to this”
The fact is you already have the absolute right. No matter the good intent, the only thing this trucker strike can represent is a demand from the corporate subjects to the corporate crown for privileges and immunities.
F-k all this. Enforce the Bill of Rights by destroying the corporate monarchy.
Amen Boss
I know plenty that do
if Im out in my semi my Springfield is with me .. i know my rights
always fun when you get to some places that will not let you on their site ( i get into steel mills, refineries etc) with it on you or in your truck..i always looked at it like..you want the shit i got on my truck? well part of that load is me and im armed ..deal with it
Sounds fun. Ill get some extra.fuel and circle the wagons. Thanks for the heads up.
12 hours, store shelves empty, simple as that. We get treated like shit every day, the waiting to get loaded and unloaded is a joke. A fkg dental hygienist makes more than we do, they’re supposed to be smarter than us I guess. Put them in New Jersey delivering in Newark at 4pm, LMAO, or driving through Dallas on Monday morning during rush hour LMAO.
Or backing blind into a loaded truck stop when you have 5 other trucks impatiently waiting for you to get into your spot, knowing your fkd because it’s too tight. Our trucks dont have rear windows we can look out of, we only have mirrors, and that takes skill, years of it. This while refrigerated with 100 grand worth of prime cut beef. Oh yeah, the pay sucks, the hours suck, and your family never sees you.
The private jet pilot makes 170,000 grand a year, their job is a cake walk, they fly over the weather, we drive through it.
They call us unskilled, ok we will see about that when we shut down.
Mark, as a former wannabe truck driver back in the day when women truck drivers were almost impossible to find, if you all shut down for a week I would still support you guys! Techie and other billionaires own the govt., right? Now let’s give that bought and paid for govt. a message about who REALLY SHOULD OWN THE GOVT.! And speaking of Bozo, how many Amazon drivers will partake in this, and shove it up Bozo’s a$$?
Amen Mark ..every word of it!
This is the only way to get DC off there asses . All of they guys writing they laws don’t have a clue . Shut the roads down wake people up maybe only thing that works . I was on 71 coming back home Friday night pulling a 30!ft goose neck running with 2 18 wheelers running 80 and watched car pick up pull right in front of theys guys I was watching a wreck about to happen . Never mind being beaten to death on a road that can take a truck out with pot holes . I have two the racket straps come undone twice from the beating . I know your big rigs take the beating a little better then my f350 . Wish I had air ride seats . You guys stay safe out there and thanks for keeping the food in the stores …
you running Hot Shots ,HD?
Sending some Love to the Truckers and especially to the Truckers in the Trenches…..We Love You and Thank You for All You Do…..Please Be Careful and Safe…….
Here’s another, good ol’ Convoy…. good ol’ truckin’ convoy…the original version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcaeYmT4wsg
newer version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd5ZLJWQmss
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zCeVP9WuA6I. Always like this one .Phantom 309 . One more for the road. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3XB0Tuu8Yas
Reality is this, the “trucker’s union” wants you all to strike. It does not work for you, it works for the rime with you. The the Mexican truckers and Canadian truckers will pick up the slack and the “American trucker” will be no more. I saw coming this when the first trucks from Mexico came in and NOTHING was done. No fires, no flat tires, no holes in fuel tanks,nothing. Just let them run. Sorry, but the writing is on the grave marker and I must say, very sad to see. Really miss the old days of trucking especially the good ole DD 2 strokes,,,,
We will see about that, you forget about household movers, no Canadian or Mexican will touch that. You seem pretty sure of yourself. Hate to break it to ya, but your sadly mistaken about American freight being moved by Canadians or Wetbacks. Who is going to deliver the fuel to the jets? Nice try though, enjoy your hot tamales and Canadian bacon.
Oh yeah, if you read the article you would know these aren’t union drivers going on strike, these are non union drivers, so far 30,000 of them.
30,001
Alright, I may be the odd woman out here, but c’mon, this reminds me of L.E.A.D, law enforcement appreciation day. We were to appreciate le for the difficult and dangerous job they did selflessly, or some bologna like that.
““Trucking has been forgotten. When you go to that store and you pick up that bottle of wine or that ketchup, you don’t think about the process it took to get it where it is. He continued on to say “If I could tell everybody something about trucking, it would be that there are heartbeats in the truck. They don’t drive themselves. We all have families, we’re all just trying to do a job, like everybody else. Our job is just really different and way more dangerous.”
These truckers are gonna go to the regulators of all of our lives to seek remedy, not gonna happen. These jobs are just as easily replaced by foreigners just like the engineering, etc. jobs that Americans are training to replace them. Don’t think they won’t replace current drivers with those that will do it for a fraction of the pay.
What if truckers just went a-wall against all the regulations, wouldn’t this send a greater message than the planned strike?
If I were to spend my time remembering all those who chose particular jobs to earn money to feed themselves and their families and how difficult the job is as well as under appreciated, I’d have no time for anything else. Lots of people are in this position.
“The Trump administration needs to step up efforts to help these truckers get reasonable reforms passed in order to help them keep America moving. They are the life-force of America, they keep the nation moving and they deserve better than what they are getting.”
Why seek reforms from those that regulated drivers in the first place? Sounds like there’s a plenty of those drivers who look at Trump as “the man.”
They deserve to be treated like any other American national who is free to choose how they will earn their bread, then be able to pursue it unregulated, untaxed, etc..
‘They deserve to be treated like any other American national who is free to choose how they will earn their bread, then be able to pursue it unregulated, untaxed, etc..’ BAM!, Katie
This is Jonathan and the fact is that Joe Dennie who’s the leader of these Rebels is a criminal, he’s an idiot and he’s not thinking of the long term consequences of his actions and exactly how stupid that him and his group really are. Is 1 day of going on strike going to prove anything ?? No it’s not. It’s going to cause a ripple affect but that’s about it. 3 days of striking will destroy this nation but here’s the deal here. The MEGA CARRIERS are not going to listen to them let alone join these idiots but to get a major Shutdown to happen you will need EVERY truck in the United States including the mega carriers to come together as one and come as a show of force against the U.S. Government. That’s the only way that your going to prove something but what Joe Dennie and his bullshit group are doing…. it’s not going to prove a damn thing and the U.S. GOVERNMENT IS NOT going to put up with it either…. Yes, they are owner ops, yes they are lease drivers and yes,they have the right to protest but they way that they are planning on going by it. The government is going to shut them down before it even gets started.
Now are the MEGA CARRIERS going to turn their back on the government and join him ?? No their not. Will he go to jail again for this ?? Yes he will cause blocking the flow of commerce is a FEDERAL Crime and that’s what this idiot doesn’t understand. Let’s look at the key points here and this is fact. Just cause this dumbass and his rag tag group of his friends want to strike. Ok, that’s all well and good but you have to look at the whole picture here.
Blocking a road way because you don’t like something is a crime
All of his members will be arrested and charged with DomesticTerrorism
All of their CDL’s WILL be revoked for life
Hos trucks WILL be impounded and sold.
His DOT numbers will be revoked for life.
His MC numbers will be revoked for life.
Their company names will be devoured and rejected forever by the DOT.
When they get out of FEDERAL Prison and yes,they will serve every day that they’re handed.
Black Smoke Matters are also planning to bring over Canadians and Mexicans to join in with them. Ok, that’s fine but here’s the issue with that as well. These idiots come over from another country and join these rag tag Rebels and they think that their out of the country status is going to keep them from going to jail ?? Wrong because once they cross the border, all bets are off and they fall under United States laws and are just as guilty as the Americans who talked to them into this. Black Smoke Matters is nothing more then a group of Terrorist’s because of what they are planning on doing.
They will be unhirable by anyone cause that federal domestic terrorism charge will follow them for the rest of their lives. Like I said, Joe Dennie and all of his little friends are complete idiots and are acting like a group of Children who are kicking and crying cause their mother won’t by them somethin. That’s basically what they are acting like with this bullshit strike that’s going to land them in jail and they will never see the light of day again.
Jonathan Kevin Jenkins,
You are a f-king traitor, to your people and to your country. You are most likely a corporate government agent. How f-king stupid do you think the American people are?
Everybody’s going to jail, huh? Well that will get that f-king freight moving, won’t it?
The right to protest is an absolute right under the 1st Article of our people’s Bill of Rights, you treasonous bitch. And the United States Corporation is a f-king fraud, the Bill of Rights is the superior law of this land and their f-king corporate policy does not supersede it, or trump it, pun intended.
You f-king corporate jew ass suckers think you can come on the net and scare the American nationals with threats? Something you better realize, mother f-ker, the American people have had it with your corporate sucking ass and the “MEGA carriers” will be nothing more than corporate scabs and traitors to their own people and will be treated as such. And there are worth things than jail, mother f-ker.
I personally didn’t know what to think about the trucker strike because I’m not out there driving any more, but you, sir, have convinced me. I back them 110% and this f-king corporate government has no authority over we free nationals and the supreme law of this land, the Bill of Rights. We are not your 14th Amendment subject citizens. We are individual free sovereign nationals of the united States of America and our authority over our servants in government is absolute.
I’m glad you identified those who will not submit to this fraudulent illegal corporate tyranny as a ragtag band of rebels, because they are not alone, not by a long chalk. It was a ragtag band of rebels that threw that pedophilic queer King George and his f-king thugs out of this country. And you, you corporate ass sucking son of a bitch, will be tried for treason and sedition for joining and advocating for corporate insurrection of the people’s authority, you low life f-king traitor. You are going to find out that there are about 40 million pissed off, heavily armed American nationals who are not afraid of you and your corporate masters. You want to f-king fight us? Bring it the f-k on.
resistance is futile?
I wish I could write and say the things the way he does , thank you Henry . When I read his crap I got sick to my stomach still have a bad taste in my mouth . Thank you Henry
Thanks again Henry . It going to take us all to fix what’s wrong and Thanks again for pointing out to the guy who made that comment about nothing would work , what ever he doing for sure not working again we know we’re going to see a lot of porch setters thank again