We need a strong voice instead of the likes of MONK and WOODLEY who do nothing for road haulage, and we also need a union that is run by drivers and experienced hauliers rather than union members with a rail or manufacturing background.
Is it a case that the present unions have a loud voice but no legal teeth 
Is it a case that the present unions have a loud voice but no legal teeth
Lot of truth in that.
However any union , be it Unity or any other needs its members to be involved. The only reason Bro Woodley is allowed to get away with not representing the Transport workers properly is because not many of them want to be involved.
As I have posted before on here, I am Branch Secretary of a branch with 1200 members…how many come to the meetings , even occasionally, about 25 !
Granted it is difficult for lots of drivers to attend owing to working shift patterns. but there should still be plenty who CAN come.
In fairness I can understand the lack of commitment when they have seen successive leaders ignore them, but starting another union will not solve the problem, it will merely dissipate the present bit of solidarity.
If anyone has any SENSIBLE ideas for encouraging my members to attend please let me know…I have already tried free beer!!
Thanks to the likes of Maggot Thatcher the unions have long gone and those that remain are a token presence without authority 
Tiger
Fastrantiger:
Thanks to the likes of Maggot Thatcher the unions have long gone and those that remain are a token presence without authorityTiger
I think that is why a lot are saying ‘Why bother - it is a road to nothing’ in regard to actually changing things - IMO the unions in their present form are good at defending members on legal issues though 
We’ve had URTU for as many years as I can remember, and they’ve still to raise their profile much beyond a scruffy noticeboard at Lymm truckstop. Recently moved to a new HQ though I notice, so they must have some support which can by no means be a bad thing. From what I’ve seen of them in press releases they do seem to have the right ideas, but if they’re to ever to gain public credibility they’ve got to get their noses in front of the TGWU.
By the way, I always think that if the TGWU spent even a fraction more of the time actually working for Transport, as its name implies, we’d get a lot more done. I’m minded to ageee with williemac’s suggestion but I’ve seen too many fledgling ideas never get off the ground because initial support soon turns to general apathy; usually because it takes years and not months to get such organisations to the necessary level of public recognition and understanding.
I suspect that our biggest problem as drivers is the old one of lacking the will to stick together. By the very nature of our job, we tend to be solitary animals who only flock together to “roost” as it were; it follows that we talk a lot of “diesel” when we do get together, but once we set off on our seperate ways it’s back to the semi-solitary existence.
Discuss.
I think there are few commited people on here, and also this site is owned by RBI so they might help, then again they might be like the rest take our money for magazines but dont want involved.
Something has to be done to frighten Brown and co tax specialists, stealth division !!!
As far as I know there is no union for professional drivers only, they all represent other area’s of employment as well. The problem as I see it is if we had a union just for drivers (from courier to C+E) the ones that drive for a living, then we would have teeth. The law is that so long as the union ballots its members on any action then it can call for strike action or work to rule etc.
All of us on here and in the UK moan about our conditions, fuel, our way of life treated with disrespect etc. but are we brave enough to join a new union to do something about it? Only you can answer that and what would you look forward to the union doing for you?
willie_mac:
We need a strong voice instead of the likes of MONK and WOODLEY who do nothing for road haulage, and we also need a union that is run by drivers and experienced hauliers rather than union members with a rail or manufacturing background.
As long as it will represent us bus workers as well…The RMT (who are recognised at my place) are pretty ■■■■■■ reccommending that we get stitched up in a 3 year deal which won’t see us breaking £8ph until 2010