Drivers Union? Worth joining or not? Which Union? Advice Please…
Save your money and buy yourself a couple of pints . Drivers seem to be the least staunch likely to stick together blokes of all trades . I guess it’s sitting in a truck by yourself that does it . I’d love for all drivers to walk out for a couple of weeks and bring the country to a standstill and get the money we deserve , but very few would do it , infact they’d jump straight into your truck whilst you strike .
Get in a union bud 
I’d only bother with a union for things like the legal help etc. If you want to join thinking you can change the industry, think again. You only need to look at the in fighting within some of the threads on here to see drivers are a divided bunch. I’m sure one of the usual suspects will totally prove my point by coming on and disagreeing with that last statement. Irony is a hot topic on this forum
OVLOV JAY:
I’d only bother with a union for things like the legal help etc. If you want to join thinking you can change the industry, think again. You only need to look at the in fighting within some of the threads on here to see drivers are a divided bunch. I’m sure one of the usual suspects will totally prove my point by coming on and disagreeing with that last statement. Irony is a hot topic on this forum
You’re wrong for this list of dubious reasons. Here’s an anecdote I probably pulled out my netherhole, and a personal attack to finish.
Smiley faces.
OVLOV JAY:
I’d only bother with a union for things like the legal help etc. If you want to join thinking you can change the industry, think again. You only need to look at the in fighting within some of the threads on here to see drivers are a divided bunch. I’m sure one of the usual suspects will totally prove my point by coming on and disagreeing with that last statement. Irony is a hot topic on this forum
Black people are only allowed to sit at the back of the bus. Women can’t vote. We can change thing’s … Oh and if you’re in a Union, you’re usually on a better wage and term’s and conditions.
Not on your own its not worth it, but if there’s enough of you and you elect the right shop steward then its well worth it…if there is already a union in place its hypocritical to trouser the benefits without doing your part by paying your dues and attending meetings for discussions, voting purposes etc.
Been doing this job for an awful long time now, have had poor jobs (thankfully few as i never chased flash motors), good jobs and the very best jobs.
Without fail the very best terms and conditions have all been at properly unionised companies.
If your at a firm that is unionised, they can get a bit childish if you go against what they have put in place re working conditions etc!. I got sent to Coventry by some of the dinosaurs for round tripping a night out job, legally I might add!! after my accommodation got flooded a few years ago.
Total waste of money in this industry, unless you a fuel tanker driver…
As pointed out by the previous posters, it depends on where your employed (what site, contract etc etc) if it’s really worth joining a union there. IMO if your on a large site with a majority of the staff in the union, them it’s likely the union will negotiate a better deal.
But if your working for a small outfit being in a union is probably pointless
When I was at maritime, John Williams prided himself on knowing all 700 drivers by name. The bloke is like rainman. He would turn up in a depot and make a beeline for any driver and ask him how the job was going. One of the best blokes I’ve ever worked for. One of ours stood up at a drivers meeting and said he wanted a union. A few people grunted some support to which John replied “if you want a union it’s fine, but I’ll deal with the depot rep and I’ll never speak to another driver, or have a drivers meeting ever again”
drivers unions are a waste of time because of the drivers themselves, for some reason the industry seems to attract people who have no back bone to make a stand,
look at the train drivers and how well paid and looked after they are, why do you think that is ? as they take no nonsense, there union gets them a good deal and they back the union up if needed
the one thing that has never changed in all the years i have been in the game is drivers have no back bone and are happy to be on there 8 quid an hour as they think there on good money for what they do
so how can you even get a message into someones head that there not and they need to make a stand if they want more ? they then get scared someone else will take there 8 quid an hour job off them
just look at the cpc rubbish that has been forced on drivers, if ever there was a time drivers could of stood together it was then, if all the drivers refused to get one, then what would happen ? there are not enough drivers out there to fill all the jobs, the country would of come to a halt
believe it or not drivers have to be the most powerful indusry out there as if the trucks stop everything stops yet drivers will refuse to see it as i said they have no back bone, not willing to stick there necks out
so they deserve there low pay and crap conditions it will never change,
like always many drivers though they would box cleaver and get there cpc hoping wages would go up as they hoped everyone else would of not got there card, well in one way i am glad it backfired on the greedy little crap heads, as they wouldn’t deserve a penny if wages went up
i made my stand along with many others who have been in the game for many years, we had enough and we took the decision to find other ways to make a crust instead of driving but hoping it might have some impact, which it has as you all can see just how many polish are now doing the job and how many non English guys there are around any more
26 years i was in the game for and the cpc was just the last straw for me, the money is crap for what drivers have to do and are responsible for.
even tanker drivers are on crap money from how it used to be all because drivers think 12 quid an hour is good money, no overtime rates, no weekend rates, all the little perks we used to get have been wiped out all because drivers still do the job as they honestly think in todays world 400 odd quid a week is good money
desypete:
look at the train drivers and how well paid and looked after they are, why do you think that is ?
Because train fares are jacked up to compensate, offering no value for money, and praying on commuters going into London to subsidise the lack of action outside the commuter belt. Just like every item in your shopping basket would rise by 50p if every driver was on £50k a year
desypete:
so they deserve there low pay and crap conditions it will never change,
You’re right, we do. I got expelled from 3 schools and did a bit of bird, then when I woke up from being a ■■■■■■■■■, I realised I had no way of earning £500 a week other than this. For most drivers, where else can you earn a livable wage? If you have another way then use it. But considering a lot of drivers have little or no other qualifications, what’s the chances of that happening? Coincidently, the drivers with little or no qualifications seem to make the most noise about wages, T’s & c’s etc. Most people who have other avenues to explore, seem happy and content
Ah DP back on his favourite subject, ranting about the unfairness of it all. All those rules & regs stopping him from working 100 hrs a week, it’s just not fair.
My experiences of unions are pretty poor, from back in the 70s where I was offered a job in engineering, only to be told I couldn’t be taken on because I wasn’t in the union, I was 18, went to the union to join only to be told I couldn’t join as I wasn’t working!
To working for asda, joined the gmb, the only Union they will allow in, only to find that, when redundancies came around it all went on how long you’d worked there. 75% of that workforce weren’t in the union but managed to be kept on.
The rail unions are always cited as one that works for its members, and they do, but what about all the others, the other jobs where if they walked out they couldn’t be replaced. Nurses, teachers, police, fire fighters, government staff, all on relatively low pay for what they do.
I think workers turned away from unions because of all the striking in the 70s & 80s for stupid petty things and are reluctant to go back.
I’ve not been in unions that often, I prefer to sort my own pay rises out, it’s not that hard when you try it.
Does anyone want a return to innocuous walk outs like the 70s? “Someone forgot to put sugar in Daves tea, we ain’t working until he gets sugar in his tea”
OVLOV JAY:
desypete:
look at the train drivers and how well paid and looked after they are, why do you think that is ?Because train fares are jacked up to compensate, offering no value for money, and praying on commuters going into London to subsidise the lack of action outside the commuter belt. Just like every item in your shopping basket would rise by 50p if every driver was on £50k a year
desypete:
so they deserve there low pay and crap conditions it will never change,You’re right, we do. I got expelled from 3 schools and did a bit of bird, then when I woke up from being a [zb], I realised I had no way of earning £500 a week other than this. For most drivers, where else can you earn a livable wage? If you have another way then use it. But considering a lot of drivers have little or no other qualifications, what’s the chances of that happening? Coincidently, the drivers with little or no qualifications seem to make the most noise about wages, T’s & c’s etc. Most people who have other avenues to explore, seem happy and content
i was on 700 quid almost 20 years ago driving fridges nothing special just bog standard fridges, but because i worked every weekend and we got over time after 8 hours the money soon mounted up
so in an effort to cap costs on wages they started to play around with drivers pay and condtions, salary pay started coming in and at the start the sarlys were good and you could job and knock instead of hanging a job out to make the hour up so it had its benefits, but the problem came as the years go on, the money never changed and to be honest if your happy with 500 quid a week today it shows that in fact the wages have gone down
the drivers should of stuck together years ago and fought against the loss of overtime rates if nothing else but as always they dont,
have you thought about working at aldi ? there paying 11 quid an hour just to stack selves and you can easy make your 500 quid a week working in warehouses, get a fork lift and you can make just as much for a lot less hours nor the hassle that goes with the job and all the qualifications you need
the only people your helping is your boss to keep more of the profits he makes
as for train drivers they stick together and get a decent living wage for what they do
i have my application in with the trains and will take a job in that sector should i be lucky enough that is as there is a hell of alot of competion to get a well paid, well looked after job, one were the polish guys have no influence yet.
thanks to the unions who keep tight hold of it all, can you imagine what will happen should they suddenly change things and will let the polish guys come over to drive the trains ? how the wages would be slashed, just like is happening in transport
they can not get away with it yet with trains as its well protected thanks to the unions and the drivers themselves for knowing they have to protect what they have for them all not just look after number 1
desypete:
drivers unions are a waste of time because of the drivers themselves, for some reason the industry seems to attract people who have no back bone to make a stand,look at the train drivers and how well paid and looked after they are, why do you think that is ? as they take no nonsense, there union gets them a good deal and they back the union up if needed
Well thats one way of looking at it, and that bullish way of holding your employer to ransom helped see the end of the miners, the nationalised power and steel workers and the British owned car industry.
I admire the rail lads, they never allowed their jobs to be cheapened nor deskilled and definately not bought off with a big motor and a row of spotlights, that’s stood them in good stead so far though for how long they can keep their jobs as they are presently remains to be seen.
Good union stewards are the backbone of the union movement, they have to wear two hats and deciding who should represent you is the most important decision a union member will make.
1 to negotiate terms with the employer, sensible terms for all concerned, and to defend the member from unreasonable sanctions from the company (which seldom happens on companies with unions anyway)
2 to maintain some sort of discipline, and to dissuade the idiots sick note stupid lazy bolshy and militant from taking the ■■■■ and destroying the job for everyone…see above ^^
The DCPC was never going to change things, its just another set of hoops to jump through, if you’d put your money where your mouth was and got yourself a proper job on a unionised company they’d have paid for the course and paid you to attend it.
If you couldn’t get a job like that after all the years you’ve been doing it, then maybe you should look at the reasons why, could it be your attitude 
, work or driving history, reputation, appearance?..all these things combine when you want to get into the best paid jobs, the lorry driver is the front line the customer sees, especially in specialised industry and specialised pays well.
Only very few started at the top of the drivers ladder, invariably those who did either had a lucky break or had family or other connections to give them a leg up, the vast majority of us started on any scabby old job we could find and worked our way up, hopefully earning ourselves a reputation and work history that would prove attractive to the best employers.
Ever noticed the standard of driving on the roads displayed by the highest paid (unionised), its in a different league entirely with few exceptions, those paying up to twice the rate of the average driver cherry pick and who can blame them, in almost all cases the best paying jobs have unions that work hand in hand with the management to keep those jobs safe for as long we all shall live.
BillyHunt:
Ah DP back on his favourite subject, ranting about the unfairness of it all. All those rules & regs stopping him from working 100 hrs a week, it’s just not fair.
My experiences of unions are pretty poor, from back in the 70s where I was offered a job in engineering, only to be told I couldn’t be taken on because I wasn’t in the union, I was 18, went to the union to join only to be told I couldn’t join as I wasn’t working!
To working for asda, joined the gmb, the only Union they will allow in, only to find that, when redundancies came around it all went on how long you’d worked there. 75% of that workforce weren’t in the union but managed to be kept on.
The rail unions are always cited as one that works for its members, and they do, but what about all the others, the other jobs where if they walked out they couldn’t be replaced. Nurses, teachers, police, fire fighters, government staff, all on relatively low pay for what they do.
I think workers turned away from unions because of all the striking in the 70s & 80s for stupid petty things and are reluctant to go back.
I’ve not been in unions that often, I prefer to sort my own pay rises out, it’s not that hard when try it.
oh its billy no back bone hunt who always does what his boss wants no matter how little pay he gets got your cpc card handy billy ?
sadly with people like you in transport its no wonder its such a crap job, oh i forgot your doing ok in the game, are you one of the boys who have one of those contracts that protects your pay and conditions ? or are you a zero hours contract man like most of the rest of the workforce around these days ?
the contracts today offer nothing, not even a fixed hourly rate that will go up with inflation, if your lucky a contract might say wages will be reviewed once a year, and that means pay freezes
hell billy even the torys are more smarter than you, there first job is to make sure they get 10% wages rise lol while the rest of the workforce will get what ?
just face it billy you would of been one of the workers who would never of stood shoulder to shoulder with others as your only interest is you and no interest in the future or a future for the up and coming lads
your in the right game billy thats for sure being a driver is just the sort of job you and your attitude will do well in. no wonder your boss loves you so much that he wouldnt dream of replaceing you with a polish guy
why the hell should he as you will work for peanuts and not complain, oh i forgot your in the northeast and you earn as much as an mp does driving a truck
the problem is drivers like you billy but your not on your own as there are plenty of them in the game
Blimey, the £11 an hour shelf stacking argument again. Not much use on a contract between 16 and 40 hrs a week, comes under the living wage argument. And to take home £500 driving a fork lift, again for 40 hrs, because what’s the point if you’re not improving conditions right?, you need to be on £18 an hour give or take. Show me a forkies job on those wages then■■? As for your £700 a week 20 years ago, I don’t disbelieve you. But I do know this, diesel was half the cost, vehicles were half the cost, commercial property and rates were half the cost, and the ppm for a job was higher than it is now. But these things are all something that most drivers tend to overlook, as it kind of spoils their argument
OVLOV JAY:
Blimey, the £11 an hour shelf stacking argument again. Not much use on a contract between 16 and 40 hrs a week, comes under the living wage argument. And to take home £500 driving a fork lift, again for 40 hrs, because what’s the point if you’re not improving conditions right?, you need to be on £18 an hour give or take. Show me a forkies job on those wages then■■? As for your £700 a week 20 years ago, I don’t disbelieve you. But I do know this, diesel was half the cost, vehicles were half the cost, commercial property and rates were half the cost, and the ppm for a job was higher than it is now. But these things are all something that most drivers tend to overlook, as it kind of spoils their argument
my hourly rate was £7.25 an hour on nights after 8 hours i would be on time and half £10.92 and i did a minimum of 12 hours £101.68 per shift on a weekday, sat was time and half all day which i would try to get 15 in at the weekends but always got 12 no matter what so that was £131.04, sunday was double time and againg it would be 12 or more hours as it was big bucks day so thats £14.50 an hpur which at 12 hours gives £174
total for 5 shifts would be £610 or more if i did 15 hours but l have kept it simple and stuck to just 12 hours, and then of course i would work the 6 shift which would take me well over 700 quid a week
so do the maths yourself it really was good money and an easy job as we spent most of the time sleeping in the cabs waiting to get into places to tip
You didn’t say anything about 6 days a week. I can earn over 700 if I do 6 days including a full one on Saturday. But I’m happy slumming it on high 5’s for 60-65 hrs and 1 or 2 nights out. If I need £650 I’ll run in on a Saturday morning. But well done you, you managed a post without slagging off the dcpc 