Drivers Unity - A pipe dream or possible reality?

carl_usher · 1 January 2016 16:13

eezeer:

Carl Usher:

dri-diddly-iver:
Thing is Winseer, it’s new and all things new need a starting post. I know Barry and Eezeer very well, (they really are different people, but are close ) In fact I know Eezeer better than Barry does (known him nearly all my life to be honest) and have to agree with ALL Barries’ sentiments and ideas.

At least he’s making an effort and ANY backing can only be good in the long run. If it fails then it fails but it will not be through lack of effort and determination it will be through lack of backing and support.

£25 is about 2 or 3 hours work for a full years membership and if it looks like failing after a year then don’t re-new!! Give it a shot!

I didn’t go out last night and I reckon I saved £40 - that will do for me (still got drunk though)

What involvement do you have in this PDU project, Rick? I am lead to believe that you are more involved in this than your posts here suggest and in fact you stand to profit yourself from any new membership.

Carl Usher, you seem to be “lead to believe” what you like to make up and then post hopping others believe it, accuse everyone and yet the biggest liar of all. love to meet all those people who are informing you?

At the end of the day some like me and Rick are offering our support hoping the PDU will tackle the issues that ■■■■ me of in this job. The more that support it the more chance it can succeed.

We all know doing nothing achieves nothing so for £25 a year I will give it a shot

Of course you want everyone to support it Barrie, because you can retire from working earlier on the proceeds!

dri-diddly-iver · 1 January 2016 16:14

I stand for NO PROFIT whatsoever and am not involved in any way other than to support what I ‘believe’ could/maybe be good for the industry.

Barry has tried various things over the years but unfortunately due to lack of support has been hampered trying to make things better. Truckersworld is a forum just like Trucknet but has always veered onto the campaign side. Barrie is doing something rather than nothing. Old saying - If nothing alters it will stay as it is!!

Trucknet is a far more popular site than Truckersworld and always has been, (Thanks to Rikki for not closing this thread ) But give the bloke a chance.

Sit on the fence and give it 12 months to see how it develops (which I suspect many are doing) or just go for it and see instantly whether it’s working or not!

I’m all for trying to make things better. I don’t want to work at all but I can’t afford to retire just yet, maybe with the type of drivers union Barrie is trying to form then my descendents may benefit

dri-diddly-iver · 1 January 2016 16:54

Carl Usher:
Of course you want everyone to support it Barrie, because you can retire from working earlier on the proceeds!

You are close but no where near as close as you think You really don’t have to trust me - BUT - trust me Eezeer is not Barries user name on here!!!

carl_usher · 1 January 2016 16:56

dri-diddly-iver:

Carl Usher:
Of course you want everyone to support it Barrie, because you can retire from working earlier on the proceeds!

You are close but no where near as close as you think You really don’t have to trust me - BUT - trust me Eezeer is not Barries user name on here!!!

Why would you say “you are close” but then say it’s not Barrie? Why am I “close”? Close to what? Is it you under an alias, Rick?

dri-diddly-iver · 1 January 2016 17:09

I’m quite enjoying this now Eezeer and me Dri-diddly-iver (yes me) are different people. Barrie and Eezeer are of no relation at all. Me and Barrie are also 2 different people and no relation - to summarise Barrie, Dri-diddly-iver (Rick) and Eezeer are 3 totally different people No one is in it to make a profit!

I have email addresses for all and phone numbers and each speaks with a different accent. We all have one thing in common though. Trying to get a drivers unity together and maybe hope for thing to get better - where is the harm in trying?

eezeer · 1 January 2016 17:15

Well bless me

Someone “lead me to believe” that Carl Usher is a ■■■■■■■■■ now do I believe it or not

Anyne else listen to all the crap in RDC waiting rooms

I make my own mind up decide who or what i believe in and suggest each does the same.

carl_usher · 1 January 2016 17:33

eezeer:
Well bless me

Someone “lead me to believe” that Carl Usher is a [zb], now do I believe it or not

Anyne else listen to all the crap in RDC waiting rooms

I make my own mind up decide who or what i believe in and suggest each does the same.

Hmm. 6 minutes to log out of one account and log in to this one and make a 4 line post? Yep, looks good to me!

dipper_dave · 1 January 2016 17:56

Eezeer could you answer my earlier question.
Can you categorically state as a record point for this thread that you are or are not Barrie the instigator of this scheme.

eezeer · 1 January 2016 18:18

I am NOT Barrie and it has been pointed out above by my mate rick dri-didds, very clear. I just think that thi may be a worthwhile cause

wardaddy · 1 January 2016 18:50

£25 per year membership? Better off sticking that into a slot machine. That subscription would pay for some Bob Crowe wannabe to appear on Jeremy Vine, have a few rounds of golf booked as “networking meetings” a nice car and a few nicer holidays. They might write the odd column in Truck and Driver and give an interview to Commercial Motor and that’d be it. Quite how that improves our lot and sorts the agency limping problem I don’t know.

robroy · 1 January 2016 19:27

The obvious resentment displayed, and digs aimed at Barrie from our mate Mr Usher appears to be a bit disproportionate just for simply not liking somebody, do I detect a hidden agenda here?
Or is there some history there, and something deep seated gone on.
Whatever it was, did Barrie get one over him somehow, if it was the other way round where Carl got one over him, I reckon we would have heard, as he aint exactly known for his modesty on here is he.

As someone said, Good on Rikki for leaving the thread alone given the content and the past rivalry.
Could his blind eye policy signify an element of support to the scheme, ?
I reckon if he thought the forum was being used to drum up support for an enterprising scam, as some clearly do on here, it would be knocked on the head 4 pages ago.

winseer · 2 January 2016 00:39

The big enemies of everyone on this subject is, of course, Apathy, Lies, and inertia against something that has apparently not worked for many years now.

I’m sure if I were to campaign for anything political, I wouldn’t be ■■■■■■ on if I were on fire, and I’d struggle to sell tenners for a fiver each. “Make 'em a quid and I’ll take a hundred” I’d be told by some… “They must be bogus, or you wouldn’t be trying to palm us off with them at seemingly half price” others would heckle…

Thing is, no one trusts anything that’s outside of their own domain. The wealthy trust their money, the middle earners trust the law, and the lowlives trust their rights.

There will never be any political change for real until that status quo is well and truly flushed away.

fingers · 3 January 2016 16:46

the website is shocking half of the text doesn’t even get on the page, so in realty who is going to take it seriously. i have tried to discuss many things about the pdu with mr tozer on many facebook trucking sites but he fails to answer any of my questions. even on the pdu website on the contact us form at the bottom it states “If you have submitted a “issue” then we will log it for enquiry, but may not reply to you.”

oh and eezeer i looked on TW and you don’t seem to be a member on there but you know barrie, why would you not be a member of TW?

just asking

At this time you are a lone driver unable to tackle the many issues that make life difficult, from the small rude security guard to not being able to find good safe and affordable overnight parking.

how does he think hes going to deal with a rude security guard in a different way than i would deal with it? and as for the parking did he or did he not have many meetings with roadchef and lo and behold they turn out to be the most expensive of the lot to date.

At a local level we will talk to Company Directors and inform them how their employees see change and negotiate on their behalf to bring about betterr working conditions.

what is he going to do different to the union we have in place at the moment?

and some of the stuff on this page is just mickey mouse pipe dreams [urlhttp://www.pdu-uk.co.uk/issues.htm][/url]

johngr · 3 January 2016 17:05

If you shout from the crowd inside a football stadium, - No one will hear you.

If the crowd shouts as one then all within and outside will hear

Surely this is the principle behind unity to act together and be heard

so what if it is a crap website, so what if some seem to have a hatred of Barrie.

The idea is to unite and if it means a cup of tea a week to make it happen then it could be worth it.

All you moaners and groaners how else do you tackle the bigger things or do you enjoy slating someone before you put your brain in gear.

I have to have medical and last time at the Docs it cost nearly £100 so if possible it could be set to a reasonable price for all I and many others would be winners.

For christ sake think about next year or the next five years and your future. Were divided, loners and losers so why not give it a chance and see what it might do.

Some of you sound like you would kick a ■■■■■■■ in the street because he does not fit in with your superior privelegded upbringing. you do not like the sound of it so slag it and hate it mentality.

A cup of tea a week for what could do what many in the past have asked for unity.

henrys_cat · 3 January 2016 18:05

My major problem with all this is what has been achieved over the past 15 yrs by the people who are running it■■? Its the same lines at every rehash, the problem is that any credibility has gone altogether, and that’s not a dig at anyone as there has never been enough support to back up the intentions so companies and govt just plough on regardless. Think its now at the point where the recipients of the letters just file it accordingly when they recieve them as they know there is nothing to back it up.

This has been tried before and got no where, although a very good and worthy charity has come out of the ashes of that attempt. Drivers then weren’t prepared to part with £10 let alone £25. Parking issues were raised with service operators, but how can you argue for better facilities when they show you pictures of the excrement left in showers and damage done to driver wash rooms?? Tbh the odd ones were fully truthful and said we don’t want lorries but have to provide the service as part of the license, after all what do they make when a driver cooks his own food in his cab?, they are not a charity?

Driving is fast becoming an unskilled task, as long as the trailer gets from A to B by the agreed time thats all that matters, trucks are becoming easier to drive, and more and more the drivers don’t touch the load at all.All the bosses want are people who can get it there in one piece and on time. Thats why wages are poor, its just the evolution of the industry. Yes there are still little niches but they are getting fewer, and are usually better conditions because of it.

johngr · 3 January 2016 18:28

Henrys cat:
My major problem with all this is what has been achieved over the past 15 yrs by the people who are running it■■? Its the same lines at every rehash, the problem is that any credibility has gone altogether, and that’s not a dig at anyone as there has never been enough support to back up the intentions so companies and govt just plough on regardless. Think its now at the point where the recipients of the letters just file it accordingly when they recieve them as they know there is nothing to back it up.

This has been tried before and got no where, although a very good and worthy charity has come out of the ashes of that attempt. Drivers then weren’t prepared to part with £10 let alone £25. Parking issues were raised with service operators, but how can you argue for better facilities when they show you pictures of the excrement left in showers and damage done to driver wash rooms?? Tbh the odd ones were fully truthful and said we don’t want lorries but have to provide the service as part of the license, after all what do they make when a driver cooks his own food in his cab?, they are not a charity?

Driving is fast becoming an unskilled task, as long as the trailer gets from A to B by the agreed time thats all that matters, trucks are becoming easier to drive, and more and more the drivers don’t touch the load at all.All the bosses want are people who can get it there in one piece and on time. Thats why wages are poor, its just the evolution of the industry. Yes there are still little niches but they are getting fewer, and are usually better conditions because of it.

There lies the true problem.
Some have tried and failed due to no support.

Unite and maybe times can change, support is vital to win anything

henrys_cat · 3 January 2016 18:50

JohnGr:

Henrys cat:
My major problem with all this is what has been achieved over the past 15 yrs by the people who are running it■■? Its the same lines at every rehash, the problem is that any credibility has gone altogether, and that’s not a dig at anyone as there has never been enough support to back up the intentions so companies and govt just plough on regardless. Think its now at the point where the recipients of the letters just file it accordingly when they recieve them as they know there is nothing to back it up.

This has been tried before and got no where, although a very good and worthy charity has come out of the ashes of that attempt. Drivers then weren’t prepared to part with £10 let alone £25. Parking issues were raised with service operators, but how can you argue for better facilities when they show you pictures of the excrement left in showers and damage done to driver wash rooms?? Tbh the odd ones were fully truthful and said we don’t want lorries but have to provide the service as part of the license, after all what do they make when a driver cooks his own food in his cab?, they are not a charity?

Driving is fast becoming an unskilled task, as long as the trailer gets from A to B by the agreed time thats all that matters, trucks are becoming easier to drive, and more and more the drivers don’t touch the load at all.All the bosses want are people who can get it there in one piece and on time. Thats why wages are poor, its just the evolution of the industry. Yes there are still little niches but they are getting fewer, and are usually better conditions because of it.

There lies the true problem.
Some have tried and failed due to no support.

Unite and maybe times can change, support is vital to win anything

Sorry John, been there at the front face of it and seen the apathy from drivers and the lack of interest from the people we were looking to for change. All it has done is confirm to me that I look after myself. Charging £25 to join isn’t going to get you much support, and sorry to say it but the leader and team haven’t got the credibility anymore.

johngr · 3 January 2016 20:29

Well I aint as clever as many on here and only see what I see.

Not sure, but I wonder if Tnet made mistakes in the early day, learned a lesson and improved.

Now 62301 members of this biggest and best forum.

It took time, but as more supported it so more looked and supported it and now recognized by all

Unity statrs somewhere just like TN (but not everything can bee free)

eezeer · 14 January 2016 15:07

I have already joined but it is a good posting on FB

The posting on FB

UK Truckers, can I please ask you read this before dismissing to the bin it will only take 2 minutes of your time.

It is time to look at yourself and be honest. (No insult intended)

I and many of you are fed up with the way we are treated and the lack of conditions and facilities while doing a hard day’s work to earn a living as a Driver. Long “expected” hours, the stand still of wages, the cost of keeping a licence (Tacho, Medical, CPC, renewal) being pushed out into unsafe parking, unwelcome and unwanted to name a few difficulties.

Some time ago, we were able to earn a top wage, had some pride in the job and were happy to be called Truckers. We were able to park in almost all Town centres where car parks became lorry parks allowing us the use of local facilities, now we are pushed further away into unsuitable lay byes or Industrial estates unwelcomed and unwanted. We used to meet, shake hands and enjoy a cuppa or meal together, now we all sit separately or in our own little tin box called a unit

Times have changed a lot and in my and many others opinion due to the division, we have gone into a decline and downhill slope of our working conditions which has led to an apathy of simply accepting it.
I being fed up and like many of you and have complained for years with no results. Decided to put my money where my mouth is and try to do something about it, by forming and launching the PDU-UK to bring in some form of unity and also aim to tackle those many issues we all have.

It is not a £10,000 all singing all dancing website, but a simple way to inform and try to gather support to form this much needed unity.

Since it was launched I have been reading the 1000s of comments on the various FB group pages, forums and other outlets and one thing is very common on most of them. A very large number of UK Truckers have a blame and accuse others culture rather than looking honestly at their own fault of doing nothing themselves.

The 1000s of comments I and some have you have read, blame or accuse the EU, Foreign Drivers, our Government, The Industry, The Public, our Employers and other drivers for our decline in conditions and issues and the way we are treated. “By blaming and accusing others is a good excuse for doing nothing yourself”

If 10 years ago we had as UK Truckers already formed a unity and worked together with a voice to act on our behalf what might have happened with the debacle of the DCPC. 10,000 UK Truckers working together as a unity might have said NO we will not accept it and want to negotiate to make it better and more cost productive and beneficial to us. This Government would have had no choice but to listen and work to resolve the issue.
Instead divided as we are with no representative voice we all had to accept it, bend over and take it up the rear end even though we all complained and moaned about it.

Unity can bring about far more than just a means of tackling the issues and having a voice in place to represent our needs, it can also bring us together as colleagues and friends and to help each other, meet and have a cuppa. Many dislike our foreign counterparts but next time in a RDC waiting room or a MSA just witness how they meet, shake hands together and talk as a group, while UK truckers sit alone, head bowed and bored.

The UK is the only Country in the EU where Truckers do not have some bond of UNITY and a voice to represent it.

Our Government, Industry and Employers do not want us to Unite as it gives them the power.

YOU can help change things, bring about unity and make our future better in the long run, but you have to do something about it rather than blame others.

The PDU-UK is not perfect yet and has a long way to go. It will improve with your help and support and your opinions and views can help guide its direction. It is only the stage to form the unity offering you a platform to make it happen.

I do not expect you all now to quickly open up your bank accounts and pay your subscription to join. I honestly wish it could be done free to you all but attending meetings and running the PDU does cost and enough join the cost can be lowered but might also help others who have unfortunately been involved in a bad accident, and as a unity it would be nice to help others.

The PDU ask you to look back at what has happened in the past and how we are now treated with no voice or representation to fight the battles and bring in better conditions. What is next around the corner to squeeze your wallet a little thinner or to make your work that bit harder and it may happen if no one fights to stop it.

I blame no one and respect the difficulties we all have as one in a massive Industry, we can all fight our own battles within the workplace and talk to good bosses to earn a bit more, but alone and as one you can do nothing about the bigger issues.

We are all to blame for the mess we are in due to having no structure or means to unite and do something about it. The Unity should have been formed 20 years ago and we would have been strong enough to say no too many of the changes and declining conditions.

For 48p a Week to you, I now want to form this unity, tackle our issues, bring us together, work together and improve our future working lives.

I can give a guarantee that no one in the PDU will take a massive wage or become rich on your money, there will not be plush offices or jaunts wasting “your” money. The Subscription will be used to form the unity and tackle the many issues and then any excess funds will help others.

Help the PDU to help you, support it, join it and be involved.

It can happen if “You” want it.
It is called UNITY

Thank you for reading
pdu-uk.co.uk

fatboy_slimslow · 14 January 2016 17:52

Good on you, well done! Very well written and articulate ( no pun intended! ) lots of love from a disgruntled hgv class one driver, nearly into my fourth decade of driving them! I wish you luck, I’ll put my money where my mouth is, as these morons who think their gaffers are doing them a favour of paying them £700 a week take home to spend all week in their tin V8 Scania with all the Christmas tree lights on, doing marathon sprints of 144 hours a week and having 24 hours off and to stag on to make sure the diesel fairies don’t relieve them of their juice or ■■■■■ the new curtains ( when the rear doors are open! ) in a " LAY BY " two inches off the carriageway thinking they’re going to get a good nights, peace to sleep.

They’ll all be on in a minute, moaning! BUT THEY WILL DO NOTHING ABOUT IT! as they’ll talk a good fight in the brew room, giving it large ones but the yellowbellies will run for the hills once pip squeak rolls up in his Range Rover, suntanned no less in January as whilst they’ve been working all Xmas and new year ( scared for their jobs see ) as they’ve had it rammed down their throats by twenty one year old planners ( who admittedly come to work on a push bike ! ) as they can’t get insurance on a 950 cc fiesta for less than five grand, because they sup beer and snort columbian marching powder in their ( must be able to dispose of your free time blah blah blah ) and go drink / drug driving to go six yards from their house to get a kebab! They leave uni after doing their degrees in transport, said three inch high pip squeak backs them to the hilt as they " must be right 100 % all the time! " as they skilfully manoeuvre the 44 tonne artic around the roads of Great Britain ( don’t get me started on this one, as we’ll be here all night ) as said gaffer will be chasing skirt in the office ( I mean the secretary who all the drivers have been through first anyway )

I wish you luck, it has come back to bite them on the arris, as no young blood would dream of coming into this industry for less than minimum wage now, it will change eventually but as the chocolate fire guards know at UNITE, I’m a fully paid up member of TGWU and I can retire now, URTU, AND THE REST OF THEM WHO ARE NOT WORTH A MENTION WHO HAVE A MOUTHPIECE IN GOVERNMINT NO LESS! this country is the dogs, but don’t let this spoil you’re fight, all the best from your humble servant, screwdriver and steering wheel attendant who used to park up in town centres/ cities and not resemble a piece of something smelly on the sole of THEIR shoe. Night from a third class citizen, who in my home country just wanted to earn a living!