robroy:
beefy4605:
I understand what a lot of guys and girls are saying here - Unions are good they stick up for your rights and negotiate on your behalf for better terms and conditions . I get that and its a good thing.
In a previous job I was a member of a union (non transport related ) and had what I thought was a great union rep who fought my corner. Problem was I wanted to fight a case against me but was told to accept the outcome of a disiplinary hearing which included a final written warning only to be told after the final meeting that he was now finished with the union and that I was his last case and he was glad to have it "all sorted out "but it wasn’t the proper and right outcome . I cancelled my membership right there in front of him with a phonecall , I walked back into the meeting room and told the panel exactly where they could stick their final warning and the job , walked out and went home . I vowed I’d never work to a shower like them ever again and I haven’t and I’d never depend on a Union to fight for my rights again . If a company has so little regard for their workers and the terms and conditions why are people working to them ■■ Drivers have to realise their own worth , they have reailse that with out them nothing happens , promises can’t be kept , deadlines won’t be met and customers won’t be happy and if an employer can’t realise that then they really aren’t worth working for . That said to many drivers are hiding behing unions and using a union to cover the fact that they aren’t capable of doing the job depending on the union to bail them out everytime they get caught messing it up .
Drivers need to do what they are employed to do . They also need to realise transport dosen’t always go to plan and things go wrong from time to time and you need to be prepared for that and accept it - its not all a great conspiricy against you (unless it is and then you need to walk ).Find a job you like - good work , good plant , good office staff and good hours
Be good at it - do your job , do it well
Take no nonsence from office staff , customers or suppliers never be so settled that you can’t pick all up and walk
Once others realise your not a pushover you’ll find the job gets a lot easier
Never work for bad money - work out what you need to pay the bills and don’t put yourself in a pile of debt just to keep up with the neighbours , but never turn down the chance of a pay rise either .What you say is 100% correct…BUT.
The way things are nowadays, firms prefer those who range from complete yes men arse crawlers, to those who just take whatever is dished out, and those in between.
They don’t want those who can be left to work on their own and use their initiative any more (an absolute crucial qualification to be a driver once over) because 9 times out of 10 that quality is usually backed up by an attitude of standing up for yourself,.and not taking any b/s.
They want men who ring in for instructions for the least little thing, who thrive on their micro management techniques, people like us are a dying breed in transport…we’re dinosaurs
Prefer to be a dinosaur to something between a weasel and a chicken though.Just the other day I was pulled up by a young guy in a ‘Compliance’ capacity, for ‘not taking seriously’ an infringement for being 2 mins over my wtd, and 3 mins on another occasion
…followed by a comment on my ‘‘attitude’’ after telling him ‘‘I simply couldn’t give a [zb]’’
Which went along the lines of…‘‘If you think like that, maybe you should think of getting a job that you do give a [zb] about, as compliance is what it’s all about today’’
I told him thanks for that, I’ll write it down, or words to that effect.
What I SHOULD have said was ‘‘I actually once did give a [zb] about the job,.around the time before you were born’’…but I’m bothered with afterthought.Unions are a good thing in industry, despite what the brainwashers and the brainwashed tell you.
The state of play now is virtually how it was when unions were first thought of, in the days of oppressive employers and zero rights.
I work for a man with 17 trucks an ex driver who went out on his own . We are finding more and more that lowest price is not the be all and end all of a contract . Being the size we are we cannot compete on the prices that the bigger players can quote - we are picking up work were companies want service and their goods looked after properly and it seems they are willing to pay a fair bit more for that.It seems that goods turning up on time and in the same condition they were loaded 5-6 hundred miles away is more important to them so they in turn can keep their customers happy than a cut rate and two pallets collapsed and destroyed in every load . The drivers ,office staff and the boss get this and we know that we have to do it right and we get paid accordingly and drivers have come and gone because they just didnt understand this . No union required - the drivers do the job right and the boss looks after us right if we don’t we wont be there - it really is that simple .