Most of the owner ops (including us) do not want to shut down for that long because it means a loss of money – no money coming in means no money going out. And with fuel prices being like they are – why would a person do that to themselves?

If you are saying that because I said “I do not a support a strike because a strike does not support my family!” – then answer this question for me: what good has come out of the shut-down days?
Because those who participated – did it for nothing – look at the fuel prices – going up not down. So why shut your business down and lose money?

It would be like a handful of mom & pop restaurants closing down in the hopes of getting one vendor to lower their rates. It’s not going to happen because mom & pop places come and go but the big names are always there to count on.

And here is yet another question for you – for those who participate in the convoys (bobtailing) on the road going to their respective statehouses, government officials, etc – they are complaining about fuel prices right? But yet they are burning fuel to protest the rates (while not making money) – I’m still trying to make sense out of that one. Burn the fuel you are complaining about while losing money.

Makes sense to me.

I thought we weren’t supposed to buy gas or anything from Citgo because it’s wholly owned by Chavez, who hates us. I don’t, but that’s my personal decision. That’s worked real well especially when our own military has contracts with Citgo.

Idiots.

A selective boycott can be effective if enough people participate.

When their gas evaporates in the storage tanks and the milk sours in the convenience store refrigerators THEY WILL LISTEN or their replacements will.

If the storage tanks are empty and the convenience store refrigerators are empty
THEY WILL LISTEN or their replacements will.

When or if EXXON/MOBILE is gone from the scene choose the next largest oil company and continue until the hundred million dollar executives get the idea that consumers can and will control the market place! A golden parachute is too heavy to break a fall.

Just click on the word poll above please

Have a great day gang!

“Now what in the H do airlines and trucking have in common, transportation, high fuel prices and a public going broke!”

You might think about what the DIFFERENCE is between the two. We haul freight. They haul people. You might find it interesting to note that the people haulers in the USA don’t generally do so well. RailRoads do real well hauling freight….they have to be subsidized by the government to haul people. The Freight Hauling Airlines are doing fine…passenger flights are not. No “mass transit” scheme in the United States seems to be able to operate WITHOUT a subsidy.

I…personally….am not doing tooo bad. (could be better) The company I’m leased to pays me 100% of the fuel surcharge….and it’s a reasonable amount….if they didn’t I’d move on to one that did.

I made a few “tough” decisions in the last decade or so….like leaving cheap freight on the dock on ocassion and running empty to get somewhere that paid better. You might be interested to know that there’s a (variable) freight rate below which it’s stupid to haul it….it costs more to haul some freight than it does to run empty. (wear an tear on truck…time lost screwing around…looseing good loads because of it….aggravation)…like quitting certain carriers that persisted in hauling cheap stuff….like moving into a specialty area of the Industry where I got paid better….had more control over what I do.

That put me where I am. I’m suffering….some….but not so much as if I throw away what I’ve worked for. Going “On Strike” amounts to the same thing as quitting.

I’m not a quitter.

You also persist in not paying attention. Heaven and Earth is NOT controlled by the government. “Stuff Happens”. Also the history of government meddleing is poor. Check out history and you’ll note that when Government “fixes” something….it’s generally more broke than it was before. I draw your attention to the two previous “Energy Crises” and what happened when government …”Helped”. Remember the seventies? I do.

A Strike wont help us. It’ll hurt us….Bad.

I’m not participating.

You are tired of hearing “can’t afford to” – that is just a cold hard fact. And it’s coming from more than truckers and their families!

Oh and I’m not sure where you got your info but the one of the main reasons that ATA shut its doors “ATA, an Indiana-based low-cost charter airline, filed for Chapter 11 status Wednesday as a result of financial problems “following the loss of a key contract for our military charter business,” the company said. ” (CNN)

“In its bankruptcy filing, Aloha said it was unable to generate enough revenue from its inter-island passenger flights because of below-cost fares by competitors Mesa Air Group’s go! airline.” (CNN)

And then there is the amount of employees:
“We are deeply disappointed that Aloha Airlines has made the decision to cease operations of their interisland and transpacific passenger flights,” Lingle said in a statement. “Our main concerns are threefold – first and foremost the 1,900 employees and their families, the need for continued air service for our residents and visitors, and protection of the state’s long-term fiscal and economic interests.” Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle

As for the ATA – you should really read why they went bankrupt. They have “stiffed” numerous businesses just simply not paying and they owe “JPMorgan Chase is owed the most, about $340 million, for a loan it made to ATA last year” – read the article: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804060329. The company just did not pay their bills! And you talk about them filing bankruptcy/shutting down because of fuel prices – well they didn’t even pay for their fuel so how can you blame it on that? (“Chicago has much to lose — a $7.1 million loan the city made to ATA. A fuel supplier in Columbus, Ohio, is owed $2.5 million; four maintenance companies are owed $1.5 million.” from the very same article!)

So I am saying it again….

I do not support a strike because a strike does not support my family!!

Unless of course you are willing to give us money to go on strike!

You say “Stand Up, Speak out, or Go Broke” well a person would think you ARE going to go broke if you strike for a week….that just makes common sense – no money coming in means no bills getting paid no food on the table.

Still no one has answered my question – Who is going to pay for my family’s necessities if we go on strike?

Is that the sound of crickets I hear? Because I already know the answer to that question – it is NO ONE – because the well thought out plan of a strike is fine – but some CANNOT afford to ditch their responsibilities of taking care of their family for something (strike) that is only going to hurt all of us in the end. And that’s right I said RESPONSBILITY.

A lot of these posts talk about the government being responsible for this and for that – where is YOUR responsibility to ensure you and your family is taken care of?

Think about it people.

Where is YOUR money coming from if you sit on your butt for a week? There is NO strike fund you can draw from like a union can. You talk about doing BECAUSE of the lack of money yet you are willing to sit for a freaking week not even TRYING to make money??? Wow….very good thinking. “Gee I don’t make HARDLY any money now but I think I’ll park my truck for a week and make NO money at all…yeah that will show them!”

Show them what??

I still say I don’t support a strike – because the strike doesn’t support my family!!

There are plenty of people driving new cars and eating good dinners, what does that have to do with anything?

There are truckers that get good rates to cover their fuel prices. Maybe that’s what you should strike for. Huh, who would have thought?