Unions

This guy posts like Todd. 500 words to say nothing.

This guy posts like Todd. 500 words to say nothing.

Right on!

And he is a professor??? This is just another example as to why the younger generation is not at fault for their misguided idealologies!!! Its the higher education institutions polluting them.

It's funny that his first post made me think about how the postal unions ruined the USPS and the teachers unions ruined education....with "rubber rooms" and "lemon dances". Anyone who has never seen the documentary "Waiting for Superman" should check it out. Tenure keeps lousy teachers employed for a lifetime, even paying them for years during union arbitrations while doing NOTHING but draining the education system of much needed dollars instead if using it towards the students.

Mr. Professor, perhaps you think we truckers are a bunch of uneducated morons but I beg to differ. Socialism/Communism will not work. But of course you support unions, otherwise you probably wouldnt have a guaranteed job without your tenure.

I choose to work hard and prosper. I choose to help those in need...that is my CHOICE. God Bless America. If you want socialism, take your Marxist thinking and Draconian delivery of your ideas to Europe.

Leave the hard work of transporting goods to us.

If you have a valid argument, make it. If you think you can fertilize those eggs, get to it. Attacking the person is not the way to git 'r done. If I were to look directly at you, eyeball to eyeball, I would see only your willingness to say whatever is necessary to keep the big companies happily churning through the new obedient workers so that no one must be fairly compensated. And since we are looking at each other and not at arguments, I will say this. When I look at you, I see a coward and a crony. The American worker is producing more than at any time in history but receiving less compensation. This is a problem that needs an answer. If you are not part of the solution, you are the problem. Either lead, follow, or get out of the way.

I grew up in Oregon. Log truck (Kenworth long logger) was the first truck I drove when I was 18. I got my chauffeur's license on my 18th birthday. I don't know if what we did in 1978 is like log trucking now but I'm sure it's still a difficult and dangerous job. From what I can tell, the amount of money being made is the main difference. When I was a kid, a dad could work a reasonable amount of hours per week and own a couple of vehicles. His wife could afford not to hold an outside job and they could go on vacation now and then. My dad was able to help 5 kids get through college. I liked the hard work but I wasn't too sure that I liked following orders. I always wanted to know why I had to do things. "Because I said so" was never an answer I could stomach for long. When my dad watched me pulling cable for the yarder or running a skidder while singing opera arias, he was doubtful that I would stick with it. And he was right. Teaching always pulled me harder than anything else in life. That said, I still like working hard as long as it makes sense and I don't feel as though I am somebody else's tool. I like to think that the work I do benefits everyone, not just a few selfish people who may have created a job. Thankfully, not everyone is selfish who creates jobs and I've managed to get along quite well with many job creators.

I still question authority but I work hard and efficiently. I believe that values are more important than knowledge. I believe that everyone should question what they're told until it makes sense. If it doesn't make sense, keep trying to make sense of it. Don't accept conventional wisdom at face value. Get under the surface and figure out who benefits from what is being said. There is always more than meets the eye. Win-win is possible. Abundant life is possible. It is not necessary to keep people locked away from the fruits of their labors. When all is said and done and the fat lady sings at the end of the show, the mighty will be put down from their seats. The rich will be sent empty away. If you don't believe me, go look it up.

I've been leading for years. As far as following goes, you are following dreams that are not based in reality. I work for a big company because they treat me fairly, pay me extremely well, and keep me in good safe equipment. Nobody is attacking you, we find your arguments to be void of substance and filled with the kind of stuff that comes from thinkers not doers. We know how to get things done and be compensated fairly for it. You disagree with our ideas and I guess that's okay, but your platitudes are not very convincing to me.

You say:

Attacking the person is not the way to git 'r done

Then two sentences later you say:

When I look at you, I see a coward and a crony

Brilliant hypocrisy. That always garners respect.

Then, the part time trucker adds a classic trucker cliche, straight from channel 19, guaranteed to get eye rolls from everyone here:

Either lead, follow, or get out of the way.

oooooh brotherrrrrr. Did he really just say that?

I was going to respond point by point to your previous statement, which Old School nailed perfectly when he said you're just speaking in platitudes, but after this last statement it doesn't seem worth the time. You're clearly bored and frustrated so you're trying to alleviate that quandary by kicking up dust and calling for protest, which even you admitted won't solve anything and doesn't even target the people you're angry with anyhow.

I don't think anything you're saying applies to people making $75,000/year with great benefits driving brand new rigs, and even if it did I haven't heard the first logical and actionable remedy for the situation.

Kit, here's what really bothers me. I'm a competitive guy who enjoys his work immensely. I have a home, several automobiles, put three kids through college, and a wife who stayed at home to raise them. I could easily retire from working today, yet you keep trying to convince me I'm a fool for not believing my life and efforts are less enjoyable than my forefathers. I say bunk!

There are plenty of truck drivers who would agree with you simply because they haven't been achievers. Your ideas ultimately bring everyone down to a common denominator. I would rather lead by example so that others can see what kind of achievement it takes to live at a higher level of satisfaction. In life, as in trucking, your performance is what gets rewarded.

I still question authority but I work hard and efficiently. I believe that values are more important than knowledge. I believe that everyone should question what they're told until it makes sense. If it doesn't make sense, keep trying to make sense of it. Don't accept conventional wisdom at face value. Get under the surface and figure out who benefits from what is being said. There is always more than meets the eye. Win-win is possible. Abundant life is possible. It is not necessary to keep people locked away from the fruits of their labors. When all is said and done and the fat lady sings at the end of the show, the mighty will be put down from their seats. The rich will be sent empty away. If you don't believe me, go look it up.

I think I've heard that stuff somewhere before. Oh yeah, I have.........about 10 million times in every piece of philosophical work created in the past 3,000 years. Not an original thought to be found.

I like to think that the work I do benefits everyone, not just a few selfish people who may have created a job. Thankfully, not everyone is selfish who creates jobs and I've managed to get along quite well with many job creators.

If you're so smart and you know what's best for this world then why aren't you creating tens of thousands of jobs and treating those people the way they deserve to be treated? You're telling us to lead, follow, or get out of the way. Who are you leading? What are you accomplishing?

You're talking to people who have been real leaders for many years. We're proven, experienced professionals in our field. We've had over 14 million visits to this website in the past 12 years and we've helped untold thousands get their careers underway with sound, actionable advice and a solid strategy. We help people prepare for exams, understand how to choose the right company for themselves, prepare for the trials of life on the road, and endure the hardships they face once they get out there. We've helped turn around the lives of thousands of people who were struggling to find work that pays a living wage. Now their lives are on solid footing and they actually enjoy the work they do.

I'm not sure how you're benefiting anyone. Why don't you give us some concrete examples of your leadership at work in people's lives?

Kit, you may see me as a coward and a crony. I can accept that. Here's the difference between you and me...

I am content. I am always striving to do a better job, and be more efficient, but I am happy with my results. You've basically admitted to us that you have struggled with these philosophical ideas since your very early working days. So, I ask you... What has this struggle you've endured all these years accomplished in you? It's obviously found a vent and is escaping through your communications, but how has this struggle improved your life? You claim to know how to raise the tide for everyone, yet you still seem to be bitter about your own circumstances, or maybe it's just that you want us to realize that we should be unhappy with ours.

I teach people to succeed on their own merits. That can be done no matter who you're working for. We are not slaves to our society. Fortunately we can exercise our own mastery with our own productivity.