Who Needs FMCSA? We Have OOIDA!

[freedhardwoods]

They would rather I waste 10 minutes walking back and forth to change the log than just get my stuff done and fix it when I get back. Editing is a lawful function of the Nag.

They make a smart phone app for everything else. Find someone to make one to fix your log while away from the truck.

 

[Gus]

To force a lease or owner op onto electronic logs, then say that driver cannot use a lawful function of the required equipment is ridiculous. They want me to log what I do, and I do so to the best of my ability. The company (and, apparently, DOT) don't like how I do it...well, do they want accurate logs or not?

Explain again how the company is at fault because you don't want to walk back out to the truck and change your duty status. Edits are legal for when you forget. DOT requires you to be current up to your last change of duty. If you are off shopping and considered off duty, change the status.

You don't gave a case since you admit to being lazy and not wanting to return to the truck. Several people offered a solution, change it before you go in.

 

[Duck]

Explain again how the company is at fault because you don't want to walk back out to the truck and change your duty status. Edits are legal for when you forget. DOT requires you to be current up to your last change of duty. If you are off shopping and considered off duty, change the status.

You don't gave a case since you admit to being lazy and not wanting to return to the truck. Several people offered a solution, change it before you go in.

Does the law say that your log has to be current up to last change of duty status, .. or does it say you can't DRIVE unless it's current?

 

[j911brick]

I'm to a point that I have a tough time trusting any of them. I'm tired of the whole mess right now. I'm tired of the company creating its own rules and, yes, using the electronic nag as a tool to crawl up my ass. I didn't expect OOIDA to jump right in and hold my hand, or to do anything at all. I just didn't expect them to jump right on the ATA bandwagon.

I thought they wanted to know about instances of harassment via the QC and electronic log. I thought they wanted to know about exactly how the tool is being used against lease ops/owner ops and drivers. I thought they might be interested to know how far it is being pushed to control drivers. I did not expect the response I got both times I called. Essentially, they didn't even want to know. I felt like I was inconveniencing them by giving them information.

To force a lease or owner op onto electronic logs, then say that driver cannot use a lawful function of the required equipment is ridiculous. They want me to log what I do, and I do so to the best of my ability. The company (and, apparently, DOT) don't like how I do it...well, do they want accurate logs or not? Where does OOIDA fit in this? How about taking the information they had apparently asked for before?

OOIDA is fighting EOBRs on grounds of driver harassment. I give them an example of exactly that. Since it doesn't fit into their little model of harassment, it's poopoohed. This is why I'm frustrated with OOIDA.

Perhaps you just didn't explain your case correctly. Plato teaches us that the question is often more important than the answer. IOW: if you don't ask the right question(s), you won't get the right answer.

 

[lawdog2062]

Is that opinion or known stated facts. personally not part of ooida, never gave them a penny and never talked to any ooida rep. never saw any good with them while driving for the point of what they can and do for me. never talked to any driver who brought up how ooida saved there ass or helped them out. all i ever saw out of them was this shiney sticker they give out to people who spend money on them. so seriously, show me with facts one thing ooida has done for any of you, not something you heard or from a friend but your incident. i'm curious to see if they actually do anything but collect your 100 miles a month.

I'm not real big on OOIDA either. I joined. I haven't gotten anything from them but a magazine that I already got for free.

 

[blackw900]

I'm not real big on OOIDA either. I joined. I haven't gotten anything from them but a magazine that I already got for free.

What exactly do you expect from them?

I was filing some forms today for my new IRP and the IRP office here was not being helpful at all, So I called OOIDA.
I asked a few questions and got good, solid answers within about a 5 minute phone call and was able to complete the forms and move on to another project...That is only one of the things that they have done for me the last couple of weeks while I have been changing carriers and reorganizing the way my IRP and IFTA are set up.

They are always a phone call away when a guy hits a snag in matters such as these....I would have eventually figured out what I needed to do but they cetainly streamlined the process for me.

 

[lawdog2062]

My left forearm....View attachment 16025 Imagine that.

Flatbed Trucker Workin' :happyfeet:
View attachment 16025

 

[Racer X 69]

The naysayers complain that OOIDA hasn't got enough clout to get things done while saying..."I'll never give them a dime!"
Where do you all suppose the clout is supposed to come from?

Here, I'll help you.....Membership numbers and activism by those members.

OOIDA gets a lot of attention in Washington in spite of the fact that the membership is as small as it is and a lot of people expect a lot of personal attention for their stinkin' 25 bucks a year.

Hey. Sounds a lot like unions to me. Yeah, that's right, organized labor. I know, OOIDA doesn't call themselves a labor union, but that is exactly what they are.

 

[Tim]

Hey. Sounds a lot like unions to me. Yeah, that's right, organized labor. I know, OOIDA doesn't call themselves a labor union, but that is exactly what they are.

So the NRA would be a Union also?

 

[Racer X 69]

So the NRA would be a Union also?

No.

The NRA represents gun owners.

Gun owners may have jobs and work, many may be truck drivers, and many may have gun ownership and use as part of a job, but the NRA is not involved in labor issues.

OOIDA represents truck drivers.

Truck drivers may have guns, but OOIDA doesn't represent them with respect to their gun ownership, OOIDA represents drivers with matters involving their profession.

 

[blackw900]

Hey. Sounds a lot like unions to me. Yeah, that's right, organized labor. I know, OOIDA doesn't call themselves a labor union, but that is exactly what they are.

Really? They are primarily a P.A.C. rather than a union. A union is about collective barganing for wages and benefits as opposed to simply working for the interests of their members to ward off government intrusion into our businesses.
They don't dictate wages or working conditions or any of the things that unions do....To call OOIDA a union is a bit of a reach.

 

[Gus]

So the NRA would be a Union also?

A union for weapons.

 

[Copperhead]

I'm to a point that I have a tough time trusting any of them. I'm tired of the whole mess right now. I'm tired of the company creating its own rules and, yes, using the electronic nag as a tool to crawl up my ass.

To force a lease or owner op onto electronic logs, then say that driver cannot use a lawful function of the required equipment is ridiculous.

And you are staying with that carrier for what reason? No one is forced to do anything. No one is forced, kicking and screaming, to work with a carrier that they feel harassed or pressured by. No one is forced, kicking and screaming, to even be in trucking. I am on EOBR, but no one puts pressure on me. It isn't that difficult to stay within the regs, and no carrier will force me to move when I don't want to. No carrier, customer, or government has forced me to do anything in over 30 years at this game, and they will have a hard time trying now. What I chose to do may be in line with what they want, but no one forces me. We can either act like adults, reason and work thru a situation, or we can go our separate ways. I don't need OOIDA or any other organization to hold my hand, and go beat someone up because I want to whine like a little girl that I am being picked on.

Now, I am an OOIDA member. I like some of the things they advocate. Some other things they concern themselves with seem more like a bunch of whining children. They do get some discounts on things, like the $500 rebate I get by buying my glider truck this year. Or rebates or pre-approved financing on an APU, or a lot of other things they line up with various companies. It is not perfect. But they do some things right, and they are the only game in town when it comes to a trade organization for truck owners and drivers. And if nothing else, they are a thorn in the side of ATA, TCA, FMCSA, and states, and some of the carriers. That's fun to watch sometimes.

 

[Injun]

....That's fun to watch sometimes.

That's true. And a good point.

 

[Racer X 69]

They don't dictate wages or working conditions or any of the things that unions do....

I was a member of the IBEW for 30 years. Never did they dictate wages. All union members enjoy fair wages, as well as beter working conditions and benefits, negotiated in good faith during the collective bargaining process.

True, OOIDA does not enter into collective bargaining directly with member's employers for wages, but they do have an impact on, and influence driver pay through their activities.

OOIDA also works towards better benefits and working conditions for the membership, in much the same way as labor unions do.

 

[blackw900]

I was a member of the IBEW for 30 years. Never did they dictate wages. All union members enjoy fair wages, as well as beter working conditions and benefits, negotiated in good faith during the collective bargaining process.

IBEW is a labor union....If they can't get what they want, They take a strike vote and shut a company down or at least make it a pain in the ass for them to conduct business until they cave in and give the employees what they want....Strongarm tactics, That's all they do.

True, OOIDA does not enter into collective bargaining directly with member's employers for wages, but they do have an impact on, and influence driver pay through their activities.

OOIDA on the other hand can't and won't endorse a strike of work slowdown or negotiate with any employer for wages or working conditions. What they do instead is work to stop bad law enforcement practices (Such as the Minnesota case) and push back against government regulation and intrusion into areas of our businesses where the government has no right to be.
There is a fundamental differnce in the purpose of an organization like OOIDA which is for all intents and purposes a PAC and not a labor union.

OOIDA also works towards better benefits and working conditions for the membership, in much the same way as labor unions do.

OOIDA does not work for "better benefits" or "working conditions" for membership on the level that a labor union does. OOIDA primarily focuses assiting small business owners such as myself in dealing with the red tape that the government puts in front of us and also in trying to reduce the level of red tape that we have to deal with.
Since their primary focus is the small business "owner" it would be ludicrous to assume that they are a "labor" organization.
They have improved working conditions for "employees" in certain instances inadvertantly during the course of working on making things better for the small business man who's interests sometimes mesh with the interests of "employees".

 

[Racer X 69]

IBEW is a labor union....

IBEW was formed over 100 years ago because employers were forcing electrical workers to perform their jobs in unsafe conditions, for poor pay, with no benefits. The private electrical power distributors were getting rich on the backs of the very men who were dying while working for them.

Today, over 100 years later, employers are still trying to force workers to "get the job done" no matter what the cost, without regard to safety or the health and welfare of the very men and women who all too often pay the ultimate sacrifice so the corporate fat cats can sit in overstuffed leather chairs in opulent offices.

(And before anyone starts whining that the executives at the top of the IBEW are like the corporate fat cats of large corporations with fancy offices, etc., I can assure you they are far from it. In my years as a member of the IBEW I became involved in union business as a steward. I had the opportunity to visit the business office of the local in Seattle. The desks and chairs were nothing more than what can be purchased by anyone at Office Depot or Staples. Vinyl upholstery, Formica covered desks, ordinary file cabinets. Nothing fancy or extravagant.)

If they can't get what they want, They take a strike vote and shut a company down or at least make it a pain in the ass for them to conduct business until they cave in and give the employees what they want....Strongarm tactics, That's all they do.

Name the last time there was a strike by members of the IBEW.

And "strongarm tactics" is not what they do.

They represent the membership, through collective bargaining for better wages, benefits and working conditions. Additionally when there are labor management disputes, the union management engages in arbitration on behalf of the members involved.

The IBEW, and other labor unions also engage in "PAC", on behalf of the membership, at the sate and national levels.

OOIDA on the other hand can't and won't endorse a strike of work slowdown or negotiate with any employer for wages or working conditions. What they do instead is work to stop bad law enforcement practices (Such as the Minnesota case) and push back against government regulation and intrusion into areas of our businesses where the government has no right to be.

There is a fundamental differnce in the purpose of an organization like OOIDA which is for all intents and purposes a PAC and not a labor union.

OOIDA still influences the wages of drivers through the activities it engages in.

OOIDA does not work for "better benefits" or "working conditions" for membership on the level that a labor union does. OOIDA primarily focuses assiting small business owners such as myself in dealing with the red tape that the government puts in front of us and also in trying to reduce the level of red tape that we have to deal with.
Since their primary focus is the small business "owner" it would be ludicrous to assume that they are a "labor" organization.
They have improved working conditions for "employees" in certain instances inadvertantly during the course of working on making things better for the small business man who's interests sometimes mesh with the interests of "employees".

Really?

Hmmm . . . .

"Fighting for the rights of all truckers".

Sounds a lot like the same rhetoric the labor unions disseminate. And by saying "all truckers" I would think that means more than just the small business "owner".

From the OOIDA web site:

Who We Are

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the international trade association representing the interests of independent owner-operators and professional drivers on all issues that affect truckers. The over 150,000 members of OOIDA are men and women in all 50 states and Canada who collectively own and/or operate more than 240,000 individual heavy-duty trucks and small truck fleets.

Our Mission

The mission of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. is to serve owner-operators, small fleets and professional truckers; to work for a business climate where truckers are treated equally and fairly; to promote highway safety and responsibility among all highway users; and to promote a better business climate and efficiency for all truck operators.

What we do

Since 1973, the Association has actively advocated the views of professional truckers through its interaction with state, provincial and federal government agencies, legislatures, the courts, other associations, and private businesses to advance an equitable environment for commercial drivers. OOIDA is active in all aspects of highway safety and transportation policy, and represents the positions of professional truckers on numerous committees and in various forums on the local, state, provincial, national and international levels. The Association participates in virtually every significant rulemaking affecting professional truckers, testifies at all major hearings on trucking issues, and participates in industry-wide organizations and conferences.

So really, OOIDA is indeed an organization that had its very genesis in much the same way that labor unions did. IT was formed from a need for representation of a group of workers to improve working conditions, wages, and benefits.

And OOIDA does more than have primary focus on the small business "owner".

True, OOIDA does not engage in collective bargaining, but the organization does work toward improving wages, benefits and working conditions for the membership. Like the line I made bold in the paragraph, "What we do" says, OOIDA does indeed represent drivers, much in the same way as a labor union would.