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Actually, if you are a consumer, you did do most of that. This is the reality of market pressures at the very end of the line. We still need humans to drive tru

Actually, if you are a consumer, you did do most of that. This is the reality of market pressures at the very end of the line. We still need humans to drive trucks -- but we expect them to be superhuman. I find this post saddening. How little we care about the people responsible for all the things we take for granted in life.

wccrawford 15y ago
Everyone is affected by 'market pressures', so I don't buy that cop-out either. I'm serious here: If you do not like your job, demand more money, better working conditions, or quit and find a better one. The first 2 of those are what unions were designed to fix. If the truck driving industry (freight industry?) is so horrible, why haven't they unionized and fixed it? If they have unionized, why is their union so ineffective? I do pity people who think they have dug a hole so deep they can't get out of it. Mainly because they are -wrong-. They have allowed the world to walk allover them and have stopped considering that they can better themselves.
- mrcharles 15y ago
  The unions exist to do things like limit how much they drive in a day -- before truck driving unions and such, drivers were basically expected to drive whatever it took to get their load where it was going. This was, obviously, horribly unsafe. But unions aren't a magic fix for everything. Also, how quickly we of the first world are to assume that you can just up and change jobs. It's easy when you sit at a desk. It's not easy when all you've ever done is drive a truck, or work at a factory, or done construction. Your intolerance disgusts me, honestly.
  - cchurch 15y ago
    You act like anyone who performs unskilled labor is a victim. I feel for people who are in a difficult situation, but I expect them to work their way out of it. And the great thing about this country is: they can if they use their wits and are willing to work harder than most people can imagine.
    - mrcharles 15y ago
      You seriously underestimate exactly how hard being a truck driver is. Random internet challenge: Be a truck driver for a month. Then come back to this thread.

wccrawford 15y ago

Everyone is affected by 'market pressures', so I don't buy that cop-out either. I'm serious here: If you do not like your job, demand more money, better working conditions, or quit and find a better one. The first 2 of those are what unions were designed to fix. If the truck driving industry (freight industry?) is so horrible, why haven't they unionized and fixed it? If they have unionized, why is their union so ineffective? I do pity people who think they have dug a hole so deep they can't get out of it. Mainly because they are -wrong-. They have allowed the world to walk allover them and have stopped considering that they can better themselves.

mrcharles 15y ago
The unions exist to do things like limit how much they drive in a day -- before truck driving unions and such, drivers were basically expected to drive whatever it took to get their load where it was going. This was, obviously, horribly unsafe. But unions aren't a magic fix for everything. Also, how quickly we of the first world are to assume that you can just up and change jobs. It's easy when you sit at a desk. It's not easy when all you've ever done is drive a truck, or work at a factory, or done construction. Your intolerance disgusts me, honestly.
- cchurch 15y ago
  You act like anyone who performs unskilled labor is a victim. I feel for people who are in a difficult situation, but I expect them to work their way out of it. And the great thing about this country is: they can if they use their wits and are willing to work harder than most people can imagine.
  - mrcharles 15y ago
    You seriously underestimate exactly how hard being a truck driver is. Random internet challenge: Be a truck driver for a month. Then come back to this thread.