De-Regulation of the Trucking Industry by Jimmy Carter..

[Alvin Lee Catron]

I want to irritate all ya about WHAT was gained if anything from DE-REGULATION back in the 70's by then President Jimmy Carter who was a peanut farmer and refused to pay truckers the rates they asked to transport his freight to and from the farm..Back then everybody wanted to become a trucker for we had a NAME and good REPUTATION... Carter signed in the de-regulation bills which grandfathered in UNION BUSTING thus crashed the TRUCKERS UNIONS and brought on cheap rates as we know them now.. Back then fuel was around 85 cents a gallon  and the highest rates for truckers were $1.25 a mile.. Unions were doing real good for I was one of the union drivers.. That was 1970 era when jobs were so plentiful that nobody went hungry.. NOW and here it is 2012 aka 42 years or so later and our rates are hovering $1.25 to $2.50 per mile 7 axle freight ie reefer or dry ect..Fuel is now hovering $4.00 to $4.65 per gallon.. Way too many shippers and brokers foreget how to make out checks so they run up super large IOU's to truckers and (I was a broker for 5 years) change their name to prevent paying and or being forced into bankruptcy and thus the truck goes BR because no money to pay their bills or support their home and family..IT only takes one or two checks and a trucker's back is broken if ya small as I was with ONE truck ONE trailer and independantly owner operator.. I at one time owned 17 rigs so pain I am well aware of and the high cost of operating then DOT audits.Think about this but a lisence to drive a truck cost $3.50 and was a combination and now a CDL costing over $100 plus school and physical..I can list brokers who owe over $500,000 to truckers APIECE and and that is only 2 brokers.. That is a million that got collected but not paid out..BUT because of DE-REGULATION, Truckers lost their voice and WE have NOBODY anywhere to stand up for us.. OOIDA ??? Sorry!!!  ATA??? Sorry!!! Jimmy Hoffa Sr. was OUR man and the mofia knew it so they got rid of him and HIS SON got paid off and running scared.. This is only food for thought but also is MY opinion .........