Unfortunately, many places will not do this. They choose to have all trucks arrive at the same time, wait to pull orders until a truck arrives, or insist on counting and restacking loads while the truck is still in the dock.

I know that a shipper cannot stack a load according to each customers specifications. This would create delays for the shipper, and result in more pallets and less freight being shipped on each load, which is  not cost effective, and  in most cases would increase the weight of the load.

I also know that a consignee needs to break down loads to accommodate their own shipping and distribution methods, but doing this while the truck and trailer are still in the dock is not necessary. Loads can easily be staged as they are unloaded, then broken down and counted after the driver has left.

Some receivers may claim this creates a risk of increased shortages. Whether this is true or not, if all loads are shipper load and count, using a seal properly on every load will allow the consignee to go back to the shipper for both cargo damage and shortages rather than blaming the driver.

The solution to eliminate the need for detention is actually very simple. Getting shippers and receivers to change their methods of operation to a more efficient and productive way of doing business may not be, and it will take drivers standing together and refusing to haul some freight unless the shipper or receiver is willing to make the necessary changes that will get every truck in and out within 30 minutes regardless of the load.

You read that right. 30 minutes is all it takes to load or unload almost any trailer, and the process is simple:

This is going to take time, and shippers are going to balk at first, but the more drivers that join together and start asking the shipper to verify the seal, the sooner they will come to accept the fact that we are not going to be responsible for the load. When we can reach a membership level of 2 million or more drivers all working together and following the same steps at every shipper, it will become mandatory that all shippers seal every trailer and accept responsibility for the count and condition of every load.

Does this take me a few extra minutes? Yes, especially when I have to explain to a customer that I did not load or count the product, and I am not going to accept financial responsibility for shortages by breaking the seal without someone agreeing to verify and sign that the seal is still intact on the trailer. I have had some customers balk, and many will sign without actually checking the seal, but as long as they sign BEFORE I do break the seal, I have covered myself if there is a shortage or damaged product.

Yes, it does take time now, but that's only because I'm one of the only drivers that do it. If every driver would do it, it wouldn't take any extra time.

It's simple: Either they agree to pay you for your time or you REFUSE TO HAUL THEIR FREIGHT AGAIN!

Some of you will say this can't be done because if one driver refuses a load, another one will take it. I say with a group of American Truck Drivers that are united together, logging on and seeing what companies are working with you instead of against you, and that same group of drivers agrees to work together and take a stand to improve conditions for all drivers rather than ignoring the problem or trying to fight each battle alone, WE CAN DO IT!

Have you ever noticed that if a union truck pulls up to a dock where you're at, that truck is in and out in no time? Why? Because the shipper or receiver knows that they only have a certain amount of time before that union truck starts getting paid anywhere from $150 to $500 an hour for sitting there. If they don't pay, the union will stop their trucks from hauling that companies freight. If the union can do it for their benefit, why can't we do it for ourselves?

Wouldn't it be nice to pull into a shipper or receiver at your 7:00 am appointment, and when they tell you to park your truck and they'll call you when they're ready for you, you can tell them:

"That's fine, but at 7:30 you will be charged $100 an hour for me to sit here. Since you weren't ready to load or unload my trailer at my appointment time, the rate is charged in hourly increments starting at my appointment time (from 7:00 to 8:00, then from 8:01 to 9:00, etc.) and since I may not be able to get my truck into the parking lot of the bank you have your account with, you will have to write me a comcheck for the amount before I leave rather than include it in the freight bill."

And if the shipper laughs at you and refuses to pay detention or immediately load or unload your trailer, wouldn't it be nice to tell them:

"No problem, I'm a member of Truck Drivers United. I'll simply let them know you won't pay drivers for their time, and they'll notify the other two million members that have agreed to stand together that they are to refuse to haul your freight under any circumstances. By the way, 90% of the trucks you are suppose to load today are probably driven by members of Truck Drivers United. I'll let the ones sitting on your property waiting to load know what's going on so they can leave and spread the word to the others, and I'll be sure to let other trucks I meet on my way out know so they can stop and notify their broker or dispatcher that they are refusing to haul your freight any longer."

If you're a company driver, and your company threatens to fire you if you don't haul for that shipper or receiver any more, wouldn't it be nice to tell your company:

"That's fine, I support my fellow drivers through Truck Drivers United, and I'll email them and inform them you're forcing drivers to haul for a black listed company, and they'll ask the other members that are driving for you to shut down in protest, and notify all members that they recommend in the future drivers not hire on with you as a company driver or lease their truck on with you if they're an owner operator. They will also recommend that your current drivers and owner operators start looking for other companies to drive for since your company is not driver friendly."

Do either of these scenarios seem possible? I SAY THEY ARE POSSIBLE, but only if we ALL stand together and support one another.

I know it's hard to say no, especially if you're a company driver, but unless we all join together and start saying NO in one united voice, both owner operators and company drivers, we will NEVER see changes that improve the trucking industry.

No one can EVER convince me almost any company can't load or unload a trailer within 30 minutes. I've seen it done too many times, both on pallets and slip sheets, and it isn't a financial burden on a shipper or reviver. If they had been operating their business in an efficient manner from the start like they should have been, they wouldn't have to make changes now.

While both of these scenarios are only a dream at this time, I would love to see that dream become a reality for every  man and woman driving a truck, and if we quit saying it can't be done and join together, we CAN make it a reality!

It also means we have to get other drivers involved and STAND TOGETHER! No trucking company is so large they can operate without trucks and drivers, whether they are company trucks, owner operators, or both, and if all the drivers for any one company joins together and takes a stand against a particular shipper or receiver, that company will have to either support the drivers, or go out of business.  If ALL truck drivers stand together, both company drivers and owner operators, then every trucking company will have to support their drivers, and the shippers will either load our trailers within 30 minutes, pay us to sit, or go out of business. The same applies to the consignees. They will either unload us within 30 minutes or pay us to sit, or no driver will deliver to them anymore, and they will go out of business. The unions do it for their members, so why can't we as American Truck Drivers do it for ourselves?

Don't misunderstand my intentions. I DO NOT want to force anyone out of business. In fact, if you read the information about Black Listing companies, I'm willing to contact them and try to help them be more efficient. All I want is for companies to start operating their docks more efficiently so they will load and unload our trailers in a timely manner, and I want the big trucking companies to support us as well. This would benefit them as well as the drivers since the trucks won't be sitting all day.

Making this work means that for once instead of the company drivers and owner operators pointing their fingers and blaming each other for the problems that exist, they have to stand together, not as company drivers or owner operators, but as American Truck Drivers.

Obviously, this isn't going to happen over night. You have to help make it happen. You have to tell other drivers about Truck Drivers United. You have to be the spokesman on the road and in the truck stops and tell other drivers about TruckDriversUnited.com to start making the changes happen that you and every truck driver deserves!

So how long will it take? I can't say. I'd like to see this movement grow so powerful in the next year that every driver in the country has logged on and said "YES, I will support my fellow driver to improve conditions for them, and for myself out here on the road, and yes, if I have to refuse to haul for a particular shipper, refuse to deliver to a particular consignee, boycott a particular state, or even shut down for 72 hours if it becomes necessary, if it means a better life for me and my family, I'll do it!"

That's up to you. If you do nothing and don't tell anyone about this site, and no one else does either, then it will never happen. If you do tell others about us and rather than say "It can't be done" start telling other drivers "We CAN do it if we work together," then it CAN and WILL happen.

It's up to you.

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