Why did the Truckies Strike fail? It’s a question that needs to be asked of those that lead the strike action.
The truckies strike was a grass roots uprising against big corporate control, and bad government legislation. It had tremendous public support not only across rural & regional Australia, but in the cities.
Not only was that overwhelming support evident from Agmates readers comments but also from readers comments in most major news papers across Australia.
I’ve seen and heard truckies themselves blaming other truckies for not supporting the shutdown, but in the same breath saying that between 45-70% of truck were off the road on the 1st day.
The mainstream media did give the strike action reasonable coverage in the in the week leading up to the strike and during the first 48 hours. That national media coverage would have exploded if the strike had of continued even for a couple of more days.
What a wasted opportunity - Truckies had tremendous public support, huge grass roots support from truckies themselves who felt unrepresented by the Transport Workers Union and peak bodies like The Australian Truckers Association who condemned their actions even though a huge number of their members were participating.
They also had national media attention which would only have grown.
It is disappointing to think that it may have failed because the three groups, all formed by disgruntled owner drivers & drivers, the National Transport Form (NTF), Australian Long Distance Owners & Drivers Association ( ALDODA ) and Mineral & Mine Movers who were all basically looking to right the same wrongs could not even bear to speak to each other let alone work together for the common good.
It tragic that you can have some much public support, grass roots driver support, media attention and yet still manage to self destruct. What a wasted opportunity!
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Update - Monday July the 4th August @10.30am
Andrew Marx writes in todays Brisbanes Courier Mail - “Trucks Protest picks up a load of indifference” is a tremendous example of how the media has had a field day with the disjointed parties involved in the strike.
ALDODA Vice president and QLD organizer Bob Woodyard is quoted as saying -
“We’re just sick and tired of driving 1650kms for $1,540 F***ing dollars”…. “
A lesson in media relations Bob - using the F word when talking to Journalists does not help truckies image with the general public. Bob then goes onto explain -
“What’s happening is the news media gets hold of stuff and they’re falsifying what we are saying and doing”
ALDODA representatives have been there own worst enemy when it comes to handling the mainstream media. If you use inflammatory language - thats what they’ll report - it might be colourful in trying to get your message across, but the media will use it - the prospect of truckie violence will sell many more newspapers than the news of owners & drivers doing it tough.
Then the media does not miss the riff between the two groups ALDODA and the NTF (Mick Pattel) - again Woodyard -
” But Mr Woodyard said he was not co-ordinating activities with the NRTF and he accused Mr Pattel of seeking to promote a political agenda.”
Journalist Anthony Marx now having strung Bob along - really goes for the jugular - First he uses Bob’s last statement to discredit Mick Pattel’s motives -
“Mr Pattel who is national president of the right-wing fringe party promoting limited government, did not return calls seeking comment.”
Then just to finish the demolition job - Marx goes on -
“Perhaps more damaging than the division within the fledgling protest movement has been the rejection of the campaign by the ATA & the TWU”
That leads onto the second half of the article devoted to ATA chairman Trevor Martyn & TWU’s Secretary Tony Sheldon’s spin doctoring.
The often quoted platitude “United we Stand - Divided we Fall” is once again proven to be true.
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Have your say! What do you think went wrong?
Related Posts
- Truckies to Hold talks with Minister John Mickel
- Call for Farmers, Fishermen & Truckies to Stand United.
- Truckies Protest in New Zealand as Australian National Shutdown Looms
- Truckies & Government on Collision Course
- No Agreement Reached in Truckies Talks with QLD Government
Tags: ALDODA, Buny Brown, Mick Pattel, Peter Schuback, Transport
Well hello out there all you truckies that had the balls to pull up and support Mick Pattel and his fight.
I think it was basically beaten by a lack of support from the unions and a big shutout by the media on the real people behind road transport in general, not some blond has been who I suspect doesn’t even own a truck and was hell bent on causing as much sensationalism from the media as she could.
Well done aldoda you ruined something that had potential to do some good for all the real workers of the industry.
As to all the big companies and the different associations that didn’t help one little bit and just criticized the whole thing I think you better get out in the real world and start talking to your own members because this industry is on the biggest down hill slide we have ever seen. So wake up you leaders and get your heads out of the sand and listen to the real workers out there.
G’day Neville,
Very astute comments. I have just updated the article. Have a look at it I think you’ll find it very interesting.
Well thanks for the support as a owner driver for nearly 25 years. My comments came straight from the heart on an industry that has been good to me over the years, crazy I know but true.
But these last 12 months and the ridiculous hammering by the government and their out of touch ideas has really got me rattled.
I am really struggling to keep myself focused and finding really hard to get anything good anymore out of the industry.
I was really pinning my hopes on the stoppage as a last resort to fix the blatantly obvious mistakes the government is forcing on us.
I say it again the transport industry and particular the small owner drivers like myself are doing it tough big time and all the associations can say and tell to do is go for price increases ,well that my friends is a lot easier said said than done.
G’day Neville,
Your thoughts are just the tip of the iceberg in that there are many many owner drivers out there that are in the same boat as you and had pinned their hopes on the shutdown to sort it out.
I was just speaking to a farmer who was also just reading these comments. His comment was interesting:
It appears the aborted 2 day shutdown achieved little of significance. So what do owner operators like yourself do now?
As I was driving into Brisbane this morning I was listening to the general chatter on the uhf.
Some of it was constructive, others was the usual garbage that we get ,but I couldn’t help wondering that if so many drivers are in the unions and I think Hughie told Mick that he would pull 15000 drivers out.
I’m thinking well seeing the unions have done nothing to help our plight and if somethings not working for you then get rid of it.
I’m sure 15000 members resigning on mass might get Hughies attention and start listening to the real workers.
G’day Neville,
Maybe You answer the question before I asked it.
Is it a possibility that the Union driver members could organize themselves to force the TWU to coordinate strike action - otherwise they’d resign from the union?
I have linked your comment above to the article where Hughie told Mick Pattel that he had 15,000 members.
Thanks again.
I was just reading Micks latest blog on his forums page and the wheels are in motion for the forming of a group of owner drivers and drivers and anyone who has the same beliefs.
To right the wrongs before it is to late but we must act now while it is still fresh in our minds.
I AM CALLING ON ALL DRIVERS AND OWNER OPERATORS TO GET BEHIND MICK AND THE OTHER PEOPLE BEHIND IT AND WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
I can feel it, the positives, just by writing this letter thanks.
I attended the meeting’s last week and I can tell you a lot of the problem is no-one is game to stand up and be united.
You all sit back and complain about this and that but when it comes time to do something you all climb under a rock and hide. You all had a chance to have your say and you didn’t turn up.
Yes we all have families and bills to pay but if we leave things the way they are by the government we are going to go down a lot quicker.
Dont you think we have lost enough drivers on the road and don’t you thing its about time we did something to change this?
I know I like it when I get to the other end and back without any problems but I’m really glad when my partner has made his run safe and back again.
Well people you will now pay and pay dearly in that you have given the government a free pass and they will use it.
Every person that moves , Handles , Consigns , Receivers , Drivers , The whole lot of you are now going to be hit under the new laws .
If you are a stockman and you bring in a mob and put them in the yards and then they are loaded onto a truck and the driver is hit under the news laws you will also be fined . Yes that is right you are responsible for the people in the chain . Every one of them .
Fines of $10,000 for every person in the chain plus companies will be hit with fines of a five times multipliers . I hope you people every one of you have plenty of money If you want a copy of the new transport act Email me and I will get it too you
jamfig@austarnet.com.au
Most cannot afford to strike but cannot afford to work.. they have a unfair situation where contracts for super profits are sub leased and yet they retain the profit until as the song says…
and they’re getting bigger while your going broke workin for the man hey yeah oh uh hey yeah oh uh
Like farmin truck drivin without a profitable contract, cost plus, is a romantic blues song with a man sleepin in a $30 hotel room and mourns his lost wife and no money and no truck hes workin for the man now, but he wins at cards and buys another truck.
Estimates ONLY for identification purposes only
Price new truck $300,000
=
Interest $ 30,000
Principal $ 30,000 and 6 yr replacement $ 50,000
300,000 km fuel $60,000
24 tyres $ 12,000
oil and maintenance $12,000
Meals and accommodation $25,000
3000 hrs driving @ $30 per hour $90,000 (really $15 as you get paid nothing to wait)
3000 hrs waiting @ ####################
Rego and Insurances $30,000
Over (its not a real life budget I bet its worse )
$339,000 plus spent to get a wage of $90,000 less tax ..wheres the profit ?
So the hourly rate to make a profit and replace the truck would be over $150 per hour not under $100 going broke
Meanwhile the man gets $200 per hour only has bright red new trucks with boys in uniform and gets to negotiate fuel, insurance, rates, oil, tyres etc etc
Thats why if you ask me
I know Mick maybe we should buy two of em
I know in the immediate aftermath the truckies strike must seem a failure to all those who had high expectations, but was it really a total loss? I don’t think so, if it helped raise awareness of their plight and gained some public sympathy without hitting them too hard in the process.
In my column in The Observer, Gladstone, last week I took the opportunity to have a swipe at government ministers and politicians, the ACCC, the just departed and unlamented Fuel Commissioner, the major supermarkets and the oil companies who charge such exorbitant prices for distillate without any scrutiny from any of the above.
Part of the article said,
John ,
Australian oil costs around $ 5.00 a barrel to get from the wells to the refinery and there is enough in the ground to supply Australians for around two hundred years.
But dont worry mate the Australian people are either too lazy , too stupid or too complacent to get off their bums and do any thing about being ripped off .
They will let the multi nationals and the government screw them and never do a thing about it . Why because they are like many other Australians . She will be right mate .
Yep she will be right when the banks have their houses and farms , when they can not feed their kids . When you have to get a permit to breath and the country is under marshal law . She will be right mate .
These people are being sold out and they don’t have the brains or guts to stand up and fight . One has to ask how much crap will people take before they say enough is enough and take a stand against these people and governments that are destroying our economy and life styles
The TWU In Queensland has only got so I have been told 8300 members . Most of them have been forced by their employers to join . If they had any brains they would tell the union where to go .
ONE HAS TO ASK WHO THE UNION WORKS FOR . The transport shut down was a success because it sent a message to the government that at least 380,000 people had the guts to stand up and say enough is enough .
Now all we have to do is get these people and the farmers and the fishermen along with small business people to join as one group and stand up and fight for what is right .
If we all stand together we will have the ability to control governments and get rid of bad laws and look after the people of our country that can not or will not look after themselves .YOU HAVE THE POWER < USE IT
(ONCE WERE AUSTRALIANS)NOW ARSETRALIANS ?
q. WHATS ARSETRALIA’S ONLY SHOP ?
a.THE PRICE IS TWICE (2 X)
Whats Australia’s 3rd biggest export ? (was no 2 a few years ago)
OIL black dirty filthy OIL is our 3rd biggest export.
The blacker it is the better quality like COAL
the top 3 three….EXPORTS
1. COAL
2. IRON ORE
3. OIL
wE SOLD OUR C.O.R. COMMON WEALTH OIL REFINERY FOR NOTHIN..WE DONT EVEN HAVE REFINERY CAPACITY..GONE TO GAURUDA
WHY ?
CAUSE WERE SMARTER THAN YOU ARSETRALIANS WHO SHOP AT;
THE PRICE IS TWICE (2 X)
AND NOW WE GIVE IT AWAY SO 3RD WORLD CAN REFINE IT KEEP HALF.. AND SELL IT TO YOU BACK FOR DOUBLE…
WHY ?
CAUSE WERE SMARTER THAN YOU ARSETRALIANS WHO SHOP AT;
THE PRICE IS TWICE (2 X)
INDONESIA & VIETNAM REFINE OUR OIL THEY CALL IT CRACKING… I CALL IT CUTTING IT TWICE .. AND THEY PAY 40 CENTS PER LITRE FOR YOUR OIL REFINED…WHILST THE PAY FOR EVERYTHING TWICE DUMMIES ARSETRALIANS ? (ONCE WERE AUSTRALIANS) ARE CHARGED $1.78…WORLD PARITY ONE WAY THEIR WAY
WHY ?
CAUSE WERE SMARTER THAN YOU ARSETRALIANS WHO SHOP AT;
THE PRICE IS TWICE (2 X)
oNLY A FEW WEEKS AGO IT WAS LESS THAN 30 CENTS IN INDONESIA AND WHEN THEY PUT IT UP HUNDREDS RIOTED AND MANY WERE ARRESTED… THIS WONT HAPPEN HERE BECAUSE YOUR NOT HURTING ENOUGH !!! MAKE IT $3.00
YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS WILL SIMPLY VANISH GONE OR PAY MORE FOR LESS
WHY ?
CAUSE WERE SMARTER THAN YOU ARSETRALIANS WHO SHOP AT;
THE PRICE IS TWICE (2 X)
MAKE IT TEN TWENTY TIMES WHAT THE INDONESIANS PAY FOR OUR OIL… MAKE IT $6.66
OR GIVE TO US WHAT THE INDONESIANS GET “OUR OIL” FOR 40 CENTS..ONLY THEN WILL WE BE AUSTRALIANS ONCE WERE ARSETRALIANS ..AUSTRALIANS WILL THEN SHOP AT;
THE GAME IS THE SAME (1=1)
AND
MORE FOR LESS
WE SELL IT FOR WHAT WE GIVE IT TO OUR NEIGHBOURS FOR NO MORE NO LESS
I imagine that there are too many truckers out there on a knifes edge, trying to keep it together for their families— and the government and so called authorities know it.
They do their darnedest creating more rules to keep them there, exactly where they want them. Broke and desperate. If people don’t get it together, and you can forget the so called bodies who are supposed to represent your cause, they are all part of the problem behind closed doors.
Its like how we gave up the right to bear arms to protect both ourselves and the nation, because of a yet to be disproved staged event.
At the end of the day, you either take a stand united, or accept everything they intend to throw at you forever. Simple choice really. I pray every day that THE TRUTH will set us free.
Change is what we urgently need, and extreme change at that. A new political energy thats prepared to give Aussies a go instead of take take take and sell off sell off sell off the farm.
Cheers .