ABF | History lesson

canaryinthemine

Retirement....The Job I Was Born To Have!
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As we go into negotiations shortly, I'd like to present this historical oddity to my Brothers and sisters in the trucking industry.

I am old enough to remember this unit being run as a prototype in Ohio. The guy who drove it used the CB handle of "Headless Horseman".............as long as he did not knock his aerials off making a turn.

Many people think this piece of equipment was one of those large Truck Driver Stories ......Fantasy, and not real.

Nope,....it was real,.....companies did contemplate using it, .....and it bothered the Teamsters enough that they did add it to the contract. Of course, that was back when we were a powerful voice in trucking. It's still in the contract, by the way......

I always said that the rest of the trucking industry should be thanking the Teamsters that they aren't getting down on their hands and knees to get into their tractors........A strong Union presence back then kept common sense and safety prevailing over corporate greed.

Keep this in mind during the upcoming contract negotiations when the companies introduce new technology,.......such as super-single tires on sets of doubles,........Saves the company money,....but what do you do when you blow a tire on a convertor gear? The corporate answer is to turn a blind eye until there are too many deaths to ignore.

Stay vigilant! Good Contract in 2018!

Stand by.....I am trying to upload the picture of the Strick Cab-Under. Anyone that wants to see one, type in those words.
Anyone that wants to see the Teamster's response to that, go to page. 86 in the NMFA. Sentence (h), middle of page.
I'll post the picture as soon as I win the tussle with the technology........
 
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Stand by.....I am trying to upload the picture of the Strick Cab-Under. Anyone that wants to see one, type in those words.
Anyone that wants to see the Teamster's response to that, go to page. 86 in the NMFA. Sentence (h), middle of page.
I'll post the picture as soon as I win the tussle with the technology........
LOL, here's a little help for you buddy. I knew that they were mentioned in the contract but I never knew that there were real attempts to make these things.

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strickcabunder_resized.jpg
 
Thank you, Brother! I kept on hitting the "Upload Images" tab,....and I swear the computer was snickering at me at about the 10th attempt........

No,....they were real. I saw the prototype myself on I-76 near Akron. There was like a tidal wave on the CB radio as the cab-under came down the road........"What The?......" "Someone lost their trailer!" .... "I don't believe it!" ........Hard to miss it coming down the road from the chatter on the radio.....

My point is, that even though every truck driver who saw this knew how inherently unsafe and criminally blind to real-world conditions this piece of equipment was.............there were actually trucking company executives and shippers who were salivating at the thought of all the extra freight,....the enlarged cubic footage,.....that they could increase their profits by.........

At the EXPENSE of the driver's safety..........

And,....the dialogue went on long enough, and was serious enough,.....that the Teamsters actually had to create a contractual response to squelch the idea that these things could be put into a fleet without major safety issues.....Pg. 86 in the NMFA......

And now,....we are coming to another contract in the 21st Century,....with all sorts of "technological" advances in equipment to save the companies money. So,....who will advocate for the drivers this time? Only about 10% of the workforce is Teamsters...........the other 90% work under the rule : " You'll Like It, Accept It, And Live With It,...Or You'll Get Fired.."

Guys don't think of it but,......air-conditioning, air ride seats, no rubber block suspensions, minimum cab and sleeper sizes,......and NO CAB-UNDERS......were all the result of Teamster advocacy on the drivers' behalf.....ALL drivers.......

Given the recent leadership quality of the IBT, especially during negotiations, I thought that maybe a reminder about history and safety advocacy in the Transportation industry might be timely.......
 
As we go into negotiations shortly, I'd like to present this historical oddity to my Brothers and sisters in the trucking industry.

I am old enough to remember this unit being run as a prototype in Ohio. The guy who drove it used the CB handle of "Headless Horseman".............as long as he did not knock his aerials off making a turn.

Many people think this piece of equipment was one of those large Truck Driver Stories ......Fantasy, and not real.

Nope,....it was real,.....companies did contemplate using it, .....and it bothered the Teamsters enough that they did add it to the contract. Of course, that was back when we were a powerful voice in trucking. It's still in the contract, by the way......

I always said that the rest of the trucking industry should be thanking the Teamsters that they aren't getting down on their hands and knees to get into their tractors........A strong Union presence back then kept common sense and safety prevailing over corporate greed.

Keep this in mind during the upcoming contract negotiations when the companies introduce new technology,.......such as super-single tires on sets of doubles,........Saves the company money,....but what do you do when you blow a tire on a convertor gear? The corporate answer is to turn a blind eye until there are too many deaths to ignore.

Stay vigilant! Good Contract in 2018!

Stand by.....I am trying to upload the picture of the Strick Cab-Under. Anyone that wants to see one, type in those words.
Anyone that wants to see the Teamster's response to that, go to page. 86 in the NMFA. Sentence (h), middle of page.
I'll post the picture as soon as I win the tussle with the technology........

I remember these things well, never saw one, I do remember when the union said they would not be in our future.
 
Thank you, Brother! I kept on hitting the "Upload Images" tab,....and I swear the computer was snickering at me at about the 10th attempt.......
Here's how I did that one...you find the pics through the Google search, as you know how to do. When you find the pic you want right click on it and a drop down box should appear. One of the options should be 'copy image', click it. Then come back to the reply box here and right click again. A similar drop down box should appear and 'paste' should be an option. Click on it and viola, picture appears right before your very eyes. I can do that right here with the images I brought in up above. Here, give it a try...

resize.php
 
That thing looks like a death trap, glad it never came to be

Believe me, Brother,....Your instincts are absolutely correct on that. I've just retired with 41 years,......41 winters,.....in excess of 3 million miles,.....hauling doubles,...tankers,....carhaulers,....flatbed,........all the states east of the Mississippi regularly,.....and pretty much all of the western states excepting Washington, Oregon, Wyoming and Montana occasionally...( Did I miss anything?),.........empty trailers,....overloaded trailers (Oops!),........overlength trailers,....drop-deck trailers.........

And I can conceive of NO instance where use of this equipment would be safe,....or even justified. Of course,......you didn't think the engineers who designed this rolling abortion, or the corporate schemers with dollar signs in their eyes,....would actually ask any driver what THEY thought about it?

Nah,..........them dummy drivers would only be concerned about intangibles that interfere with profitability,.....like their own safety......

Leave it to those selfish drivers to think of themselves only,....when there's wads of money to be made.....
 
The...lone thing I could see benefitting drivers... and believe me, it pales in comparison to all of the drawbacks...would be fewer back problems from not sitting and bouncing. But what a cluster.
 
I dunno, it kind of looks like the driver would be well protected under there.
 
As we go into negotiations shortly, I'd like to present this historical oddity to my Brothers and sisters in the trucking industry.

I am old enough to remember this unit being run as a prototype in Ohio. The guy who drove it used the CB handle of "Headless Horseman".............as long as he did not knock his aerials off making a turn.

Many people think this piece of equipment was one of those large Truck Driver Stories ......Fantasy, and not real.

Nope,....it was real,.....companies did contemplate using it, .....and it bothered the Teamsters enough that they did add it to the contract. Of course, that was back when we were a powerful voice in trucking. It's still in the contract, by the way......

I always said that the rest of the trucking industry should be thanking the Teamsters that they aren't getting down on their hands and knees to get into their tractors........A strong Union presence back then kept common sense and safety prevailing over corporate greed.

Keep this in mind during the upcoming contract negotiations when the companies introduce new technology,.......such as super-single tires on sets of doubles,........Saves the company money,....but what do you do when you blow a tire on a convertor gear? The corporate answer is to turn a blind eye until there are too many deaths to ignore.

Stay vigilant! Good Contract in 2018!

Stand by.....I am trying to upload the picture of the Strick Cab-Under. Anyone that wants to see one, type in those words.
Anyone that wants to see the Teamster's response to that, go to page. 86 in the NMFA. Sentence (h), middle of page.
I'll post the picture as soon as I win the tussle with the technology........
watch

As we go into negotiations shortly, I'd like to present this historical oddity to my Brothers and sisters in the trucking industry.

I am old enough to remember this unit being run as a prototype in Ohio. The guy who drove it used the CB handle of "Headless Horseman".............as long as he did not knock his aerials off making a turn.

Many people think this piece of equipment was one of those large Truck Driver Stories ......Fantasy, and not real.

Nope,....it was real,.....companies did contemplate using it, .....and it bothered the Teamsters enough that they did add it to the contract. Of course, that was back when we were a powerful voice in trucking. It's still in the contract, by the way......

I always said that the rest of the trucking industry should be thanking the Teamsters that they aren't getting down on their hands and knees to get into their tractors........A strong Union presence back then kept common sense and safety prevailing over corporate greed.

Keep this in mind during the upcoming contract negotiations when the companies introduce new technology,.......such as super-single tires on sets of doubles,........Saves the company money,....but what do you do when you blow a tire on a convertor gear? The corporate answer is to turn a blind eye until there are too many deaths to ignore.

Stay vigilant! Good Contract in 2018!

Stand by.....I am trying to upload the picture of the Strick Cab-Under. Anyone that wants to see one, type in those words.
Anyone that wants to see the Teamster's response to that, go to page. 86 in the NMFA. Sentence (h), middle of page.
I'll post the picture as soon as I win the tussle with the technology........
Ahhh.....yes! And, you won't even need a coffin, because all that tinwork will fold around you like a trash compactor. They can just bury you in a 2' square block......

Canary, here is an example of what you mentioned
These were introduced into our fleet in early seventies, no driver protection whatsoever 2 axle with large single tires
Equipped with air ride,Atlanta driver blew left drive tire, all the air goes to left side to level unit, I guess air tanks were too small
Air pressure drops below 60lb, brakes lock, sends him in the median to wreck.
They pulled them out of service and never seen again.
I drove one 2 trips from Char to Jax, They were a real conversation piece, we called them "Moon Buggies"
Like I said before, In an accident you would be the first on scene.
BTW No one was injured
 
watch



Canary, here is an example of what you mentioned
These were introduced into our fleet in early seventies, no driver protection whatsoever 2 axle with large single tires
Equipped with air ride,Atlanta driver blew left drive tire, all the air goes to left side to level unit, I guess air tanks were too small
Air pressure drops below 60lb, brakes lock, sends him in the median to wreck.
They pulled them out of service and never seen again.
I drove one 2 trips from Char to Jax, They were a real conversation piece, we called them "Moon Buggies"
Like I said before, In an accident you would be the first on scene.
BTW No one was injured
F THAT S!!!! You old school guys got a brass pair man. I'm no puss and I've done my share of sketchy stuff but those things look like a blown tire/air bag and that's your a$$.
 
Thank you for the sentiments, Brother, but.........one thing I can't own up to is having a..."brass pair",..as you put it.....

About the third time my Father paid out bail money for something I thought was incredibly brave/smart/funny,....he told me: "No brains is a good substitute for guts..."

And then the thump on the head........

F THAT S!!!! You old school guys got a brass pair man. I'm no puss and I've done my share of sketchy stuff but those things look like a blown tire/air bag and that's your a$$.
 
watch



Canary, here is an example of what you mentioned
These were introduced into our fleet in early seventies, no driver protection whatsoever 2 axle with large single tires
Equipped with air ride,Atlanta driver blew left drive tire, all the air goes to left side to level unit, I guess air tanks were too small
Air pressure drops below 60lb, brakes lock, sends him in the median to wreck.
They pulled them out of service and never seen again.
I drove one 2 trips from Char to Jax, They were a real conversation piece, we called them "Moon Buggies"
Like I said before, In an accident you would be the first on scene.
BTW No one was injured


Yaas!.....I've seen Paymasters in antique truck shows..........How was the "bounce" factor,......say like with a heavy load on a rough road?
 
Here's how I did that one...you find the pics through the Google search, as you know how to do. When you find the pic you want right click on it and a drop down box should appear. One of the options should be 'copy image', click it. Then come back to the reply box here and right click again. A similar drop down box should appear and 'paste' should be an option. Click on it and viola, picture appears right before your very eyes. I can do that right here with the images I brought in up above. Here, give it a try...

resize.php
There was a company named Daniels that also tried this, their motive was to pull longer trailers, haul more freight. They were pulling 49 ft trailers when 45 was the standard.
 
Yaas!.....I've seen Paymasters in antique truck shows..........How was the "bounce" factor,......say like with a heavy load on a rough road?
Canary, to be honest, I can't recall, I only drove 2 a total of about 800 mi.
Roads between Char and Jax were not rough, don't recall the weights, I do remember they put heavy loads on them.
We were running 220s or 250s, that 903 was a horse compared to our Whites, also had AC.
 
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