[운전] 미국현지 트러커들의 애환을 다룬 화제작 !!!

[동동구리]

<바퀴에 묻힌 노가다판 :  미국 트럭산업의 규제완화이후 승자와 패자들..>

(Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation)

그냥 참고삼아 올려봅니다. ABCD님이나 왕기러기님께서 트러커에 대한 많은 이야기들을  올

려주셔서 감사드리며, 혹시 우리가 알지못하는 미국 현지인들의 생각을 알고자 아마존에서

골라봤습니다.  이책의 줄거리를 잠깐 언급하자면, 1980년 미국 트럭운송사업의 규제완화에

따라 많은 트러커들이 생존의 위협의 처해있다. 주 100시간을 일하고 700불밖에 받지 못하고

있고 겨울철 폭설이나 혹한의 날씨를 피하려 non-parking area에서 히터튼 채로 쪽잠자다

가 죽기도 하고 police한테 걸려서 뭇매를 맞기도 한다. 일거리 없는 시간에는 몇시간씩 대기

하지만 보상도 받지못하고 운행중에는 거의 5~6시간 밖에 자지못한다. 그러다가 어느날

졸음운전으로 사고가 나면 피해차량의 탑승자는 시체조각을 찾기도 어려운 대참사가 된다...

트러커들은 회사에 충성하기 위해서는 제시간에 화물을 운송하려고 눈보라속에서도 운전해

야 한다. 기상악화에 의한 운송지연은 변명이 되지 않는다. 만일 사고가 나기라도 한다면 그

건 전적으로 운전자가 safety rules을 지키지 않아서다.  운행중 위중한 질병으로 병원에 가

려면 회사담당자의 허가가 떨어져야만 한다.  25살먹은 어느 청년은 트러커생활을 접어면서

"반드시 대학진학하여 좋은 직장에서 일해야겠다"고 트럭산업을 증오하고 있으며 미군베테랑

출신의 23년 경력자는 트러커들이야말로 America의 새로운 slave labor 라고 단정짓는다.

그냥 참고하세요,. 혹시 미국의 트러커를 꿈꾸는 분들에게 찬물을 끼얹었다면 죄송한 말씀

드립니다.

Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation (Hardcover)
by Michael H. Belzer "Government regulation was one of the hallmarks of the first three quarters of the twentieth century of the United States..." (more)
SIPs: general freight industry, general freight carriers, truckload drivers, general freight sector, general freight market (more)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (July 1, 2000)
• ISBN: 0195128869
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.4 x 1.0 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds. (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review:  

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Browse Sample Pages: Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover

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Editorial Reviews

 

Book Description
Long hours, low wages, and unsafe workplaces characterized sweatshops a hundred years ago. These same conditions plague American trucking today.

Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation exposes the dark side of government deregulation in America's interstate trucking industry. In the years since deregulation in 1980, median earnings have dropped 30% and most long-haul truckers earn less than half of pre-regulation wages. Work weeks average more than sixty hours. Today, America's long-haul truckers are working harder and earning less than at any time during the last four decades.

Written by a former long-haul trucker who now teaches industrial relations at Wayne State University, Sweatshops on Wheels raises crucial questions about the legacy of trucking deregulation in America and casts provocative new light on the issue of government deregulation in general.

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Customer Reviews

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Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

Long but dead on , March 23, 2005

Reviewer:

The Cameraman - See all my reviews

With the exception of the very first, and very negative review posted about this book, most of the comments from other truckers concerning this book are accurate. At first I was actually expecting a small scattered ranting and raving style book from a former trucker, but this book was more than just a collection of complaints. I suspect the Marietta Georgia comments are from a dispatcher; possibly one I've worked for as a driver out of Atlanta for two years. This book is more of an economics textbook, than a first person account of what a long-haul trucker's life is really about. In fact, this may even be my only complaint; that there wasn't enough ranting, raving, or what some who've never driven cross-country for a living might call whining. The story from a previous reviewer concerning a crack-smoking employee on a forklift (although possibly an exaggeration) brought back some horrible memories of mine, and reminded me in a split second why I quit what was without a doubt the worst job I've ever had. The author's main
focus is that the industry we have today, is the result of deregulation. People with anti-union baises will certainly have a problem with this argument, as well as owner-operators. I would recommend this book to anyone in this profession, as well as a anyone even considering it. The reality is this: a paycheck as high as $700 after working well over 100 hours in a week, is still below minimum wage, and therefore, should not be legal in this country.

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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

This Book Blows!, March 1, 2005

Reviewer:

myxomycota (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

If you are looking for some help in deciding whether to start a career in trucking, this book won't help you (unless you need some emergency toilet paper for the ride). For one...it's outdated and two...it's full of whining and moaning about the good ole' days before deregulation. A thinly disguised "analysis" of what happened turns into a full fledged tantrum about the injustice of it all. If you don't want to truck then DON'T...go work at the Waffle House!

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

Unacceptable in America - Slave Labor, June 28, 2004
Reviewer: A reader
I am 25 year survivor of the long-haul trucking racket, and can only say that the situation is substantially worse than Mr. Belzer asserts. I was finally forced out of the industry in 1998 for actively speaking out against the same types of abuse that he describes in his book. The trucking industry has it's own 'goon squad' that seeks to target, isolate and then eliminate anybody who dare speaks out against unsafe trucks, against coercion of drivers to run illegally and the sub-human wage scale that truckers are forced to labor under. And I don't just mean those companies that employ Teamster drivers, either. The non-union truckload carriers that clog our interstates can become even more vicious, once their crimes against drivers and the public are exposed. I found that I had been blacklisted, and I was being stalked by a small army of paid harassers, intimidators and threat-mongers. I was threatened with death, severe physical harm and other consequences if I ever mentioned the safety, logbook and other scams that occur on a regular basis in this crooked industry. I want to make clear that the DRIVERS are generally not the problem in the industry. It is the dispatchers, management and 'safety' departments of the major truckload companies that pose the greatest threat to the motoring public. Next in line are the major freight shippers - the huge soft drink, paper products, automotive, fresh produce, recycling and grocery distributors are among the worst abusers of the rights and safety of the long-haul trucker. Many times, a driver will have to wait 5 to 8 hours without pay (after all, he's not driving, so he doesn't get a dime for the delay)while some crack-smoking creep on a forklift who makes $19 per hour screws around for hours in a lame attempt to load the waiting driver's trailer. Then the driver has to drive all night and 'back up' his logbook later on to help hide all the waiting time - so as to make it look like he had a nice 10 hour sleep in his sleeper berth. This racket has not changed, nor will it ever change until drivers are paid by the hour and are given an electronic punch card which will assure once and for all that these men and women are finally paid for ALL of their on-duty time. Until then, be aware, the typical driver operates in a state of chronic fatigue or even exhaustion, and your car or SUV can easily be the 'speed bump' that wakes up a semi-comatose driver - after it's too late. You'll then have your 15 minutes of fame - on the 11 o'clock news as the highway patrol and state workers attempt to find the missing body parts of you or your loved ones. The driver will probably be OK, and the sick wheels of the trucking racket will roll on. Until the next 'speed bump' appears, anyway. Drive safely, and keep your distance from the big rigs until the industry is cleaned up once and for all.

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Scholarly work based on solid economic analyses, January 17, 2004

Reviewer:

A. Lu (Dorchester, MA) - See all my reviews

Based on reading the first two chapters, I feel this is a scholarly work worth reading. Although Belzer is a former Teamster, in general he does back up his argument with sound economic analysis and where he does make a point about unions, he does this rigourously and in a way that suggests contrary to collecting "rents" and screwing everybody else, in the trucking industry unions are almost a necessity in ensuring that economics for trucking remains healthy.

The thing I like the best about Belzer's book is that he makes it really clear that it's not a case of "bosses screwing workers", but instead the underlying regulatory framework is fundamentally broken in an industry which has a tendency to become hypercompetitive due to the highly commoditized nature of the truckload sector. Another wonderful point is that the exactly same arguments might be applied to the foodservice sector, even if the extent of commoditization might be lower.

The book does get repetitive in some places, if only because fundamentally the economics and mechanisms behind the failure to address equity concerns in a deregulated framework. True marginal costing is economically efficient, but pricing without regards for the opportunity cost of labor is an effective subsidy to the shippers by the truckers. The evidence suggests that truckers do not generally understand their cost base, and desparate conditions can cause individuals to price irrationally "just to keep up the payments". Just as there are regulations regarding wearing seatbelts while driving, social regulation is clearly necessary to prevent unsafe conditions.

This book is well worth a read, especially for those who are not directly involved in transportation, and for those interested in economic regulation and public policy. Belzer has done all of us a great service by writing this book.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

So True, So Common, So Sad, SO Dangerous!, May 27, 2003
Reviewer: A reader
A former career military man who has worked the most horrendous hours while on active duty, in combat and deployed around the world I lived for 22 years with the common mantra....."We have done so much with so little for so long that we are now attempting the impossible with nothing". I never thought I would be chanting the same mantra as a driver for one of the larger trucking companies in Utah. Thankfully I'm no masochist.

Being reassured that I was not being encouraged to 'cook the books' and being told that safety was foremost, I had to laugh. A former statistician by trade I am no novice at numbers. Many times I found that I was the 'only driver available', the load 'had to get through' I would have to drive a steady 86 mph through Ohio (speed limit of 55) to 'be on time'. This after just dropping off a load and getting ready to bed down for my DOT mandated sleep.

Not being able to 'take the load' branded me as not being a 'team player' and often resulted in my being overlooked when another load came through. You know, 'punishment'?

Receiving a none existing load assignment to a place that had moved then gone out of business three years before. Trying to verify that pickup and being told to 'just get there' when 'there' didn't exist? On LONG ISLAND??

Being from Texas, a drive through the home turf would have been appreciated now and then but I spent my time in the North East. A friend of mine from Pennsylvania was kept on an LA to Florida run. We were not allowed to switch runs.

After emergency surgery, I was told that I could take no convalescent leave since they (the company) were not there to take care of my 'personal vacation needs'.

I find it sad that so many good men and women have died trying to meet a deadline just so company exectives could 'look good'.

I left the trucking industry after we lost a man in an accident while trying to make up time after a snow storm. Remember, the load HAD to be there on time and there is no excuse for weather delays, even freak storms. The man died, his family was left with nothing because he was a loyal driver. The excuse the company gave? He 'wasn't following safety guidlines'.

Kudos for an excellent book. I hope more regulators read it and start fining the trucking companies everytime a trucker gets stopped.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Michael Belzer names names and takes no prisoners, October 7, 2000

Reviewer:

Natasha Flazynski (Lorain, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

My husband Russ has been an over the road truck driver for over 23 years now. This is the first book that actually pulls no punches with telling the truth on the trucking industry. This is the same truth that Russ has been telling me all these years as to why these are the most unhealthy, over worked and under paid workers in the most prosperous country in the world. Bravo! Michael Belzer, for putting this book to print. I highly recommend it! Natasha Flazynski, a truckers wife.

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[왕기러기]

글쎄요..놀래셨는지 아무 말씀들이 없으시네요. 조금은 어두운쪽으로 편견을 가지고 쓴글들인것 같습니다. 아마 책을 않읽고 트럭킹에 대하여 비판적인 생각을 가진 사람도 있는것 같구요...제목에서 처럼 분명히 승자도 있습니다. 분명한건 15년전이나 지금이나 버는 액수가 비슷하다는 겁니다.

[왕기러기]

그러면 그옛날에는 참좋았겟죠. 하지만 지금도 이민자로서 가질수 있는 직업중에서 상당한 우위에 있는것도 사실입니다. 그만한 어려움을 조금이라도 피하고 조금이라도 더 벌고자 자기 차를 사서 운행하는 것입니다. 어떤 일이던 위험은 따르고 스스로의 책임이 따르기는 마찮가지입니다.

[왕기러기]

물론 운전이다 보니까 위험도가 높은 것도 사실입니다. 고장나고 사고나서 서있는 트럭들을 수도 없이 많이 보고 다닙니다...처음에는 상당히 두려움이 컷지만 지금은 그런 것을 볼수록 조심하라는 메세지로 생각하고 경각심을 더욱 키우며 다니게 됩니다. 아주 좋은 직업이라고 권하고 싶은 마음은 없습니다.

[왕기러기]

다른 일(스몰비지니스)에 비해서 적은 돈으로 좀 더 번다는 이유로 계속하는것 뿐입니다.

[회색늑대]

鴻님의 생각과 비슷합니다. 한국보다는 미국이 트럭커로 일하기는 좋다고 생각합니다. 그러니 한국의 사정은 말안해도 아시겠죠? 한국도 외환위기때 트럭이 엄청나게 늘었습니다. 직장에서 그만두신분이 그냥 트럭한대사서 슬슬 일하면 되겠지 하는 마음에.. 공단에서도 그때 영업용트럭의 규제를 풀어서 엄청 늘어났습니다

[회색늑대]

저의 회사에도 은행에서 과장하시던분이 트럭운전합니다. 또 대대로 트럭운전을 하고있는 선배님도 계십니다. 그분도 10년전 벌던 금액이나 지금이나 똑같다고 하더군요. 그때도 400벌었는데 지금도 400이랍니다.

[회색늑대]

쎈타에서 물건을 실고 출발하기전 실없는 이야기를 합니다. 자~목숨걸고 또 고속도로에 올라가자고.. 고속도로 중간중간에 나있는 대형차 타이어스키드마크를 보면 내가 안당한게 천만다행이라며 비겁한 생각도 합니다.

[회색늑대]

하지만 분명 나쁜점보단 좋은점(유리한점)이 많다는건 사실입니다.