Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Teamsters celebrate Truck Driver Appreciation Week

We're celebrating National Truck Driver Appreciation Week over on our Facebook page with photos old and new of trucks and truck drivers. Many of our readers posted some great comments, which we thought we'd share with you:  
James F. Giles Everything everyone in America owns, eats, or uses got here on a truck - thanks, Teamsters. 
Richard Lapointe Made the seniority list in Feb 1971 in Cambridge, MA and retired last year with an awesome pension after 42 years of service with several companies. God bless the Teamster's Union. It's always been the working class that made this country great. 
Nunzio Santuccio Keepem rolling !!!! 
Ray Roehrig Retired Local #500, Philadelphia, PA. Proud to be a Teamster! 
Greggjodi Gomes I am proud to be a part of Local 407 Truck Drivers Union Cleveland ,Ohio--- thank you for all you do for me and my family !! 
Mike Porchiazzo Truckers make the world go around! It's a long lonesome road in the lifetime of a trucker! 
Jennifer Young proud daughter of a Teamster Driver!! 
Larry Katra My stepdad was a union steward and saw him save many guys jobs over the years.The Teamsters was a great union and still is. 
Frank Milatzo In '62 I was just learning how to drive big rigs, joined the Teamsters 25 years ago after freight: got deregulated and couldn't make any money as an independent trucker. Best move I ever made 
Lenore Lopez I appreciate truck drivers, I wish more employers would respect the physical and mental demands of the job. 
Wayne Robertson Funny how when I'm on 2 wheels I worry less about them than I do the soccer mom in the grocery-getter. But I'm not invisible to them, and the living they make depends on their safety and courtesy!
Sandie Hawley where would we be without truckers, God bless em. 
Jennifer Mansfield My Daddy, Oklie J Huggins, 1928-2008. Teamster Truck Driver for 44 yrs.
Ken Caccamise I have a story about the old days and how different than they are today. Today we have spring loaded brakes. When the air brake lines are disconnected from the tractor the brakes are set, that means "on." Back years ago before spring loaded brakes when you lost air the wheels freewheeled, brakes off. A retired union O/O I spoke with this summer was in the middle of a story when he said something that caught my ear. The story was about running NYC. Just below Mount Pocono on PA 611 there's a steep downward grade. A tractor trailer's drive shaft snapped off coming down that grade and went threw the decking behind the cab cutting the brake lines, loosing all the brakes. The driver crashed and was killed. Talk about a dangerous job. I will say that without the Teamster's these problem might still exist today...