Pizza Delivery boys unite!!!

[Deberg_1990]

It seems they are trying to unionize. Interesting.......

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=509&ncid=509&e=32&u=/ap/20041118/ap_on_bi_ge/pizza_drivers_union

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A fledgling national union for pizza drivers is demanding better wages and training, saying the large chains have been taking advantage of them for years.

Its an effort that has attracted the attention of the Teamsters union, but the Association of Pizza Delivery Drivers, based in Hendersonville, has yet to organize its first shop.

A vote at a Domino's franchise in Lincoln, Neb., failed Tuesday night on a tie. But organizers expect a better result next week when Pizza Hut drivers vote at a store near Columbus, Ohio.

Tim Lockwood, treasurer of the pizza delivery union, said getting the first vote itself was a huge victory as the union started just a couple of years ago with a few drivers in an Internet chat room commiserating about unfair working conditions.

"It's sort of like the thing reached critical mass. We built a Web site and they came," said Lockwood, a pizza delivery driver who declined to identify his employer.

About 600 drivers nationwide have signed up for the free union, and he feels momentum gathering for more unionization votes.

"Despite the fact that we didn't take the vote, just that it occurred is a major hurdle," he said. "It's never happened before in the history of pizza delivery driving."

Lockwood said pizza drivers make $5.50 to $6 an hour, plus tips, and are reimbursed 50 to 75 cents per delivery — no matter how far it is. Even worse, he said, pizza delivery is annually ranked among the most dangerous professions.

"A lighted pizza sign on a car in a bad area says, `Look at me — I've got food, I've got cash and I'm unarmed,'" he said.

Lockwood said he envisions collective bargaining with the national pizza chains, forcing them to pay drivers a mileage reimbursement of 30 cents to 40 cents per mile, along with compensation for more expensive commercial driver's insurance. He also said drivers want to see concessions on safety issues, such as better training.

A spokeswoman for Pizza Hut, which is owned by the Louisville, Ky.-based fast-food giant Yum Brands Inc., said she had not heard of the unionization effort.

"It's not a real issue for us," spokeswoman Patty Sullivan said from Pizza Hut's Dallas headquarters. "We already work really hard to make sure all of our compensation is fair."

Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Domino's Pizza Inc. said it couldn't comment Wednesday on the unionization effort.

Matt Howard, a driver for a Pizza Hut in Sunbury, Ohio, found the union's site on the Internet. Now he's pushing for unionization for drivers at his shop in a vote next week, which will be run by the National Labor Relations Board.

First, though, he had to fend off a legal challenge from the owner of the franchise.

The 25-year-old said he's had his hours cut, and his wife — who also works at the store — fears retribution.

"The company keeps calling meetings to try to talk us out of the union," he said "They are trying to do everything they can to take away our right to vote."



Howard said he thinks the seven or eight drivers at the store will approve the union idea, even though he said the owners are stacking the vote with a few managers they are labeling as drivers.

Labor attorney Mark Potashnick, who is helping the union, said the effort is drawing attention from the Teamsters and other unions.

"I think once they get an election or two won and a collective bargaining agreement or two in place, they are going to be in a much better position to pick up momentum," he said.

Potashnick said the drivers can expect a great deal of resistance from the companies, especially if the effort starts to take hold.

"Whenever you have union organizing, it's amazing how many people get fired," he said. "It's even more amazing how many employees get intimidated into abandoning their union activities."

[Rain Man]

A strike among this group would bring the nation to its knees.

Unions are a joke anyway. If you want more money, pick a job that pays more money and then go train yourself for it.

[MichaelH]

If you want more money, pick a job that pays more money and then go train yourself for it.

Shhhhh. don't let the cat out of the bag. There's millions of liberals blaming their unemployment/low paying jobs on Bush.

[KCTitus]

People are going to love this when pizza delivery is going to be an additional charge or the pizza's double in price. Carry out will become the norm, and drivers will die on the vine or kill the franchises they work for.

[MichaelH]

I wanted to be a pizza delivery boy in college. Figured in a college town.. there was a decent chance of getting some bong hits as tips from time to time. Not to mention the free pizza.

But, I had a careless and imprudent driving ticket. So, I was SOL.


I did deliver pizza while in college and right when I graduated. I never was offered any bong hits but I did recieve several six packs as tips. It was the funnest job I ever had.

[KCTitus]

For some pizza places it already is.

Locally, we dont have that issue here...of course, VA is also a 'right to work' state so unionized pizza delivery would be worthless.

[nmt1]

Name's Norm...I live up North with the folks...heeeeeyyyy...

[Brando]

People are going to love this when pizza delivery is going to be an additional charge or the pizza's double in price. Carry out will become the norm, and drivers will die on the vine or kill the franchises they work for.

Acutally if there is anything that is going to kill delivery it will be the rise in gas prices in several years. Pizza drivers will never be able to afford the high price of gasoline.
It looks like beer and Yak feces tonight kids!

[Raiderhater]

I did deliver pizza while in college and right when I graduated. I never was offered any bong hits but I did recieve several six packs as tips. It was the funnest job I ever had.


Damn, I was never offered any six packs as tips when I was delivering.


Of course the fact that I was an 18 year old that looked only 14 probably didn't help any.....

[Brando]

Damn, I was never offered any six packs as tips when I was delivering.


Of course the fact that I was an 18 year old that looked only 14 probably didn't help any.....

Shit..if you went to ENDelt's he would have probably offered you extra sausage then :)

[Raiderhater]

Shit..if you went to ENDelt's he would have probably offered you extra sausage then :)


:spock: I don't want none of Endo's sausage, thank you very much.

[Brando]

Whoa, whoa, whoa.... how did I go from chubby chaser to pedophile?

I know how those Old Town Scottsdale Art queers are ROFL

[jspchief]

Great idea, we can pay 5% in union dues to force our employers to give us a 3% raise.

[J Diddy]

Acutally if there is anything that is going to kill delivery it will be the rise in gas prices in several years. Pizza drivers will never be able to afford the high price of gasoline.
It looks like beer and Yak feces tonight kids!

This is simply untrue. My drivers got $.75 a run at the end of the night they generally make at least enough to fill up their tank which is far more then they come in with. Not to mention they make about $10 an hour with about half of which they pay taxes on.

Yeah they got it bad.
My drivers make about as much money as me.

[slivo6]

If you want more money, pick a job that pays more money and then go train yourself for it.

What a concept.....actually bettering yourself instead of complaining someone isn't doing it for you.

[Brando]

This is simply untrue. My drivers got $.75 a run at the end of the night they generally make at least enough to fill up their tank which is far more then they come in with. Not to mention they make about $10 an hour with about half of which they pay taxes on.

Yeah they got it bad.
My drivers make about as much money as me.

Oil is at peak production and car ownership in China is about to explode.
Do you honestly think that the wages of a pizza delivery driver union or not will rise enough to cover a $50-60 tank of gas?
Right now China is buying up our Treasury notes so that we can afford to keep buying the crap that they produce. That is the only thing keeping the dollar where it is at. They are in essence buying our national debt. Once they stop which is rumored to be shortly the dollar will tank. Oil prices will be given in Euros a barrell and our gas prices will sky-rocket.
Ten dollars an hour at that point is not going to be enough to keep a car feasibly.

[KCTitus]

Oil is at peak production and car ownership in China is about to explode.
Do you honestly think that the wages of a pizza delivery driver union or not will rise enough to cover a $50-60 tank of gas?
Right now China is buying up our Treasury notes so that we can afford to keep buying the crap that they produce. That is the only thing keeping the dollar where it is at. They are in essence buying our national debt. Once they stop which is rumored to be shortly the dollar will tank. Oil prices will be given in Euros a barrell and our gas prices will sky-rocket.
Ten dollars an hour at that point is not going to be enough to keep a car feasibly.

Aside from the doomsday prediction, why would China cut it's nose to spite it's face? Why destory their biggest customer's purchasing power?

[J Diddy]

Oil is at peak production and car ownership in China is about to explode.
Do you honestly think that the wages of a pizza delivery driver union or not will rise enough to cover a $50-60 tank of gas?
Right now China is buying up our Treasury notes so that we can afford to keep buying the crap that they produce. That is the only thing keeping the dollar where it is at. They are in essence buying our national debt. Once they stop which is rumored to be shortly the dollar will tank. Oil prices will be given in Euros a barrell and our gas prices will sky-rocket.
Ten dollars an hour at that point is not going to be enough to keep a car feasibly.


Is this before or after the aliens come and take over the world and turn us into slaves?

[mlyonsd]

Is this before or after the aliens come and take over the world and turn us into slaves?

I watched a documentary on Walmart earlier this week that should scare the $hit out of every American. Walmart is almost single handedly forcing companies to move to China just for the cheap labor.

Out of the 6000 global retailers that Walmart deals with, 80% manufacture their products in China.

Scary stuff.

[Brando]

Aside from the doomsday prediction, why would China cut it's nose to spite it's face? Why destory their biggest customer's purchasing power?
They have already bought hundreds of billions of our debt in the form of these notes. They aren't getting any return on them. They won't be able to keep buying them at the rate they've had to.
I don't see it as a Doomsday scenario. I see as it a chance for us to move back to a real economy that is based on production and services. A chance to get back to building stronger local communities where all of our money isn't shipped off to a small rich town in Arkansas.
The current service economy that exists now is a joke. There was a time when GM and GE made their money off of actual goods. Now they make all their money off of they financing divisions.
I'm not blaming any politicians for this. I'm just stating that it's a shite state of affairs.

[KCTitus]

I watched a documentary on Walmart earlier this week that should scare the $hit out of every American. Walmart is almost single handedly forcing companies to move to China just for the cheap labor.

Out of the 6000 global retailers that Walmart deals with, 80% manufacture their products in China.

Scary stuff.

Frontline...it's liberally biased.

[mlyonsd]

Frontline...it's liberally biased.

Touche.

[KCTitus]

They have already bought hundreds of billions of our debt in the form of these notes. They aren't getting any return on them. They won't be able to keep buying them at the rate they've had to.
I don't see it as a Doomsday scenario. I see as it a chance for us to move back to a real economy that is based on production and services. A chance to get back to building stronger local communities where all of our money isn't shipped off to a small rich town in Arkansas.
The current service economy that exists now is a joke. There was a time when GM and GE made their money off of actual goods. Now they make all their money off of they financing divisions.
I'm not blaming any politicians for this. I'm just stating that it's a shite state of affairs.

I dont know the exact Treasury Note rate, I could go back and ask my bond traders, but Im going to bet it's more than zero. It might be a low return, but it's backed by the full faith and credit of the US.

Manufacturing will still be around but it's not going to be the staple it once was as long as the American worker wage demands are astronomical. There are some companies that will manufacture their goods here because the American is the most efficient and produces the best product, but if the consumer wants a 25 dollar DVD player, it aint going to be made in the USA.

[Demonpenz]

First of the doomsday thing scares me, i think i am going to take the headphones back i just bought from walmart. Second there is a union in st joe that is on strike, causing some of my family members to put in 70 plus hour work weeks. In my vast erray of knowledge that comes with Missouri Western Degree, I still don't understand what these workers stand to gain. If i was them I would be using the money to get educated before that company got moved.

[Demonpenz]

On a sidenote do you ever tell people who are union that it is a joke? Or do you keep your opinions just for an internet bulliten board. Seems they would hang a man for a lesser offense around here.

[KCTitus]

On a sidenote do you ever tell people who are union that it is a joke? Or do you keep your opinions just for an internet bulliten board. Seems they would hang a man for a lesser offense around here.

While I was in college, I worked for a small computer company in KC. One of our clients was a local bus drivers unions afiliated with the teamsters. Greyhound broke that union and I had to visit the site a couple of times during their strike to service their computers. I was pretty much up front with them too.

The president was a nice guy, just a good ol boy that drove a bus. He and I used to talk about union/non-union stuff he said when I got older he would never want to see me on the other side of the table.

I was saddened, though, when the union shop closed. I liked visiting those guys.

[Iowanian]

If I were an employer, and a group of my workers tried to Unionize.........I'd fire every one of them and start from scratch with people who want to work for their advancement.

[Demonpenz]

I don't have any friends in a union.

Wait... yes, I do. KcMizzou.

Hey KcMizzou... your union is a joke.


Oh man looks like less hugs for you.

[Brando]

I was in a union for seven years with Verizon. It's a mix of good and bad. That being said not being in a union is the same way. There are trade offs with both. There is some ridiculous chit that they try to pull. But they kept our benefits at 100% and kept Verizon from outsourcing our jobs.

[Brando]

I dunno... KcMizzou's a Teamster. Maybe hugs should be the least of my concern.
Dude..bad news..What can Brown do for you? Is going to turn into a brown truck driving right up your brown eye.

[KCWolfman]

What do they have to unionize for?

Better vehicles? They own their own.
Safer work conditions? Drive better
More chance for advancement? Drive faster


The only reason for a bunch of unskilled morons to unionize is to get more money - which means we pay more money for the same product.

Unions, supposedly, are supposed to benefit the employer, the employee, and the consumer. This particular concept does nothing but hurts two of the three interested entities.