| Could we see a drivers' union? |
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I recently read an interview with Tony Stewart, it seems he is always in the middle of something, and again, I got to thinking. Tony mentioned the fact that he felt if he keeps running his mouth about his displeasure with Nascar, they are sure to run him out of town, like they did Curtis Turner back in the day. So, let's take a look at a Drivers' union, unions in general, Curtis Turner, Tony Stewart and everyone's favorite sanctioning body, Nascar.
September 14th , 1969 was not only my sister Michele's one year birthday, but it was also a big day in Nascar history and showdowns. That Friday night, 2 days before the big new race at Talladega, the drivers were concerned over tire safety and the tires only lasting a few laps before blistering. The drivers had a union, the PDA (Professional Driver's Association). Their president? Richard Petty. Petty tried to talk to Bill France to suggest the race be postponed because Goodyear had already tried several tire compounds that week and none were working and the drivers feared for their lives. France wasn't available. The next day, Saturday, Petty caught up to France. He told him the race needed to be postponed or someone would get killed because of tire safety. He told Bill France that he and the other drivers were ready to boycott if they had to, but they didn't want it to come to that. Bill France told Richard Petty that the issue wasn't safety, that the drivers just wanted to prove a point that they could boycott at will and he was not going to listen to their demands. He basically told them, if you don't like it, pack up and go home. (My way or the highway). Donnie Allison displayed a tire that had failed at 180 miles per hour. Bill's answer: "If they fail at 180, run 175". LeeRoy Yarborough asked Bill France how he would like to attend a couple funerals that next week and Bill replied "I'll take my chances". The big name drivers packed up and left and the field was filled with no-name guys in cars that weren't even built for that race. In summary, the show went on. The drivers who participated in that boycott had bad times at future races. They were booed, had stuff thrown at them and even deliberately wrecked on track by other drivers who were never penalized by Nascar. The drivers' union eventually faded away and Nascar had won. Could we ever see a successful union these days? Let's look at a union. I am a former union officer for the MDA-UAW local 571. I experienced quite a few showdowns with management and have this opinion. A unions major strength is it's unity and it's numbers. The threat of a strike or boycott is a major weapon in the battle for what is right. If a company feels that it's workers support their union leadership and will strike if called upon, they have no choice but to be more flexible. A strong union also has to be flexible, but stand strong. I don't feel a union these days would work because of the sponsors and the money. Nascar would quickly call their bluff and see just who boycotts and who jumps ship. The teams, the sponsors and the owners would all have to be a part of the union and threaten to boycott. Last year at this time there was talk of a boycott at Talladega if the rules didn't get changed. The rules didn't change and everyone raced. Would Nascar be able to fill the field on a moments notice with replacement drivers? Only if the teams allowed someone else to drive their car or if they let Arca, ASA or Busch cars in. In every major sport, there is a player's union. But, those union's mostly go head to head with the team owners not the sanctioning body. Again, unless the drivers, crews, owners and sponsors ALL got in this union, there is no way it would hold up. Tony mentioned Curtis Turner in his article and I found it rather interesting that not only was Curtis very vocal about his thoughts on Nascar, but he owned Charlotte Motor Speedway along with Bruton Smith. This is the same track now run by Humpy Wheeler, Nascar's biggest challenger. Curtis had many battles with Nascar and caused them a lot of grief. Maybe this is why Nascar gives Humpy such a hard time when it seems all Humpy is trying to do is make things safer and better. In closing, I think Nascar has done a tremendous job taking the sport to the level it is at. I just read that CART is having major problems with it's leadership and as of right now has no automobile manufacturers scheduled to run in 2003. All have pulled out including the biggest hit to CART, Honda. Most of the teams and drivers in the garage support Nascar and feel Nascar is doing everything they can. I don't interact with Mike Helton enough, (not at all), to know if this is true or not. However, as I have been saying and will continue to say, if Nascar could be a little more media-friendly in their rebuttals and get away from the cookie cutter answers, they can win back the fans and the media. They, Mike Helton, feel they do not have to explain their actions. They only need to say, "This is it because we said so". That isn't going to cut it. Will there still be fans at the track? Absolutely. Am I still trying like crazy to get on a Cup or Busch team? You bet. Will sponsors stick around? Hopefully, but it will be tougher and tougher. Will there still be guys lined up every week to race? Guaranteed. So what does Nascar have to lose by staying the way they are and have been since back in the day? A few drivers' lives maybe, but as Bill France Sr said "I'll take my chances". The point is, they have so much to gain if they just change their public appearance a bit. It's too easy, but I guess they can't seem to swallow their pride. Tony Stewart said it best, "To lose a driver, to NASCAR, they don't care, because they know there's other drivers in the wings waiting. In a way, NASCAR is kind of like the Mafia. They can do it anyway they want to do it. They know we make a better living doing this the way it is than we could anywhere else, and whether we have an opinion or not, it doesn't seem to matter -- they're going to run it they want to run it. Unfortunately, in this day and age, it's about money, not what's good for the race fans, what's good for the competitors, not what's good for everybody else involved, just what's good for them." Come on Mike Helton, I believe in Nascar and I don't believe you would put money before a driver's life. I just wish you guys would come across more as a friend to the sport and less of a bully. Comments are always welcome and I really would like to know what people think of a drivers' union. Could it work? Do we need it? Would it hurt the sport? Do people really think Nascar and ISC banned coolers to make money or was it safety? I await your replies... |