Leverage lies in forming drivers' union

[Jonesi]

Interesting article. :D
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080313/SPORTS0601/803130362/1027/SPORTS06

[nigelred5]

IMHO, Never happen. They won't bite the hand that feeds them. Very well
I might add.

[jeffconn]

One of the oldtimers can correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't a bunch of drivers try to put on a union before? NASCAR found a bunch of replacement drivers in a hurry IIRC, and the folks who tried to unionize just ended up being banned?

[BobbyC]

1969 Talladega 500. A driver's strike took place there, and that was it.

[Jonesi]

One of the oldtimers can correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't a bunch of drivers try to put on a union before? NASCAR found a bunch of replacement drivers in a hurry IIRC, and the folks who tried to unionize just ended up being banned?

The article mentions the couple of times it's happened. I've always thought the unspoken threat has been there for years, in Cup's support series. Busch, ARCA, West, North series with car's that could become Cup legal with a one paragraph supplimental rule change. You guys want to race for 10x what your usually race purse is? ;-)

[call_me_andrew]

1969 Talladega 500. A driver's strike took place there, and that was it.

It would seem that 36 scabs are easy to find.

http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=1969-44&series=W

[call_me_andrew]

You'd think NASCAR would favor unions since they value parity above all else.

[RaceFanStan]

NASCAR would NOT even think about tolerating a driver's union ! http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif
A driver's union (if implemented) would kill their golden goose. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/eek.gif

[tstran17_88]

It wouldn't kill Nascar's Goolden Goose...it will kill the sport as a whole.

[harvick#1]

it will kill the sport as a whole.

Brian France already is doing it, so why would it matter, only way for Wreck Wallace to get to race in the Cup series :p :

[PitMarshal]

There seems to be a lot of 'if's' and 'but's' in that article.

I don't think that a union is the right way to go, but one thing that is clear from the Goodyear situation is that the drivers and/or team owners need some sort of forum or group where they can air safety concerns, especially if they continue to struggle to get the COT to behave.

[Sparky1329]

NASCAR drivers have a forum to air their safety concerns, etc. They can visit the NASCAR trailer anytime they want to for a discussion. If or when that fails they have microphones held by reporters to use. That gets the word out pretty quickly.

[Aussie12]

Didn't the guy who wanted the driver's union at 'Dega in '69 get banned for life? I think he was eventually 'forgiven' by NA$CAR but with a life ban on the table who would dare to start it now?

I agree with Sparky too - if you want something said, go tell Tony. ;)

[Robert Ryan]

I don't think that a union is the right way to go, but one thing that is clear from the Goodyear situation is that the drivers and/or team owners need some sort of forum or group where they can air safety concerns, especially if they continue to struggle to get the COT to behave.
Basically the arrangement the V8Supercar drivers have , they have regular meetings with the car owners and the organizers to discuss individual and group problems. My feeling is the France family would not be that happy with a similar arrangement in NASCAR.

[Lee Roy]

Didn't the guy who wanted the driver's union at 'Dega in '69 get banned for life? I think he was eventually 'forgiven' by NA$CAR but with a life ban on the table who would dare to start it now?


Unless I'm mistaken, which I have been in the past, the lifetime ban was not related to the 1969 Talladega incident; but earlier in the 1960's when Curtis Turner tried to unionize the NASCAR drivers under the Teamsters. At that time the Teamsters were a pretty dangerous organization (not sure if Jimmy Hoffa was the President at the time, but still a formidable power). There are tales of Big Bill France going to races armed with a pistol.

[Lee Roy]

Unless I'm mistaken, which I have been in the past, the lifetime ban was not related to the 1969 Talladega incident; but earlier in the 1960's when Curtis Turner tried to unionize the NASCAR drivers under the Teamsters. At that time the Teamsters were a pretty dangerous organization (not sure if Jimmy Hoffa was the President at the time, but still a formidable power). There are tales of Big Bill France going to races armed with a pistol.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Turner


Labor Union
Being able to see the racing industry from the business end, he developed a feeling that drivers deserved a better deal for their role in the sport. He attempted to organize a union for them in 1961. Unfortunately for him, NASCAR has never looked favorably on an organized union for the drivers, and Turner was banned for life. However, the ban was lifted in 1965, and he returned to racing.