LIFER,
Lets see if I can give a little perspective to help you see the lite. First, understand that I don't have the many years of experience that many of the drivers do. 3 yrs driving here.
1st- Looking at this from a union perspective (maybe not the highest priority, but definately a priority no the less)
The goal of the union is to provide jobs to people, be it preload, driving or local sort. The less hrs that a driver puts on road is equivalent to the number of jobs that gets offered to other people. Maybe not a 1 to 1 ratio, but that is aside from the point. Let's say CV has 10 drivers that are at 11 hrs everyday of the week. If you take 1.5 hrs off each driver every day, that's 10.5 hrs or another rte. Gettin the picture? We actually have 17FT rtes.
2nd- Looking at this from a home perspective (which I KNOW you understand)
I personally want to spend time at home and each one of us has to determine, individually what price we are willing to pay for that time at home. What amount of money do we need to make to meet the bills, etc. What needs need to be met at home versus what needs need to be met at work.
3rd- Seniority (oddly enough this plays a bigger part than one might think)
Being a little lower on the seniority totem pole, but not low enough to get layed off, I have little worry or concern about such. The higher up the pole the less worry. This is not to say that I (or anyone else) don't worry about this, I'm just saying that it is less of a factor in my decisions. We don't have kids at home, we don't have alot of bills to pay. I truly believe that the higher up the more lacsidaisical (? spelling) and (not trying to be condescending) drivers are about our jobs. Maybe 'untouchable' is a good word to use.
Not sure if this is helping to give you a different perspective and I'm not trying to discount your thoughts. I believe that both sides are valid.