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Think of it as a " RIDER'S SAFETY COMMITTEE " - established as an avenue for
professional motocross and supercross racers - to be able to band together as one,
able to mandate a minimum payout for the riders - able to insist on safety measures
at every venue - able to structure a compensation package for permanently injured
riders - in other words, proper compensation for these high-flying athletes.
" You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one..."
It's almost a crime what happens to the privateers and, realistically, most of them,
like many have said, are either too ignorant to stand up for themselves - or are
simply happy to be in the limelight.
Remember this, the people you think can help either have the most to lose, or the most to gain. Know the difference!
Unfortunately, the power rest in the hands of those who do not want, or need, a union.
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Doc Bodnar would be a good head of a safety committee. I also read Sid Watkins book on Formula 1 safety and what he has helped implement since the 70's along with the recreation of the GDPA (Grand Prix Driver's Association). I agree with a lot of what he set up in the sport with Bernie and Jackie Stewart. It's just simple precautions that were never there before. Not drastic changes. You try and prevent the accidents BEFORE they happen, not find a fix AFTER they happen.
If anyone doesn't have a problem speaking up, its him.
how the hell can we even think about riders banding together and working together for the common good, when every single rider you talk to has some story of having a WRITTEN contract that wasnt honored and they wont even pursue it for themselves! Now, if you wont even stand up for yourself, when literally thousands of dollars are legally due to you, and that any first year lawyer would drool to have as a case knowning its a slam dunk win... how can we expect for these same riders to stand up for their fellow riders?
DV, SH105, JH100, JT$... you all post in here, DV and SH105 more than the others. I bet you money both of you have had a written contract in the past, where you did not break it in anyway, and the other side did not hold up their end and it cost you thousands in either cash, product, or both.
one last thing.... and again, dont blame me, just pointing our reality instead of wishes.... vegas, lights go out, riders band together, its unsafe, and it truely was..... look at what happened. As soon as the #1 guy, the main force in SX, the guy everyone hoped to beat but knew they couldnt... as soon as MC stood up with the rest of them and said, I will stand with my fellow riders.... what happened? the 2nd place guy the whole season broke his ass hurrying to the line. and then 4 or 5 said, just this guy is racing, I can beat him.
Solidarity only works and lasts as long as you are willing to self sacrifice for the good of all, not just yourself.
now that being said.... no joke, we have access to 2 guys, right now, that are stand up enough to make this happen, Langston and Hamblin. If you could get CR, JS, RV, RD... literally just those 4 to jump on board, the rest would literally follow suit.
105
Pit Row
Granted, F1 only forces their entire grid of 22 drivers to join a union but making the top 10 from the 450 class join based on the previous years standings doesn't sound bad to me. A panel meeting with fellow riders, both privateer and factory, to discuss general things and raise concerns that should be looked at.
It's not the system of doing things, it's the man deciding how the system works. You get the RIGHT guy for the job and he can do things the people before him could not. Formula 1 is what it is because of Bernie Ecclestone. As much as I hate that man I have to admit without him Formula 1 would have been disbanded or torn in to shambles decades ago. He is the glue that keeps F1 together. He pushed for driver safety in the 70's to the current with Sid Watkins and somehow kept F1 together during the FISA/FOCA wars of the 80's. After reading about everything he accomplished and went through during those early years it made me wonder how F1 had survived before him. Not saying the sport needs someone like that but what we have won't be this way forever.
105
It takes a great strength and conditioning program to even have a chance at success.
I have a good friend that frequently plays with a PGA tour pro, he is set to retire from the PGA in the next year or two... Want to know what his retirement pension is? $700,000 a year! What are FELD and the AMA doing to insure their investment (riders) and also making sure they are taken care of after they are done racing for providing them with deep pockets at the corporate offices...0... a big fat goose egg!
Whether we need a union or not if obviously up for discussion on many levels, but there is a point in time that all other major sports have had a restructuring to ensure safety and also money for the people putting on the show
105
That is exactly the point here. People are thinking of a union simply as a vehicle for voicing a concern about a jump or something, and while that would serve a very useful purpose, a union represents the rights of the workers (in this case, the pro riders) concerning purse money, revenue sharing, merchandising, health insurance, retirement accounts, etc.
As far as I can tell, Pro riders have no voice, no power, and no influence on any decision that profoundly affects them on and off the track. That is truly sad.
my phone bill was over a 1000 bux a month when i took on the task of forming a union. probably 6 hours a day i spent rallying the troops so to speak. conference calls with union regional reps and whatnot. phone meetings with the powers that be. its extremely draining. its for the riders to support, but not to build and execute. too much on one plate and it will suck the love of your sport right out of you because you will see its every ugly side from every ugly angle. you will discover things about the business of racing that a racer should never want to see, ignorance is bliss. you will uncover the facade that is the racing industry for what it really is, and after a lifetime of romanticizing it, its a swift kick to the stomach. like i said, it sucks the enthusiasm right out of you.
also, as far as getting the racers to work together. very difficult. theyve spent a lifetime hating each other on the track and tolerating each other off of it. its very hard to get these guys to put down the guns long enough to have a productive meeting. no matter the fact that whats good for racing would untimately make even someone like bubba more money. getting him and reed to work together on this would be next to impossible.
and thats very sad. a athlete of bubba or reeds caliber in another sport is worth hundreds of millions, not the 4 or 5 they walk home with a year. they cannot and will never realize how badly they are selling themselves short.
take F1 for example, a much bigger sport with much smarter people behind it. and those guys are still getting raped by bernie eclestone. could you imagine if david stern or roger goodell were higher paid than kobe bryant or tom brady? would never happen. but eccelstone makes more than pretty much every team on the grid but ferrari put together.
were only talking like 10 or 12 teams in formula 1 that need to try and work together...but if the F1 crowd cant figure it out, what makes us think the MX crowd can?
if you have someone to pay for a race bike and all your racing fees i dont think they are a full blown privateer just my 2 cents
If they can do it, I don't see why pro motocross can't?
now stop and think about that for a second.
you find a few guys that are ex racers, they have seen the pitfalls, they truely give a shit about their fellow riders and truely have no self interest invested, no personal agenda beyond doing whats right for all. They have meetings with the riders, they draw up a manifesto, they have a goal and an agenda, probably a very reasonable one. They take it to Feld. There are several meetings (this is taking a leap of faith that Feld would even take a meeting or 4). They reach an impass. Feld wont budge, Union acting as directed by the riders cant budge. At that point, you have 1 option. Strike.
now what do you think Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, KTM, and all the satelite teams are going to say, not to mention all the sponsors of those teams? They wont be happy, how could they be? Now, do we really expect a 17yo kid, who has absolutely zero concept of "tomorrow" much less a concept of "10 years from now" to stand up to his dream of being on a factory team? To basically tell them to kiss his ass so he can strike with his fellow riders? Fellow riders hes been tooth and nail competing against his entire life?
so, push comes to shove, a line has been drawn in the sand. Saturday morning, the call goes out... guys we have reached a true impass, they absolutely will not do X. Please do not go to the stadium today, we are having a walk out. This has to be done, otherwise its hollow threats from our side and you are right where you have always been, zero power to negotiate. Now here is your 17yo kid, who cant even comprehend next year, much less 10 years away... with a $10,000+ a race salary, his team is up his ass and says you either be here or your fired. You think hes going to think about the good of all?
Hell, take a guy that isnt one of the top level guys, hes a top 15 250f guy, call goes out, hes barely making it to the next race as it is, which is what this is all about! Now here are all the top guys sitting out, protesting, but if he will just show up, he will quite possibly get a win and paid alot for it, probably ten times what he normally makes each week.... fuck he can afford Outback tonight! what do you think hes going to do?
Plus, and this isnt a giant leap either, Feld thinks of the riders as a continually replenishable supply... someone gets hurt, there are still 10 riders hoping to make the show, hell 10 guys get hurt, you still have a full gate and still have a show... you think a 1 race walkout is going to make them say "ok, we will give you X, come on back". I cant see that happening. So you have to hold out for next week. And during that week, 1 of three things will happen, either the teams are going to tell the riders, you show up or you're fired, OR Feld will tell the teams get your guys in line or your gone, OR Feld will take a step back, give up a little to get the show going again and the negotiations continue with a small victory.
You would literally have to have 60 riders all stand united, from JS to little jimmy chasing his dream. Your only hope is that they did stand together, and the teams put pressure on Feld and not the other way around. Plus, you walk out, where is the backlash from the fans going to hit first? The riders, not Feld. Then it becomes a PR war.
Im not trying to be a nay-sayer. Just pointing out reality, its going to be a daunting task and honestly your own riders are going to be the biggest hurdle that could screw it all up. Feld has a willing pool of slave labor, and has 200 guys that arent in that pool hoping to one day be in that pool.
IMO, the only real way this could happen is if you got the riders on board AND the teams on board. All have to be prepared to goto defcon 1.
What is indeed discouraging - is that while I'm confident that the majority of pro mx / sx
racers peer in here daily - very few - to my knowledge, have been willing to open up
and contribute to the dialog. Is it simply apathy ?
Fear of being labeled a "radical" ? Blackballed ?
Or, for whatever reasons - believe that a union won't help them ?
Calling out YOU pro racers - let us know your thoughts.
* I have received a VERY informative private message which I hope to share, if permission is granted.
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