I have not posted in a while but have been reading a lot of posts on here. I guess I just don't get what it means to work for a good company by reading these posts. I look at the websites for these companies and think to myself, "are these drivers happy with what they are receiving in terms of pay, benefits and hometime"? Is that acceptable to the majority of you? I mean, think about it. How much do you gross in a week? What is your net pay? What does that leave you to put in the bank? How much does that leave you to invest in your retirement? How often do you sit waiting to load or unload? Are you being paid or do you have to give up any free time? That goes for any other type of delay.

About being on the road. How much does it cost you to live on the road? You need to think about food, laundry and toiletries etc. These all eat into your net pay. How do you really feel about being away from your loved ones for an extended period of time? Is it worth it?

Benefits. Do you receive the proper benefits that you deserve? Does a vacation/sick day come close to what you would normally make on a given day or is it just a flat rate? Do you even get sick days? Are you compensated for jury service? How about medical insurance? Do you have medical, dental and optical insurance etc? How much does that cost you? It also eats into your pay.

Is your mileage pay acceptable? Are the miles acceptable? You can be paid at $.50 per mile but if you don't get those miles, where do you stand? Is it fun sitting for days like some have said waiting for a load for free? CPM is fine as long as the rate and miles are there consistently I guess.

I guess I just don't get it. Before some of you start slamming me for being a union driver, I have many friends who work for non-union companies who are paid as well if not better than I. It just happens to be that my retirement is with the union, therefore, I will stay where I am.

I welcome and look forward to everyone that replies. Somebody please prove me wrong here.

Drive safe

I would love to drive for a union company, I worked for the local 1205 ibew in p.c. fla. changed careers to drive, just cannot seem to land a union job, can you name a few carriers that are union?

We are trying to get a list of Good Trucking Jobs, BUT it is difficult as they are VERY cheap and are not willing to accept new technologies...we WILL though, IF they want YOU! $50 per month is not even the cheap cost of a newspaper ad...so, we'll get there! Please remember ALL trucking companies are stupid. YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! have to force them to what YOU want! Do NOT accept less!!!

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RIGHTLANE,

I am sure there union companies where you live. I know there are quite a
few here in California. I suggest you look for "latanea" in the union area. He has had some posts that would help you. Like I have stated before, I have friends who are non union and make a great living as well. Good luck in your search.

Drive safe

Truthfully I have good company to work for. Don't bash me yet. I work for Chemical South Transport out of Savannah, Ga. I run mostly within 300 mile radius. Sometimes I do run to Va, Miss, Tenn. 95% of the time I am home in my bed. I average 1200.00 per week and I live 50 mile from the terminal. My dispatcher route me home with the truck every day. I may be leaving from the house with a load or coming back in from taking a load. This is a big plus. The company pays all insurance for the employee but does not on family. We have a quarterly safety bonus and at the end of the year we have longevity bonus. All in all it is a very good company for me. It may not fit the bill for everybody but what does. We have plenty of work.

Alan

WiseOne,

I appreciate all the work that this site does in providing drivers with some insight into trucking thru various means. My problem exists with not understanding how some drivers find these "good companies" as an acceptable means of having a career not just a job. I realize that each person is an individual and needs will vary from some degree to another. However, what we all have in common is the desire to make a good living and providing our familes with what they need.

I don't know that "ALL" trucking companies are stupid. They all pretty much do dumb things from time to time. I think the stupidity comes into play from the drivers side. I don't mean to offend anyone. I have stated examples in my original post. There are more. We could probably break each example down if that is what is required. I don't know that an individual can "force" them as to what the driver wants. I do know that if a company starts loosing drivers or is unable to attract drivers, they might just rethink how they compensate their employees. Unfortunatley, drivers still flock to these same companies so the vicious cycle will continue.

Trucking is a great job if you find the right company.

Drive safe

I like your posts. I think you make a great point. If you don't mind, lets play a game for all drivers. You said you would be willing to breakdown your examples. You have alot but lets look at miles and pay. How can you break those down,.

goforce,

It sounds like you work for a good company. I'm glad your happy there. I wish the rest of these drivers could find the same. $1200.00 is really good for being home 95% of the time. I wonder how many others can say that?

Drive safe

bduke,

I'm sorry but I don't find this being a "game". I know what you meant but there is a better way to state your request.

First of all, hourly pay is the only true way to be compensated for all of your on duty time. Miles is what you asked for so here is my opinion.

Miles are paid either HHG, practical or hub. It doesn't take a Rhodes Scholar to figure out that hub miles are the only true accounting of the miles that are driven by the driver. You need to be able to compensate for unknown areas, missed off ramps, poor directions, incidents, accidents and weather etc. Anything less than hub means you are cheating yourself out of money that you actually earned.

There are numerous problems that drivers encounter being paid my any type of mileage pay. Companies can give you a great CPM but if the miles aren't there, does it even matter? On the opposite side, the company may have plenty of miles but the pay rate is low. Again, does it even matter.

If you find a company that pays good both in terms of miles and rate but you sit for free, for hours or days to load/unload, is that good? I didn't think so. Let me know what else you want to break down. For others that find my comments incorrect, please let me know.

Drive safe

The biggest problem with hub miles is the dishonesty of many. There would be alot of drivers going out of route to jack up their miles. Before you attack me for that position let me share a validating example. A few years ago there was a company that offered a regional route that paid a good sum of money per day from hometime to hometime. No pay per mile, you got a daily salary. Whether you sat at a dock all day or were driving you got paid the same amount. At the Dallas Truck Show last year I asked a recruiter from that company if they still offered that regional. His response, "No, too many drivers took advantage of it and didn't move the freight so management had to end it." I believe you would see the same thing happening with hub miles; "Oh, gee, I missed that offramp. Oh well, I have enough time to go down the road until I can safely turn back."