Werner Questions

Legal or not, many if not most major carriers always look for ways to push more and more of their costs of operation onto the drivers. And most drivers put up with it in order to keep their jobs. If a driver is not aware of the legal situation, they will do whatever the people in positions of authority (the company representatives) tell them because after all, they should know what's right correct?

Additionally, truckers are not covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Allow the driver victimization to continue!

 

Truckers are not covered by the overtime provisions of the Act (or, more accurately, they are exempt from the overtime provisions of the FLSA). They are covered by the FLSA.

By way of example, the FLSA requires that when on assignment for more than 24 hours, the most amount of time an employer may designate as non-working is 8 hours per day - even if you are sleeping and/or waiting for more than 8 hours. You are entitled to $7.25 per hour under the FLSA, meaning the least amount you should be paid when on assignment for more than 24 hours is $116 per day. There is a class action lawsuit against Werner right now (which I imagine many in this forum have joined and/or have received notice of) regarding Werner's specific violations of these provisions.

 

Yeah....the myth of layover and detention pay....I'll believe it when I see it.

Here's how most companies avoid paying detention and layover. For the driver to qualify, that driver must log all that time as "On Duty, Not Driving"....which, of course, cuts into the driver's more productive 70 hours of potential drive time. Since drivers try to hang on to every drive hour like grim death to use as drive time (which is hopefully paid at a better rate than the hourly pay offered for detention/layover), drivers will log the wait time as either Sleeper Berth or Off Duty. They are, of course, encouraged to do so by the carrier. Since they are not logged as "On Duty, Not Driving", even if they may be fully responsible for the truck/freight at the time, they don't get paid.

I can't count the number of times where I and many other drivers on my personal acquaintance would log Sleeper Berth time even if we were on the dock counting or fingerprinting freight to get the load off so we could get back to work, or sitting behind the wheel because we had to move the truck onto the dock or shift it around the yard as space opened up. We weren't paid for the time because our logbooks (a legal document, remember) showed that we were off duty.

The Fair Labor Standards Act as it applies to the trucking industry is a bad joke at best, and downright criminal at worst. Truckers are viewed as an inconvenience, a rolling source of revenue, and a necessary evil in the world of business. We are over-regulated, massively underpaid and under-appreciated, and carriers are always on the lookout for ways to screw us over or replace us with cheaper alternatives. The government and various legal representatives aren't much better, as they generally look upon truckers as the criminal element in just about every legal proceeding. How many attorneys advertise how they'll "get you paid" if you are involved in an accident with a big truck, regardless of who's at fault (tip, it's generally not the trucker)?

 

How much money should i expect if I go with Werner? First year salary. What is the starter pay?

 

Werner ranks right up there as being one of the top 10 lowest paid carriers.But as a new driver no matter where ya go you're not going to get rich.In fact if you do go with Werner you'll be living from paycheck to paycheck.Plan on around 25k to be what you make the first yr and not much more after that even after you complete a yr employment with them.Starter pay is like 25 cents per mile for teams its like 34 cpm hich is roughly 15 cents per driver.Now if that isn't slave wages I don't know what it.Now im talken bout if you choose OTR,regional you get more consistant miles.Going on a dedicated account like Family Dollar and Dollar general would pay better but there are strings attached.You unload your own freight and the backing can be very stressfull and challenging.

 

I have been with Werner since the first of the year... I am happy with werner... they have treated me well... i was with a small family owned company before I came to werner... when my father had an Aorta Aneurysm rupture.. and nearly died it took the small company weeks to get me home... when my dog got very ill and my brother called me because she she was so ill she may have to be put down.. werner got me home the next morning, i got my dog to an animal hospital and she is doin well now...

As for pay.. in training you make $400 for the first part and then $450 for the remainder. .. after that it is up to you and what account you choose.. I have always been on one of their dedicated accounts and have mage good money.. they have alway kept me running.. and I have always gotten my safety bonus which alone has been $250 or more a week...

As for Lumpers... werner pays for them.. a driver usually writes an EFS check to the lumper.. if the lumper doesnt accept EFS the driver is usually told that i. The load information and can cash an EFS for cash to pay the lumper and then just has to turn in the receipt.

Werner runs on holidays and for some holidays there is even a bonus to run during the holiday. . The only Holiday that werner does not run is Christmas Day..

I have never been on the Dollar General account.. but did injur my shoulder on the flatbed account and did light duty... I had the option of doing light duty and get paid my average driver salary or not do light duty and collect 66% of my average driver salary on workmans comp.

Werner has plenty of loads and miles to offer.. they have hundreds of different accounts... even have a drop n hook tanker account... there is no reason good safe driver can't find an account that works for them... however, not all accounts are open to all drivers.. the better accounts have certain requirements such as experience, safety, efficiency. . So for example a driver with a high CSA score or who has had late deliveries wont qualify for mny of the better accounts...

As for the people being friendly.. i have found them to be be friendly.... but, i will also say that although I am a generally friendly person.. if I am at a terminal and an unkept, unclean sloppy driver approaches me i am not that receptive. .. I also do not want to hear all your complaints or stories... I have a right to be selective in who I associate with... so just because I am a fellow werner driver doesnt mean I must talk to you... it also doesnt mean I have to give you a cigarette and hear you complain about being broke... the reason you are broke isnt who you drive for but who you are..

 

i work every holiday except for 2. since im on a dedicated account all i get is Xmas and Thanksgiving Day. thats it.

 

That's how I remember it.

I learned that too. Bad attitudes are infectious.

 

Excellent post. Could not have said that any better. Thanks !