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Originally Posted by mannmk7  I'm with you on the voting, especially when the voters are left with two sets of clowns to vote for for president and vice-president, like the goomba's we got now. 
It's a battle when you're fighting for "right" and the politicians want wrong, like the battle against the Mexican Invasion. What I'm getting at is that people fought the Mexican Invasion by writing and calling their representatives over and over again. Now the government is at least putting on a good show with "ICE" with raids on criminal corporations hiring criminal's. We still have a big problem with politicians trying to manipulate there way around this issue and try and figure out ways to allow the invasion to continue. So it's not going to be easy. 
The citizens had big help from numbersusa who wrote up faxes and arranged phone call in's to rep's regularly. Something like this could be set up for truckers as a way to fight for truckers issues. In the mean time truckers should be writing their rep's about the problems in the industry and demand that trucking, truckers, be protect the same way other employee's are protected. I can't give any examples except for what I've read here. One complaint could be that truckers need to get compansated some way shape or form for 2 days off for every 5 days worked how ever that compensation presents it's self. Example: If a driver drivers 20 days he should get 8 days off. By contrast I'm reading companies giving 1 day for every 7 days worked. Now this is a load of crap. 2 days a week off were fought for and won decades ago.
Any way that's my take. |
SOme companies understand this and they have wht they call lifestyle boards and it depends on the company on how it works. With some you drive a week, then you are home a week, others you drive 6 weeks and are home a month. Celadon, Roehl and I beleive Barr-Nunn(or at least they did, dont know if they still do)and several others have these types of programs. A lot of times it is up to the driver how often he/she wants to get home. If you live off of I-80, I-70, I-5, I-40, I-65 or I-95 then you will probally get by home a lot more than if you lived off of say I-10 in Florida. And if you live in the lower Midwest or Southeast you will probally get by home more often than say somebody who lives in Jackson Hole, WY. That is just the way the industry goes or unless you are a local or a overnight linehaul driver for an LTL or you are running regional. I have met some guys and gals that really dont mind if they ever get home and some that want to be home every 3 days--it all depends on where you put your priorities and or preferences as to how often you want to be home.
Most of the "biggies" try to at least give you a 34 hour restart since it is to their advantage to do so. That way you arent chasing your hours next week and you are set to go and run when it is time to go back out. And since most of the "biggies" realize this, they would rather have you do your 34 hour restart at home instead of on the road. Although sometimes that cant be helped. I have done my 34 on the road before, and beleive me, it aint fun. But it couldnt be helped.
Not all these Big companies are jerks, some of them really care about whether you actually make money or not and whether you get home or not. SOme of this depends on your atitude as a driver and some of this depends on whether you are doing your share of moving their freight. A lot of these guys that are getting screwed by some companies havent even done their time or havent pulled their weght. For your first (at least) 2 years in the industry, you should expect to be given the crummy routes, crummy miles and crummy loads. Once you get by that and the company realizes that you are or are at least trying to be a team-player they will start giving you better runs, better mileage, and better home time. I have worked places that I was home 2-3 times per week as an OTR driver and still averaged 2800 miles per week, and then I have worked places that I was home on weekends only or maybe even partial weekends and averaged 1900 miles, it all depends on how YOU want to play it. Now, dont get me wrong, there are companies out there who just dont give a rats butt and dont care. It is just like other jobs, YOU tell them what YOU want and YOU expect while on their payroll, and if they cant deliver then go elsewhere, there are more than enough companies in this industry looking for drivers. You can either treat this industry as a lifestyle, or as a job, or as both. The way you treat it depends on how successful you will be, and these companies know this also.
10.04.2008
$16,000 CDL Ex-Werner driver...? 
MY point was, and is... everyone has an opinion. Not everyone will see things the same way. And if you like shoveling #### (meant as a funny euphamism btw...not meant to slander drivers, but nice try) and then getting kicked like a dog everyday... enjoy yourself. I don't care. 
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So why is it so hard to understand some may NOT want YOUR change?
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