Be careful before changing jobs

I'm a California based driver who has been behind the wheel a little less than a year. I started out with Gordon Trucking and was enjoying it until Heartland fully took them over and my miles dropped drastically along with my pay. So last August I started looking for something with a bit more stable pay, and thought I had found it. I found a job posting for a small manufacturing company in the Central Valley that paid a salary of $45,000 a year with full medical/dental/vision. They only have 2 trucks and I would be one of two drivers hauling to and from a warehouse of theirs. Before they hired me, I was told that my job would be to get loaded in California, drive to western Texas, get unloaded and dead head back to California.The pay wasn't outstanding, but as good as my average new driver pay had been with Gordon, and because I didn't have over a year driving, probably the best I could hope for even with a perfect driving record. My rig is a nice new KW T680 with all the bells & whistles including a fridge and TV/DVR.

After nearly 4 months with the company, here is how things aren't always as great as they seem at first.

First off, getting loaded in California really meant that I load my own truck with a forklift. Yes I could operate a fork, but I'm not certified and it took some trial and error before I got the hang of it. Neither of the trucks have electronic logs, so everything is on paper and I'm told not to start my log until "after" I finish loading, which sometimes is 2-3 hours after I arrive at work. The drive to TX is 1,300 miles and takes two full days, even with no govenor doing 75 MPH+. I'm also expected to unload with a forklift. Rather than now heading back to California as I was told, I'm doing one of two things. Either I head to a plant in TX and take a full load back, or I get loaded with product and head north to make several deliveries. With a pallet jack (manual not electric), I have to deliver a few 2,000 pound pallets by wheeling them to the rear of the trailer where the customer picks them with their forklift. No loading docks. Then I have to grab another load from there and only then do I head back to California.

So my 4 day a week job is really a 6 day a week job, and if I logged myself on duty while I load/unload I'm really hitting 70 hours in 5 days and would need to reset before getting back, which I don't like and they really don't like. Every single day I'm driving a couple hours before dawn until a couple hours after dark, loading/unloading in between, deliving to customers and surpassing my actual 14 hour limit, just not on the logs. I'm now a driver, forklift operator and lumper, but only getting paid for being a driver.

On top of all that, they do offer a great benefits package but at a very high cost. They pay 75% of the employee cost but none of the dependent cost, so my share is $1,200 per month or $300 out of each of my already small paychecks.

At this point I'm leaning toward just sticking it out for a couple more months until I reach the one year mark of driving experience then look for another job. These guys are taking full advantage of their exemption from overtime pay and I'm the idiot working 80+ hours a week and getting paid for 40. They have guys in their California manufacturing plant making $10 an hour (minimum wage here) stacking product on pallets and getting paid overtime, so they often make as much as I do and sometimes more while getting to be home every night.

What I've learned from this experience is this. I asked all of the right questions before quitting my previous job, but their terms changed once I started working there. Get what your perspective job promises IN WRITING, and if they don't follow through then you have a leg to stand on when complaining and should things get nasty or legal. I asked all about the benefits before working there and was told they would get back to me, but never did (my fault for not getting a clear answer). The cost of benefits can have a HUGE impact on your paycheck, so find out EXACTLY how much it will cost BEFORE you quit your previous job to start the new job.

Drive safe out there.

 

Yep, I'm always looking. Eventually I'd like to do local and be home at night. They tend to pay better than OTR, but they all want 1-2 years minimum experience which is why I'm waiting. I did apply to DOT foods and I guess either my lack of experience or the fact that I live a little too far from their terminal excluded me from consideration. Kind of shocked me since they offered me a pre-hire when I was still in driving school and now I don't qualify.

 

That was the point of my original post. I don't get paid by miles but rather a flat salary regardless of how much I drive or am on duty. Yeah I heard about the Walmart lawsuit. It takes a lot of time and money to legally go up against somebody. I just want to get paid a decent wage for the work I do. I am going to start logging in as soon as I start working from now on, but it will probably mean that I don't get home every 6th day and have to reset on the road. That could work to my advantage if they tell me I have to load/unload off duty to keep up with their demanding schedule. I would think that might look bad to a jury.