Federal Wage and Hour

[scotty]

An ex-employer left me with two bounced payroll checks and the only resolve that I had was a warrent or civil court. But here lies the biggest problem is that the Department of Transportation has nothing to do with the regulation od truckers pay and the Federal Wage and Hour will not do anything because we do not earn the miminum wage.
A truckers strike is not the answer because it still leaves us with the abuse's of Carriers. There should be a national wage set in place for truckers and the same protection that an hourly employee has under the Wage and hour dividion and the Dept. of Labor. Only then we could see real change in the abuse by trucking companies.
As far a fule prices this is were the our Goverment droped the ball and yes if effects all the American people. John Warner from Virginia said last week that droping the national speed to 55 mph from 70 would save fuel. This shows us that our Goverment has learned nothing sense 1974. Time to get this type of Moron and ones like him out of office.

[Socy Grad]

Originally Posted by scotty

There should be a national wage set in place for truckers and the same protection that an hourly employee has under the Wage and hour dividion and the Dept. of Labor.

Yes. Drivers should also be able to collect overtime, and be paid for loading, unloading, waiting, etc., especially if they work for one of the larger companies (meaning that many smaller OO's might not be able to do this). However, truckers are exempt from these privileges by the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

[DarkKnight]

Your State labor department is the agency to contact and help resolve the pay issue.

[roadkill439342]

Originally Posted by scotty

An ex-employer left me with two bounced payroll checks and the only resolve that I had was a warrent or civil court. But here lies the biggest problem is that the Department of Transportation has nothing to do with the regulation od truckers pay and the Federal Wage and Hour will not do anything because we do not earn the miminum wage.
A truckers strike is not the answer because it still leaves us with the abuse's of Carriers. There should be a national wage set in place for truckers and the same protection that an hourly employee has under the Wage and hour dividion and the Dept. of Labor. Only then we could see real change in the abuse by trucking companies.
As far a fule prices this is were the our Goverment droped the ball and yes if effects all the American people. John Warner from Virginia said last week that droping the national speed to 55 mph from 70 would save fuel. This shows us that our Goverment has learned nothing sense 1974. Time to get this type of Moron and ones like him out of office.

It is actually hard to see where you are trying to go here, you mention three separate issues.

1. Just like any other employer, he is required by State Law to pay you. It is up to YOU to handle that matter IN THE STATE where you live in. While you may be exempt from minimum wage laws, he is not exempt from his responsibility to pay you. I have had to sue three former employers for back pay. Two of them were in Michigan, where the Dept. of Labor does it for free, the third one in Louisiana, where it was my responsibility to hire a lawyer. So far, my record is 3/3.
2. Exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act is a Federal Issue, and as long as shippers/receivers/trucking companies have BIG BUCKS lobbies in Washington, there isn't anything you or I can do about it. Believe it or not, the FLSA was proposed by the UNIONS so that THEY could determine the wages for the Union Members and leaving NON-Union members exempt, making Union Membership desirable. THANKS (Socialist) Unions, you're really looking out for the "little guy".
3. What is so hard about understanding that 55mph saves fuel over 70mph? The distance between Chicago and Los Angeles (2400 miles) saves 9 hours driving 70mph vs 55mph but consumes about 10% more fuel. A friend of mine who consistantly drives 55mph (you might have passed him) says the SAVINGS pays him $60 per hour over that 9 hour period.

[lowbudget]

I am not a fan of the "National Speed Limit" proposal. There is NOTHING stopping a person from driving 55 if they want to. I don't drive at 70 either, but I'm not going to force someone else to drive my speed. Also, I'll take my current truck as an example, at 55 mph I am at the very top of one gear and the very bottom of the next (10 speed) because it was geared for 70. So if and where the speed limit is 55 I am constantly shifting.

I think if the 55 mph is gonna go thru, now would be the time to get into the truck driveline industry!

[stranger]

The gearing was a problem when the speed was reduced to 55 in the 70's. The older trucks were set to run 65-70, and had the same problem as you.

I drove a '72 pete with 4.11 rears, a 10 spd. direct, and 10.00X22 tires, which is the same height as todays 24.5 tall rubber tire.

At 55 in 10th I was lugging at 1700, which was the bottom end of everything but a Mack engine in those days. If I changed to 9th I was turning around 2100.

2100 was supposed to be the top governed speed of most motors, though many people set an 855 Cummins at 2300, and Detroits at 2400. The old Cummins 903 V-8s were governed at 2800, but I owned one set at 3200 until I backed it down to 3000.

My two storys about governed trucks. I have driven cross country in a truck governed at 58 MPH. If you want to really get to know the deserts, then this is a good way. It seemed like a month getting across them.

The other story is I rented a tractor for a week that would run 74 MPH. For that week I averaged 6.9 on a Big Cam Cummins 350. I didn't run 74, but I kept the speed comfprtable and built up speed down hill in order to top the next with out having to change gears, or change as few as possible.

A month later I rented the same truck, except now it had been cut back to 57. I changed gears on every hill I hit, and got 5.5 MPG.

I know todays electronic engines can adapt to the speeds better than an old Big Cam can, but 55 won't save any money in hilly areas pulling heavy loads.

[BobC]

A minor adjustment required here.

Even though anyone under the HOS scam is exempt from OT, you are not exempt from the minimum wage.
Even truckdrivers must be paid the minimum wage for all hours worked.

If you look at Washington State you'll see where they recently ruled that truckdrivers are NOT exempt from OT pay.
Washington State truckdrivers are getting OT even when driving out of state.

The ATA & others tried to beat this in court & failed.

I won't get into the fuel mileage debate because it encompases so many variables.
I've had trucks running 70+ that got better mileage than the same trucks running 65 over the same routes.
And...I've driven some that actually got better mileage at 65 than 75. To many variables to account for.

Except for the meager protection of the minimum wage laws, drivers have no one to turn to for wage regulations.
The Sec.of Labor washed their hands of regulating truckdriver wages (& protections) for anyone suffering the Sec of Trans HOS regs.
Similarly, the Sec of Trans refuses to pickup where the Dept of Labor falls off for drivers.

Somewhere in the middle of this is the answer.

Either the Sec of Labor has to be petitioned to pick up truckdrivers or the Sec of Trans has to be petitioned to pick up where the Labor dept ends.

There's nothing stopping either of these gov entities from picking up the ball that the other dropped...except...They don't have a reason to.

There's no consolidated effort on the part of truckdrivers to make either of these gov entities give a damn.

There's no centralized push from truckdrivers to make Congress hear you.

And there won't be if history is any indication of future performance.

[danc694u]

Originally Posted by lowbudget

...snipped...
I think if the 55 mph is gonna go thru, now would be the time to get into the truck driveline industry!

I heard this comment the other night from an O/O that was pissed LOL. He was talking about all the time, effort, and money he had spent making sure his trucks were spec'd right. Now they want to throw a wrench into it...and screw his MPG up again.

If they cut my truck to 55 mph. I expect at least an .07 per mile raise to offset the loss. Or I'll walk.....period. I am not taking a 16% cut in pay...not now, not ever.

It will be a cold day in hell before I hand any company a 28% reduction in operating cost at my expense. And that is what this is about. JB Hunt Swift and Schneider....the same A-holes that drilled us in the past, stroking their buddies in Washington again for a dollar.

I can make that kind of money doing yard work, with fewer hours per week.

[psanderson]

Sounds like you missed school the day they taught economics

[Rupiefied]

Well the way I have always seen it I am governed by appointment times on either side, doesn't matter how fast I get there if I have to wait anyway. So no matter how fast I go I am getting the same pay because it ends up being the same amount of time.