I would like to ask those drivers a few questions that say they run with the current rules by the book and are satisfied with the money they make each week,for instance,question one,how much do you make per mile,two,how many miles do you average per week,how long have you driven a truck,what company do you drive for,do you lump freight off your trailer for extra money,how often are you home,how many days off when you are home,how much do you clear after taxe each week on average. These are my questions,please be sincere as I want to compare it all to is it worth it to be away from your family for that kind of money. Be honest because we will know,alot of us have worked at different companies and may be the one you are at. THen I will come back here and critique on what you could be making both ways,the new rules or the old ones',thks for taking the time to read my post ahead of time. Under the new rules sept 14th ,if they remain,you will not be home weekends as all probobility,because the companies out there can't afford you taking off 3 days a week,they will lose money if you are not slip seating and your truck is parked,they will need and want you to stay out for the full 70 then send you home for 3 days,that will keep you out for a week and a half to two weeks depending on how you are set to run,if you run past your 70 on the road you will be off on the road from one to three days,then when you come back home there is more money lost per week,month or year. This could all be helped by every company paying a decent wage per hour on the road,this will never happen,it will expose the cheap companies that the drivers are making 5 to 8 dollars an hour and think they are fooling everyone out there,the good companies are paying from 20 to 32 an hour and unions more.Figure your actual working hrs,be honest,no cheating,and devide that into your gross pay,if your not getting at least 15 an hour,look for another driving job that does,at 15 an hour,you are barely making it,after you eat on the road,unless you eat from your microwave and walmart or mcdonalds. I have always said for over 40 years out here,you should be able to pay your bills,eat at a truckstop or restaurant every day,twice a day,if you can't afford to do that,get yourself a trucking company that pays you what you are worth,don't waste your time making money for these cheap companies that are taking you away from your families and relatives,the trade off is not worth it.As long as these companies are paying anything but by the hour,they don't lose money when you are out there spinning their wheels or setting at a truckstop spending money to eat,entertain yourself,etc. Then some have the nerve to tell you shut the truck off and sleep in the truckers lounge so you can save them money,you have to act and live like a homeless person to get your fuel bonus some offer you,they don't leave their home and sleep in the malls,you should not have to either.Just think about this,if and if they were all forced to pay by the hour,the old bait and switch will not be able to be used much by them,their hourly rate will show you from the start before you take the job,just how cheap they are,then and only then will you know and have a really close estimate on your over the road earnings for a fair company paying a fair wage. The unions and ooida and all of the others will be forced from making all these phony arguments on trucking safety and we will all be better off,by getting paid by the hour. It will never happen unless there is a whole strike by all in this industry,and only if all the drivers stuck to it. The government and unions ata,will never let it happen,big business is thriving,jb,scneider,swift,would not have trucks setting with no drivers in then all over this country,they would have to sell them or give them back,we are all paying for those trucks everytime we falsify our logs,relog,etc,and are staying away from our families for free with no layover pay,they get taxes written off for fuel etc, we keep paying and paying.I still love this trucking but it needs to be fixed. OOida is trying to help,and I respect that,but,at the same time there we go again,like the unions,more bullcrap and more politicians and more jobs for folks that don't have to manually work like we do.I don't think the trade off is worth it to all of us,as it seems that ATA does and gets what they want,again big business prevails.Got carried away but it is all from my heart,I don't have long to retire but I want to preserve trucking and keep it profitable like it used to be,for all who really love it,and thrive on it. |