Driver Shortage !!!!!!

Lol I finally quit this year I didn't feel like I could keep at it anymore and the Elog drove me nuts.

 

Some things sound great on paper, but don't work nearly as well with practical use.

 

I like the part about Hourly pay.....but not so much on the 10 hours of drive time.....




American Trucker

 

I have to agree if you are paid for the time you work (hourly) you will be more likely to feel you are being compensated for ALL the WORK you have done- including pretrip, fuel, load/unload and this would cut out the desire to 'push' to get miles for pay. As it is now you are NOT paid to alot of your job and feel that time sitting at the shippers is ''lost'' time (if the wheels aren't turning your aren't earning) Doesn't it make sense to pay a driver for the time worked?

I am currently salaried and am expected to work the ''hours needed to complete my job.'' As the demands of my job increase and the hours I am putting in are increasing I am feeling more used by the company to get the job done not matter what and no mattter how much it cuts into MY time and decreases my pay ''per hour'' but over time my attitude will be affected too.

 

There was an article about this company's "radical ideas " over a year ago on this forum.

They found they have happier drivers who have fewer accidents and obey the rules!!!
They saved money on recruiting, they saved money on accidents, they saved money on tickets, they saved more money because the drivers were paid fairly for all the work they performed.!!!

What a crazy idea!!! I hope this lunatic logic catches on with the rest of the industry!!!!!!!!!!!

 

If companies had good drivers they might wind up paying them less than mileage. If companies paid hourly they would expect a minimum number of miles. They would also likely want to keep closer tabs on drivers because they would want to make sure they were actually working instead of playing video games.

There are a couple of problems paying drivers by the hour. Monitoring their driving is one problem. Another is how you would charge shippers. Right now carriers essentially charge them by the mile. I don't think that shippers would be interested in paying a carrier by the hour to deliver their freight. If they did and the carrier broke down then the shipper would certainly balk at having to pay a carrier while they were broken down.

A carrier could pay a driver by the trip. They could average the miles and estimate how long it should take the driver to get to his destination and then pay accordingly. It would probably be about the same money as paying mileage. I think you would have a lot of drivers who would abuse the hourly pay. That is the reason most are not paid hourly, at least if they are otr. We used to only have 10 hours driving time until a few years ago when the time was increased to 11 hours.

 

It would be much better if carriers paid all drivers percentage. That way, they could share in the profits and when the economy is doing well and rates are up drivers will receive a bigger paycheck. When the economy is down then drivers would share in the lackluster profits. When a driver is paid percentage he should earn more than being paid by the mile.

 

Your management/owner 'point of view' is obvious but not invalid. The first step in the right direction is to pay drivers 'practical/ truck route miles' - freight rates should, at the very least be based in this formula.

Second, drivers should be paid and put up in a hotel at any time their rig is out of service. When should this time begin? After the first hour? After the first 24 hours? A tough call.

Time sitting at Shippers - Receivers should be paid after the first hour of the scheduled appointment time. Shippers - Receivers have no incentive at present to process their traffic in a timely manner - they should be billed for all 'waiting time' with a 10% service charge tacked on.

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Trying to get American Truckers to think 'mexican' has never been the way to go, not for the drivers at least. Owners/ management would love it though. Any legal/liability 'issues' would be quickly swept under the rug as being 'intolerant', 'racist', 'anti immigrant', etc.

Most of our volume comes out of Mexico, handled by our mexican division. Management is masturbating to the idea of letting the mexican drivers deliver all of the way to every final destination in America and Canada. Mexican drivers deliver to Laredo at present and we take it from there.

Organized Labor may be the best entity to put a stop to this crap as the federal government appears to be completely broken, as evidenced in recent court decisions - Arizona immigration rulings in particular.

 

I don't see organized labor as doing much to help the situation. While they publicly complain, they are a heavy supporter of those who push NAFTA. Bill Clinton negotiated and pushed the NAFTA agreement through and he was a major recipient of union contributions. Obama is even fighting Arizona to keep the border wide open. Unions usually contribute to democratic candidates. They were a big contributor to Obama and will likely do the same this election. The best way to fight this is to make your views known to your union and stay in contact with your elected representatives. Get other drivers and voters involved in contacting representatives.