$20/hr minimum

I've been here less than a day, and you know what I've noticed ?

This is not a truckers forum. It is a forum composed of employers, drivers and people interested in becoming drivers..

The employers think the usual, that drivers are skill less and anybody can drive. It's the typical "you just drive" attitude.. The employers here also think that driver are lazy and steal time.

So what do the employers here do ? They stick around here and tell you how worthless you ( as drivers ) are, and cry they are not making any money.

The employers here want to beat you down and try to make you believe that you are worthless and stupid. That is simply not true\. There are intelligent and mentally challenged individuals in all groups. I have found that truck driver at the places that I have worked have come from other fields and have educations and college degrees. I myself am an interpreter. So don't thing all truck drivers are stupid. And one thing that has to change is the employers/supervisors/dispatchers attitude toward truck drivers.

Now lets get something straight driving a truck is hard work at any level that is why there are not as many young people getting into as older people dropping out of it.

The theory that you can teach anyone to drive in a short time is only part of the story. This is true for any industry. You can teach someone how to cook in the back of restaurant in a day , but that doesn't make that person a chef ( or even a good cook ).

If you are a steering wheel holder you still have to concentrate on the road for 11 hours a day and maybe work up to 14 hours a day, That concentration for that amount of time is demanding. This type of work takes a toll on your health by making you gain weight and lose muscle, and can injury your back. You are away from your home for long periods of time and miss loved ones and special occasions. Now , isn't this worth being justly compensated for your sacrifice ?

If you deliver petroleum to any type of location you are working outside in the heat of the summer, in the blizzards of the winter, or in the pouring rain when not putting your life on the line driving because some 4 wheel could cut you off and you could blow up. You again are putting your health at risk by breathing cancerous fumes. Isn't this worth compensation ?

Lets say you are a trash truck driver. You are doing a dirty smelly job, exposed to all kinds of elements, all kinds of dust, and all kinds of chemicals that people just throw away. Isn't this work some decent compensation ?

Lets say you deliver packages, beverages, or compressed gas cylinders. Now you are using a two wheeler , out in the elements, dealing with the stress of the cars and customers around you. You are doing a good amount of physical labor. Shouldn't you be rewarded for your hard work ?

Lets say you are plowing snow for 40 straight hours ( usually in a piece of crap truck that can't pass inspection, or has no heat ) to make the roads clear for everyone else to get to work. Again you are killing your back, and wearing down your body. Shouldn't you be rewarded ?

There are health risks to every type of truck driving, and there takes determination to complete your task in every type of truck driving.

Backing a 53' trailer at a 90º alley dock in a yard designed for 45' trailers take a considerable amount of learned skill.

Learning to shift a 10,12,13,15,18,21 speed transmission correctly takes a good 6 month to year to master.

There are always new things to learn in truck driving. So , if it is so easy why are we learning for our entire careers ?

Since a class A truck driver ( combination unit ) is technically above a class B ( straight truck ) all of these examples are relevant. Don';t try to argue that those examples are different types of truck driving and not what you are talking about.

People who say truck driving is easy don't do it 60 hours a week. Sure it's easy to steer a truck down the hi-way for one 12 hour shift but what about 6 12 hour shifts for 52 weeks a year ? It's not so easy after a few days.. You are using a lot of concentration.

Now, shouldn't a grown man be rewarded enough for all these thing to be able to buy a decent house, a new car, and care for his family that he doesn't see that much ?

MARK my words- in 5 years good truck drivers will be making as much as nurses !

Why ? Supply and demand is one factor. There are more "qualified" drivers leaving the drive pool in the next 5 years than there are drivers entering the market. Look around.. The companies are getting more aggressive.. More and more of them are willing to teach people who are willing to get a learners permit. They do this for two reasons 1) they can't find anyone. 2) They want naive people who they can pay cheap wages for a few years because they don't want to pay for a "qualified" truck driver. But this plan is going to catch up to them with the CSA in play. New people make more mistakes, and the CSA rating goes up.

Secondly is the criminal and driving record factor. Every day someone get in trouble with the law and is not qualified to drive anymore. It could be truck violations, DUI in a personal vehicle, domestic violence.. The list goes on and on...

Thirdly is the drivers health. We all know long haul driving takes a toll on your health. Driving at any level is stressful. Now we have "driver self-certification" by 2014 anyone who doesn't produce a medical card will have their CDL downgraded to a car license. People are already giving them up because they don't use their CDL. That just take more people out of the market. The crack addicts won't be able to fake their medical cards some day after 2014 because sooner or later the doctor will be directly connected via the internet to the RMV/DMV.

More and more rules ( and tracking ) are coming down every day, and a lot of people don't know about them yet. CSA2010 hasn't even gone into full effect yet. It's a 3 year algorithm, and it started in 2010.

If the economy got better right now we wouldn't have enough drivers to move all the products.

There are a lot of factors in play here for the next 5 years.

 

Not true at UPS and fedx where I live every blue collar worker is the same union, and they can go back down the ladder for a day or a week until the work picks up again.

Look, unions are complicated.. Everything is good when things are going good, but when the company wants you gone the union won't back you up because they don't want to lose money ( union dues) because companies these days can break unions if they want to. the companies just play along and say "why didn't you file a grievance for all those other things?" after they fire you.