$20/hr minimum

She needs to come out with me for a week in Feb. I'll have her get out of the truck 4 or 5 hours a day and help chain and tarp steel coils and greasy bar stock. Then we can drive another 8 hours or so and I'll have her read every road sign just like i do. No napping or book reading. We might stop to eat one hot meal.

 

"wannabe" is right, you have no idea. the comparison is apples and oranges. sense of entitlement? yep, i hope i keep it too... nobodys lining up to give me what i want, i need to get/take it.

 

Ah, the old argumentum ad hominem comes forth. You can't refute my argument, so you attack me. What you don't know is that I've been running class B for over 25 years; I likely have more seat time than you do even if you include the back seat of your daddy's old Dodge. I've hauled both freight and passengers; school kids, old ladies to Atlantic City, high school band students to Disney World. I've taken 26' box trucks down alleys so narrow you had to get out and fold in the mirrors just to get through, then have to unload 1500+ pieces by hand with nothing more than a two wheeler and no lift gate. Head back to the warehouse, and while I turn in the paperwork, the forklift loads another 14 pallets onto my truck so I can go out and do it again. I never had the luxury of relaxing in my sleeper while lumpers unloaded my truck for me.

So yes, I know a bit about driving a truck. Flatbedders, my comment wasn't aimed at you. You guys have my sympathy.

And if you're making 22 cpm, then you need to quit driving for CRE.

 

Man, people cry, whine, ##### and moan about being an employee and not getting paid enough. YOU ARE AN EMPLOYEE!!! YOUR BOSS DECIDES WHAT YOUR WORK IS WORTH! if you don't like that standard, then move along and find an employer that will give you what you want, or BECOME AN EMPLOYER YOURSELF AND SEE IF YOU CAN HACK IT !!!

Sheeshhhh.... Stop your whining and do something about your pathetic life... (if you are feeling this way)

 

Well the thread is about where the industry should go as far as pay goes. Funny how the good companies that pay $19+ an hour rarely are looking for help. It is always the bottom feeders who pay $15 or $16 straight that are always looking for drivers. Meaning that people generally know when they are being underpaid and use those jobs as doorways into the industry or stop gaps from living under a bridge.

 

It's called common sense. Apparently it's not that common these days. And starting wages have absolutely NOTHING in relation to Marxism. And nowhere have I said the way to a better life is to strive to work for less.

Think new drivers are worth $20/hr? Fine. Be my guest and start out your own company. Pay your student drivers who just got their CDL $20/hr. You'll soon find out why student drivers aren't worth it.

 

This is so true. If you're complaining about bad pay and low miles, then stop driving for the bottom feeders of the industry. Also, do realize that as a longhorn, you do NOT know everything about the industry. I've been at it for 16 years so far, and still keep learning new things. Sense you don't know everything, you aren't worth top dollar. Get the illusion of making $20+/hr to start with out of your head. Even most people who actually go college and get a masters degree don't earn that much to start with.

 

This. How many new drivers do we see who post and have narrowed the choices down to mega carrier A and mega carrier B? If the company doesn't have a website that you can apply online at then forget it, it's too hard....... You think people have never heard of the phone book. With rare exception, most people have many trucking companies in their immediate area, but are simply too lazy to get off the couch and go see them in person. Many of theses companies will give a new driver a chance and most of them pay much better than the .26cpm mega carrier starting rate.

The notion that somehow all new drivers are required to suffer until they get a year or two of experience and "earn" the right to work under decent conditions is utter nonsense.

 

Exactly correct>That's why I keep encouraging "new" drivers to apply for the "good" jobs.

 

I just got my CDL and am considering taking a job for local $15 per hour without overtime. I am in Texas and my rent is incredibly low. I want more money (who doesn't) but I am single and do not have any kids. I am probably accepting the job just so I can spend the next 6-12 months to gain experience. I have been a professional driver for years, just in vehicles below CDL weight.