Just returned from my Bakken "recon" trip

Did you mean you CAN'T find it anywhere besides ND? Also, where do you mean wages are falling? Everywhere? Anyone seen any hard data on this?

 

You can find jobs in TX OK CO NM making $20 an hour with overtime over 40. MBI and Nuverra both paying 19 to 20 per hour in ND. Many companies paying $25 straight time. Some pay overtime but limit you to 12 hour shifts, 70 hours then 24 hour reset.

If you want to work in ND make sure it's around $30. Don't take low pay. I understand if you are unemployed and no experience but please demand higher later in the job or leave

 

There's alot going on. If you were out here you would see it. New guys are hiring on for less pay . What do they know?!!! Plus these cities have doubled and tripled in size. Contrary to popular beliefs there is no shortage of workers. It used to be an employee market. It has switched to employer market. Not good for us . More people show up demand goes down. Other threads state when they go to a business there is "a stack of applications"!!!!!!! Its not rocket science.

 

For owner ops or drivers, here is how the structure works out there....

Basically there are 3-4 tiers in the trucking....

Tier 1 has the contract with the oil companies. They will usually have a large number of trucks but not nearly enough to service all the wells.

Tier 2 This tier contracts to the tier 1 companies and usually have anywhere from 20-100 trucks

Tier 3 These guys contract to tier 2 companies mainly because they are normally 10-20 trucks

Tier 4 is normally the bottom and here is where you can make the $100 per hour or more for o/o

You may have to wait as long as 3 months or more to get your money as an o/o it has to filter down from the tier 1 companies. Drivers get $20 plus per hour for company drivers. I heard a rumor but have no proof as of yet but I was told that the governor suspends the HOS rules on state roads because of the short construction season for road building. On the reservations all rules are off.

 

Sounds like sweet deal if with reputable people. OK can get kind of boring, but most places do where you are working long hours and socking away the cash.

 

Elk City.

If so, that's about normal.

 

It's good that you're smart enough to realize what a BAD deal 1099 jobs generally are in the oilfields, especially when it comes to getting shafted on pay or tax-time.

1099 when you're not an owner-op: not even once.