Will Wage and Hour Rumbles... Affect You?

Nonsense and nonsense and bullshiat, spouted like you have some kind of authority to spout it.

Nobody deserves anything, not even a precious job creator or trucking company owner. Paying employees well is just a small part of the success picture, but an important one, maybe one of the most important ones all other things being equal. Happy employees will go to the mat for you. Screw your employees and you're done, sooner or later, because they will screw you back in a million little ways. It figures you've got it backward in thinking that it's unreasonable to expect an employer to pay its employees well, since the business can't exist without their efforts. This attitude is mainly what's wrong with American business right now. Short-sighted, unwise, and corrupt.

With the margins high enough per truck, the companies can afford to pay the driver for time one duty, including detention. To say otherwise is to be a greedy liar.

 

You guys want to get paid what you are worth? START YOUR OWN COMPANY!!

Got tired of upper mgmt. bs and quit Office Depot in 1996. I knew I could do it better without any restraints put on me or my drivers.

That was one of my better decisions in my life!

 

I agree with G/man. Drivers know what they get paid for and what they don't get paid for when they get hired on. They just have to ask the questions and they will get their answers.

Hiring onto a company without asking important questions is the drivers own fault. Wanna be paid for all hours worked? Get an hourly job...

 

Truck Drivers do not have rights they are second class citizens!

 

From the drivers I have seen, there is no danger of them going hungry. If drivers families suffer from lack of income, they need to learn how to manage their money. I have always been able to save money in this business and lived comfortably. If you live beyond your means, then your family will suffer. What you do for a living is not the issue.

As far as respect is concerned, that sits squarely on the backs of some drivers. Until about 15 or so years ago, drivers were well respected. It is some drivers, not all, who have cost drivers respect. Just look at how some look. They weigh 400 pounds and you still see them buying a big bag of chips at the truck stop and park at the nearest parking spot. After the trucks leave the truck stop, the lot is full of urine bottles. Fortunately, some of us still conduct ourselves and treat others with respect and it is reciprocated. You cannot blame carriers or the employers for drivers not being respected. All respect is not lost. Many people still respect drivers.

Driver pay is not necessarily the reason for turnover in the industry, contrary to popular belief. However, there are some drivers who will leave one company and go to another for a penny per mile more pay, only to find out that he isn't necessarily making more money. There are other factors which effect driver turnover that have nothing to do with the pay. An example is home time. Personally, I think the number one reason for driver turnover is lack of communication between drivers and the company. Regardless of industry, all companies have turnover.

I know you think that unions will solve all your problems in trucking. It won't. It will only create different problems. The Teamsters started to lose members after they shut down the country (for the most part) back in 1980(?). There were actually two instances where they tried to stop freight from moving. They did have an impact. Those who kept running took a chance of a hitting a cinder block dangling from an overpass, rocks thrown through the windshield or being shot at by union supporters or members. After that, it was the government that got involved and tried to reduce union influence in this industry. Deregulation allowed rates to be set by the market forces than fixed by published tariffs, creating price competition in the marketplace. It also alleviated some of the union influence. Even in their heyday, Teamsters only had a small percentage of otr drivers as members. Today, they have lost most of their influence. Walmart drivers who were involved in the lawsuit in California, have shot themselves in the foot and don't yet understand it. All of this is about greed. Those poor Walmart drivers were only making $87,000+/year. How can they get by on such a pittance?

 

Next time I leave a comment, I'll try to remember to cross the I's and dot the T's

 

Drivers do have rights. We are not second class citizens. If you treat others with respect, you will be respected. For years I have heard about how poorly California treats drivers. I have been inspected and dealt with California and have always been shown respect. I have also been inspected and stopped in Ohio, Pennsylvania and other states and with rare exceptions, have been respected. But, I have also been respectful of them. If you show an attitude it will be given back to you just as if you show respect and it will be given to you. It is time to be honest about attitudes and respect. Many drivers don't even respect themselves. They look like slobs. The don't take care of themselves and all they do is complain. Yet, they do nothing to improve themselves or their surroundings. You cannot control others or what they do. But, you can control what you say and what you put in your mouth. Things are not perfect in this industry. But, things could be a lot worse. I have always been of the opinion that if I don't like the way things are then I work to change them. Ask yourself, "What can I do to improve my image or that of the trucking industry?" "What can I do to earn more respect?" Respect is earned. It is our fellow drivers who have been responsible for changing attitudes toward drivers. We need to place blame where it belongs. When was the last time you challenged a driver for leaving a urine bottle or trash next to his truck rather than walking 100 feet to use the trash can? It should not even be necessary, but that is the problem with respect. You can't blame the carriers or the general public for their lack of respect. When drivers cuss out their dispatchers for something that they cannot control, they are costing all of us respect. Disrespect feeds on itself. The next driver may receive disrespect from the dispatcher you just cussed out. Think before you speak.

 

Misconception?
Oh, my bad... until I just read your post, I actually thought that my $600.00- $750.00 paychecks for up to 100 hours of work (both driving and on duty) were actually a bit, well.... unreasonable.
Especially since all the large carriers are raking in record profits.
Glad to hear that misconception has now been cleared up.