Cassen's, H&A, or JC??

Cooper pay is bound by the union contract. You will make plenty sheckles.

 

Too many variables to have an exact side by side, not only will your pay vary by terminal within each company, their is sometimes a pay and benefit difference depending on what freight you have, i.e., FCA pays different than GM, and so on. However you slice it, unless you end up with a bottom of the barrel company you will make money and be taken care of in car haul, especially if you get on with one of the union outfits like Jack Cooper or Cassens. Just stay away from the companies that are going to push you into a lease purchase or owner operator plan (URT, DAS), nothing wrong with being an owner operator (I am a small fleet owner), but those companies are not any better than the mega dry van companies pushing the same thing.

 

This is not mega carrier driver mill. You will need to prove yourself to them that you can be a carhauler. Then the money will come. As has been said prior, Cooper, Cassens are bound by the national agreement. You WILL make money.

 

Need to start telling everyone to stay away from H&A. They are one of the companies that are driving down the rates in carhaul. Only way we can stop them is by sending drivers to good companies and saying no to $3/mile stinger loads they try to broker out

 

If you go to JC or Cassens be prepared for the stress that comes with uncertainty. I never worked for either but did work for Allied years ago. You definitely pay your dues at most union carhaul jobs. Starting at the bottom of the seniority list is rough. You get the absolute most worn out equipment and last choice of loads on seniority dispatch. I loved working at Allied however the long layoffs and constant worry about losing work to non-union carriers drove me out. If you go to Cooper try to get on at a plant as the work is far more secure than a railyard where everyone bids lower to get work. I started at Allied at a small railyard with 25 drivers. Never got higher than 23 on the seniority list in four years. Terminal closed after non-union companies took the work. Transferred to another larger terminal with 120 drivers. That terminal is now down to 20 something drivers and will most likely be closed soon. Imagine how thrilled my wife was to have to move after we had just built a new house.
I always made more money at non-union companies as a company driver but it was definitely quite a bit more work. Unfortunately I think outside of plants union carhaul is going to continue to fade away.