Overtime pay ! Make it happen .

Ok, here's your overtime, and BTW, your hourly rate is 10.00, and to further compensate, we're going to hire still more drivers to work fewer hours to eliminate any potential overtime. Be careful what you wish for, driver. SMH

 

I get overtime after 40. I'm averaging 55-60 hours a week

 

For the sake of this discussion, I'm going to focus on the "typical OTR driver" position in the typical regional or long haul application. If you think truckload carriers are going to allow the teamsters to come in, you have another thing coming. If you're driving and hourly, and get OT, that's great. But it can't be that way for every driver in every application.

The result of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) should be enough to make you realize you don't want to play games with the natural order of business and markets. The explosion in "part-time work" in the hourly pay world is the reason this nation's best days are behind it. Messing with the driver pay in a broad sense will have the same affect on the truck driver as the ACA had on the hourly worker. Leave it alone. Trucker pay CAN/WILL get worse.

Look at unions. They push and they pushed and business pushed back. Todays union workers are making good money to be sure, but there are far fewer today, and the more they push, the fewer in numbers they become. See the paradox? And I'm not even going to discuss the reasons automation is generating huge interests by all business sectors.

Keep pushing. See what happens.

 

That's right just rollover and take it lol thank goodness I got out of the OTR game and live in a state that requires OT pay. More and more of the bigger local carrier's are paying OT because they are losing their shirts to lawsuits.

 

If there is one thing good about Califonia's left wing politics it's that the state is a worker's paradise. Heard they are not shy about giving out welfare either if a person can't or doesn't want to work.

 

The standards are lowered every time a driver agrees to work for less than he/she is worth. A person's worth is definitely based upon one's perspective. However, most of us know the industry standards in our area of operation. Some excuses I've heard over the years -

"It's only a penny or 2 a mile lower."

"But, but, but, my insurance contribution is only $25/week."

"It's almost the same as such and such company."

A lot can also be said for personal satisfaction with an employer, but at the end of the day it comes down to dollars and cents. It bewilders me that drivers don't understand that sticking together would go a long way to improving this industry. We're our own worst enemy.

Divided labor gives control to the companies that, in some cases, are producing record profits. For years unorganized companies kept wages, benefits, and working conditions "close" to the highest standards to keep out the dreaded (tongue in cheek) "U".

Guess what? The major corporations got what they wanted, they eroded the conditions just enough that they've now BECOME the standard. I'm speaking for mostly LTL and local/regional good distribution here, that's where ALL of my experience in this industry lies.

(Apologies for rambling, Bud Light and hot sun make for interesting typing when a subject hits me close to home. Also not trying to offend anyone with my comments.)

 

When I work fast food joints and even a merchandiser, bosses would prevent employees to work pass 40 hours a week.

Once I hit 39.99 hours, they would tell me to go home. What would happen to otr drivers? Just let them sit until the week ends?

 

If McDonalds was run by truck drivers...

The BigMac would just be the Mac. 1 all beef patty no special sauce no cheese. It would take 3 drivers to make a Mac. One of them would get lost looking for the buns. One would handle the meat, but refuse to touch anything else. And they'd all complain if they had to make more than 5 sandwiches an hour.

"This is unfair. They want me to flip burgers when I am tired. I don't feel safe. All burger flippers should get together and pool our money for our own lobbyist so the politicians would take notice. We are worth more than what we are being paid!"

Oooookay....