Why do drivers have to accept freebies

You and me both man. Flat tire and a marker light, that's a half hour. Another half hour waiting at refinery to unload. Bad directions to well from dispatcher...wait a few mins for gauger to buy the well...I figure I donate about 45 mins average any given day.

 

You need to realize your worth and move on... eventually these companies will compensate the drivers..but not if people enable companies to cheat them.
I did some short runs at the end of the month just missing my mileage bonus..my company paid the bonus anyway...that's how you keep drivers.

 

I feel your pain, man. I got my start in raw milk, too. I know it kinda sucks and it doesn't pay the best but there are advantages. I know it's not for long but your home everyday. Also, being on a set route like that gives you a chance to get some miles under you in lanes that you know like the back of your hand. This familiarity lowers your risk of incidents and accidents. I would recommend getting 2 years in if you can stand it. I know you give alot of your time away but it's a great starter job. I'll tell you from experience that there's alot out there to look forward to so hang in there! Good luck man

 

Should have never took that job.

You pay me by the hour and ot or I’m going elsewhere to work. A few places here try that crap and they are always hiring.

 

The industry doesn't force anything on you. You chose to accept what they're offering.

 

I'll tell you why, people think truck drivers get paid for doing nothing. Driving,,,pfft, just like going to gramma's. My ex-wife accused me of that, "oh, you just sit there, that ain't workin".( until she actually came with me once and saw me unload a trailer) I still could never figure why we never get overtime, either. That's the industry, pal. Rather than think of it as "free", it comes out of the fixed rate you agreed to, and when it's all said and done, you are "working" for $3.50 an hour( sometimes) So you really are getting paid, just not a heck of a lot. By the hour, is the only way I'd drive a truck again.

 

This. I hear this crap all the time. "How do drivers put up with doing things that aren't paid?"

What it boils down to is this: are you making enough money at the end of your work week to be worth the week of work you put in? If yes, keep on keepin on. If no, quit and move on. It's that simple.

Why so many people get hung up on the "I need to be paid for every single little thing I do when things break or don't go perfect" mentality is beyond me.

If the company lowered the pay per mile but started paying a little detention so that your check ended up being roughly the same, would it make you feel better?

 

Well, if the company does pay detention it can incentivize them to address the issues that are causing us delays. In my employer's case at least if the delay is caused by certain select things they do pay us time for it, and they do what they can to make sure those things don't routinely happen.

While I think I understand what @ShooterK2 is saying about viewing it as any other salaried job I do empathize with the original poster. Our time is valuable and we should feel compensated for it. At the end of the week I do make enough money that it is still a good paying job. But it irks me when I'm burning my time because someone else thinks that because I drive truck for a living my time is expendable.

 

Consider it a lesson learned. Stick around long enough for something to come along that pays better, and then take it.