Ughmm, the ELD measures on/off work hours ..

For many hourly rate would be better provided the driver does not have to go to off duty (unpaid) status every time the wheels stop turning. I drive a day cab highway so I can’t go off duty(unpaid) other than a lunch break or coffee break,,,that’s how our labour laws work.
The hourly highway jobs I see advertised in my area offer $25 per hour. City work is $21 to $24. Minimum wage is $14 per hour in Ontario.

 

If you are talking about counting after shift, off duty work, you are making a straw man argument.

Assuming I worked a full 14 hour day (I didn't, 12 hour start to finish would be close to accurate), I made $28.57 an hour last week.

If you assume a full 24 hour work day I made $16.56 an hour.

Then we need to consider "overtime", if a company pays a daily rate of $185 then they are exempt from paying overtime, so if the law exempting transport companies from paying overtime magically disapeared, they would just start paying salary, keeping it just above the threshold for overtime pay.

If OTR drivers truly made more at $9 an hour then the McDonald's and/or Kwik Trip down the street wouldn't be adverting $12 an hour.

 

Using your numbers you would be making $24 an hour on hourly while working on every day 24-7. EG $12 x 24 and then because you only worked 12 you double the $12 for time worked.
Also you picked 1 day to make a point. I'm saying everyday 24-7.
BTW I could and did make 90 cents a mile as a company man in the 1990's. At 70 mph that's $63 an hr. [Yes I know that's flawed math.]
and yes accessorals applied.

The guys at the steel mill get paid to sleep and when there is a strike somebody has to be inside the plant and they get paid for all the time they are in there. Overtime is applied somehow also.

The trucking companies do what they want because they can with little to no resistance.
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Eliminate the middle class that's the objective.

 

What is needed is hourly salary style wage. As long as you are on the clock during a 10-15 hr day you are getting paid even if the truck is sitting. Paid holidays even if off and paid vacation. $25 an hr wouldn’t sound so bad then.

 

As much as trucking seems like it’s all the same, it’s not. You can’t compare the wages in one sector to another.

Comparing a steel hauler to a door slammer is like comparing apples to chocolate bars.

Some categories of trucking are so flooded with competition (which leads to lower rates), they couldn’t afford to pay drivers any more than the current wages.

Sounds like you guys are really just looking for better wages, find a category of trucking that pays it and get into it. It’ll likely demand more out of you as a driver but that’s the way it is.

Westcan Bulk Transport recently switched to straight hourly for local and highway. Head over there if the whole hourly thing means that much.

Personally, I don’t care how I am compensated, it’s the amount I am concerned about. I take that amount and divide it amongst the days I was away and if it works out to something I am content with, then I am happy.

 

Is that why so many drivers wish for hourly pay... Because they are so accustomed to unions?

I live in a non union state... There are only a very few unions, and they do not completely control any industry or field of work. In a few cases they do provide some good things for its members... But more often than not its the non union workers that really excell in a given field... They work harder, do better work, and produce a better product.

Why? Because IMO its because they have to make it on thier own merits... They cant rely on a union to fight thier battles for them. So they either sink or swim all on thier own.