Winners announced tomorrow.

Yes, we have driver facing cameras. There was a lawsuit some years back and the 4 wheeler claimed the trucker was using a handheld phone at the time. Without video evidence to prove he wasn't on the phone, the company lost the case. Then they installed cameras to protect us and the company from liability in such situations again. But if you're not doing stupid stuff, Safety never even looks at the videos.

Usually I run 3,000+ miles. 2,500 miles a week is the bare minimum expected of us. My personal best is 4,052.

They run the eastern half of the U.S. from/to Nebraska each week. Personally, I like to run Nebraska to Massachusetts and back, three days each way, with a $100 bonus because it's a northeast load. We have major meat hauling contracts, so the loads are consistent and grow familiar.

Home time accrues at a day per week. If you live along I-80, you can have about as much as you want. I live in Arkansas, which is a little more challenging. I do 5-7 weeks out, then a week off.

That is precisely why I care about this company. They have shown me immense care and loyalty. They bent over backwards for me when I had a health issue keep me off work for a week. They bought me an InstantPot just to say "thanks". They have open doors and open hearts, and when you need help figuring out how to solve a problem too big for you to handle alone, they pull up their waders and walk through the muck of your life alongside you to help you get what's best for you, to the best of their ability.

Apparently, @scott180, you've never seen Grand Island Express. But they do exist.

So yeah, since I'm making 50 cpm at a place that treats me like this, I've been mighty reluctant to jump ship to some 60 cpm place that is gonna sink the next time the economy takes a downturn, or will treat me like all the places you say you've been with before. Is it the very best cpm out there? No. But what I take home is more than a heartless paycheck here.

I'm sorry that happened to you. Give Grand Island a call if you're looking for a team that's trustworthy and values their integrity.

 

Make a mistake that costs them money or make no mistakes but get hurt and you'll see how much they care.
You are not their friend you are an employee. As long as you have value, i.e., make them money, they'll love you. Cost them money and you'll see where you stand.
And there's nothing wrong with that. It's business not personal.
Why don't they treat you nice and pay you top wages. Because it's business. And if they can pay you .10 cpm or by your numbers $250 - $405.20 less per week for nothing more then being nice people and one hot meal a month, well then, that's just a dang profitable business for them.

 

Drop and hook or live load?

 

A few months ago, a driver blew out his knee. No fault of his. It just happened. Wasn't work related. Dispatch encouraged him to go to urgent care, even though it would mean his load was late. When he got back to the yard, Safety gave him permission to park in the front row where we are typically not allowed to park. Every day he was parked at the yard waiting for his knee to heal, people from the office, including the director of Safety, went out every couple hours to his truck just to see if he needed anything brought to him - water, food, clean laundry or dishes, anything he could need.

Another driver recently returned to us after 6 month sabbatical. She saw a fatality on the highway, and was first on scene. It disturbed her enough she was going to quit trucking. Management connected her with a doctor and mental health referrals. HR walked her through paperwork for filing short-term disability, and arranged for her to take as much time off as she needed without jeopardizing her health insurance or 401k vestment status. She decided to take six months off, paid, and after getting help to deal with the trauma, she is now back to work and thriving.

Back in November, I was super stressed out. Some of my friends had just been pepper sprayed by cops on their way to go vote; other friends had just been tear gassed and beaten by cops while I watched helplessly on a Facebook live feed posted by a friend I used to work with. I was really questioning quitting trucking to go be present with them somehow. I had been running just over a month without a 34 - my own #### fault - and one day I just snapped at my dispatcher. I told her I was at the end of my rope and needed a day off, not negotiable. Well, the Safety director caught wind that I was "at the end of my rope," and because they care about my mental health, they wanted me to get a psychological evaluation. The first available appointment was 5 business days later though. So Grand Island Express paid me $1,000 to sit at the yard for a week drawing, writing, breathing, and generally getting the recuperation that I needed during an extraordinarily challenging moment in my life. Then they paid the psychologist bill. No hassle, no fuss, no shaming. We even laughed about it a little. They still regarded and treated me as a highly valued member of the team throughout.

The time I had a doctor's appointment in Little Rock, and the closest available load that could get me there on time was to Dallas? They had me drive empty from Dallas to Little Rock, then to Carthage, Missouri to pick up - and to my surprise, paid me for all the empty miles! They have never gotten me home late, even when it has cost them $1,000 to get me there on time.

That time I grabbed the wrong trailer in Nebraska, and didn't realize it until 5 hours later and Iowa? Dispatch sent a driver with the correct trailer to swap, and didn't take it out of my pay even after I told her that she should because it was my fault.

I do my job to the best of my human ability, and my employer is gracious and merciful. I know exactly where I stand with Grand Island Express.

@Speed_Drums, We drop and hook in Nebraska, then usually live unload at the delivery point. Occasionally those are drop and hook too, though. The back haul is a coin toss. Detention pay is $20 an hour after two hours. Additional stops pay $20 for the first extra stop and $40 for each additional stop after that.

 

I can just hear the HR departments’, from some of these “fleets”, well crafted acceptance speeches now.

“First, we couldn’t be here without our most valuable resources, our drivers. I know I know, when things got tough, we gave a lot of you guys/gals pink slips, but kept all of the copy machines, coffee makers and, of course, the management team, even though they single handedly run the company into a misery loves company outfit.

Second, despite our best efforts to run our drivers off with long hours, low pay, and floggings to keep morale up, you remain steadfast in your duties. It doesn’t reflect well on your judgement, but we thank all of our flip flop wearing yahoos anyway!

BTW, we will need to cut your pay because we really need you to quit so we can put a new flip flop, gym shorts wearing seat warmers in the seat to keep our cost low enough to remain a rates bottom feeder.

Finally, we would be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to thank our partners at Plastic Bumper Junk Heaps Inc. Without your commitment to low standards and incessant desire to fail to meet them, you may have produced a truck that ran for more than a month without going into the shop.

Predictably, that would have led to a pool of soft, flip flop, gym shorts wearing heathens that may have rebelled against our otherwise inhumane practices.

In conclusion, thank you all from the bottom of our collective hearts for making us one of the 2021 Best Crap Megas to Drive for. We are honored to accept this award!”

 

I just went to their website , can’t find anywhere what’s starting pay. Same with another carrier that made the list.
I just saw list of top carriers for this year... Prime and ACT are on the list lol.

 

That was truly beautiful, Frank. It's clear that you have far too much time on your hands -- and yet, I'm glad that you share it with us.

 

Starting pay depends on experience. You can call 866-472-6347. They will tell you what base pay is for your years of experience.

 

Or they could’ve put it on the website. Funny how they’ve put everything else on there except compensation.

 

This right here beautifully says it all. This needs to be saved for next year when the finalists are announced.