Trade status for Drivers.

Many small companies are good to work for.

Many large companies are not.

If you had it your way there would be a few large companies and nobody else would be able to compete.


Dictating to business what they should pay their staff beyond minimum wage is a sure fire way to destroy a business.

Trade Up you must be another high school kid working on a project. Your notions are immature and not very well thought out.

 

I like your ideas trade up, if there were some way to do it it would be nice. Like you said I work 50,60,70 hour plus weeks and wish I had more time off. I also don't drive over the road but locally for an environmental company and do other types of work besides only driving. I have found this to be the best way for my cdl to help me make money.

 

I agree that something has to be done Tradeup, but when the gov or some type of union gets involved, there's always a problem.
There needs to be an outside body to oversee the industry, it needs to have some powers to act in the truckers intrest, but not to have a vested interest in it's self.
What if there was a union to have control?
Would we see a month long strike? All trucking outfits would have to vote at same time, would'nt they.......to have any meaning.
How many business would be T's up, I mean manufacturing sector not trucking outfits.
To stop all transportation of merchandise? The economy of North America would go into the trash can. It seams drastic but IMHO I can't see anyway around not having one big strike untill wage-benefits for all truckers was settled.
Am I out on the fringe a little too far?

 

Being a truck driver is not just working for the large TL and LTL carriers.

There are companies that employ the services of private fleets. That is not for hire carriers. Your idea would eliminate those companies from starting up.

From what I remember of Toronto trucking life it was those jobs that were most coveted.

I am not saying I don't want to make more, what I am saying is I don't want my work life dictated by an outside body that has no interest in my life other than increasing the size of their war chest.

If you really want to do something for drivers, we need to have a graduated licensing system for Class 1 or A drivers

Before you can drive a fat deck, you should get some sort of training for it. Not the kind I have gotten where the guy points to the deck and says, "think you can handle that"

Multiples Training; i.e. Super B's, A Trains, Dumps with a Pup

Dump Trucks

Liquid

ETc....


Then the trick would be to require companies that utilize specialized equipment to employ only drivers with those endorsements.

That would drive the rates higher. More demand more higher the wage.

Basic economics tells you supply and demand dictates price

Even union drywallers will work for less when there are no union jobs. When there is lots of work, the rates go up.

 

I don't claim to know enough to say that turning trucking into a trade would solve the industry's issues, but I can speak to the current lackluster job the trade boards are doing today.

I am a Red Seal certified Cabinetmaker Journeyman. (The trade name is very misunderstood; it's basically skilled woodworking such as high end furniture and architectural millwork.) Each of the four levels involve 8-9 weeks in school and a minimum of 1600 hours with your indentured employer. Upon meeting the requirements for level 1, for example, the apprentice is automatically moved to level 2. Each level also has a minimum wage that is governed under the same law that upholds the general minimum wage. (In this trade it is calculated as a percentage of the general minimum wage.) Keep in mind here that the employer is not trapped into paying an awful employee the next level's wage. They have the option to withhold the apprentice from attending the next schooling session if they believe that he/she is not in the right place with regard to skill, responsibility, etc.

What was happening to me was that upon completion of each level, my wage would not follow. I would get a small raise usually six months after I should have, and for a LOT less than it should have been. Level one was fine, but near the end of my fourth level I was around five dollars an hour behind where I should have been. I was patient, loyal, and determined to finish up my apprenticeship with the employer I signed my contract with. They, on the other hand, lied and led me on to no end. Ben would say he needed permission from Daryl, Daryl would say he needs to talk with Mike, and Mike would say he needs a report from Ben and permission from Daryl. This is a company that is still putting out yearly numbers the same or better than they were before the dollar took a nosedive. I asked nicely for more than three years, and then I opened a claim with the Labor Board. Despite my employer's highly paid lawyers, they sided with me (and very quickly). It turns out that they have been doing this to apprentices for years before I showed up. They dropped all apprenticeship contracts and the Provincial Trade Advisory Committee has their eyes open a tiny bit now.

Horrible lying employer aside, this showed a huge hole in how the apprenticeship administration is run. They create the laws, but have no authority to enforce them. The Labor Board can, but I only did this once I had completed all apprenticeship requirements for all levels and received my final test marks back as I was aware my job there would be kaput.

The funny thing is that the whole time I was asking only for the bare minimum they were required to pay me as per the law. Last year I won Skills Manitoba for my trade. I was provided a plane ticket and invited to compete in the Skills Canada competition in Charlottetown against the other provincial winners. Guess what... Silver medal. Know what I was told when I showed my boss the medal and asked for the bare minimum pay? "You're lucky we even let you go, now get to work." On top of this, my school marks were the highest in the class and my final practicum project scored 98% and 99% for the blueprints and paperwork.



Sorry for the novel! I just get a little touchy when I hear about how trades are solving the country's issues. If anything it helps me get it off my chest and move on.

Not sure if it's different in Ontario, but trades and unions don't go hand in hand here (nor are they mutually exclusive).

 

Part of the problem is that the old guys making all of the stupid new rules have never even been in a rig, never mind had to ever work hard to earn a living. They are old, fat, rich boomers that are totally out of touch with the real world. Let some one under 60 in there to make some rules and maybe have some drivers be able to help decide what is best. Canada is headed to the 3rd world stage because of the old ######## in charge that want to run the country into the ground for there own $ gain. just my 2 cents. The hole country is going this way. Look at my wife who is a Chartered Accountant and can make more money trucking than working as a CA because of the government lowering the standards and screwing things up.

 

I ain't mo politician. They should stop letting in immergrants