Trade status for Drivers.

It is not about training, it is about due dilligence and not getting sued.

I think it is about time that a compnay is held accountable for the lack of training.

I know TDG very well, but I have also seen other drivers go through the course that if you didn't give them the answers (just about all of the answers) they would not have passed. I think the everybody passes platform of these trainging programs needs to change.

This is not just TDG, it is everything.

Tade Up you recognize the problems in the industry very well but a union won't solve it, just make the same problems and a small group of people skimming off my already small paycheque.

 

Look at any TRADE and the UNION and NON UNION sides of them , big issue is $.

Truck Driving should be a trade not a 4 week training session , would you let a kid or carreer changer wire your house after 4 weeks , or plumb a new store , not likely but yet they give them the keys and let them go in a 18 Wheeler with next to the bare min in training as loing as they pass the CDL test.

 

I agree that TDG is lacking some requirements to make it safe.
I think that a "Trade" title is just not enough for truck driving.
I think both would need to be taken out of the hands of companies, some seperate educational program with a specific Trucking knowlede-base.
I "hate" to use the word Government but no other way to explain.
Something US, CAN, and MEX can have to ensure all are trained according to a equal standard.

There needs to be a change for sure. Not a union though. I would'nt want to be stranded somewhere, when a sympathetic strike vote took place to help some civil workers, I don't care about in the first place.

Don't know about in the States but in Can there can be other places strike to "help" out other striking workers in different fields!

 

Look how QUICK the United Steel Works crumbled when TRANSFORCE wanted HIGHLAND TRANSPORTS contract opened up early and threatened CLOSING the doors if not carried out.

 

Bingo! Training is more about prepping for a test than it is about learning. Actually, the TDG training I received wasn't too bad, the training I received for getting my AZ was a different story. You want to improve the class of drivers don't make it so easy to get the license. I shelled out a lot of money to get mine but everyone else in the class had theirs paid for by the government and with 1 exception the desire wasn't there.

I don't think trade status would change anything but when the government pays to train people to pass a test there is a problem. The testing needs to be harder and the province shouldn't be giving completely free training. But hey, the drive test examiner who gave me 100% on everything didn't know anything except what she had been trained to know.

 

And you check the certification of the plumber/electrician when he shows up to do work? Don't be silly.

 

And you check the certification of the plumber/electrician when he shows up to do work? Don't be silly.

And YOU do not check ?, very EASY to do , but likely your the guy at HOME DEPOT asking the contractor in the parking lot if he works for $15 / hour and who needs permits or inspections.

 

Although I agree that there needs to be more done with regards to training drivers, I'm unsure how Trade status would help with that.

A career field that is considered a trade normally involves a worker starting at the bottom, knowing little about their chosen profession, and learning while on the job. After a set amount of hours, the person then goes to school for that level, and if he/she passes, is promoted to the next level. Once back with their employer, they now begin to learn new things, to build upon what was learned earlier. Repeat this until you become journeyman. At least, that's what I saw as a tin basher many moons ago.

Now, as a driver, once you have learned to drive your rig down the road(your driving test is what says you CAN do this, even though I agree, it's lacking), and you can back it up straight(which again, is lacking in testing, I agree), what would you say is the next component to go to school for after you've completed your set number of hours to be allowed to the next level of training? Not everyone wants to go the route of Super-Bs, Hazmat, Oversize, etc. So, if they choose to not go that route, does that mean they are stuck at that wage? That doesn't seem fair to me.

As for trade status giving you a pension, why do you need someone else to control your financial future? A well chosen, self directed RRSP(or Roth IRA in the US), will do more for your financial future than any pension plan can. With the vast majority of pension plans, the benefits are terminated upon the beneficiary's death, or the death of his/her spouse if the pension was able to be transferred to them. You don't get anything after that. No lump sum that goes back to you. Whoever is holding that pension keeps the cash. However, if you start your own RRSP(or Roth IRA in the US), if you die, the remaining monies are transferred to whoever your will states it goes to. The money stays within your control, even after your death.

Although I agree that there needs to be more training for drivers, I don't see how being a trade would work to our benefit.

And as for having to drive team for a year to be allowed to drive on your own, no way in hell. Super single, I could see. Driving team doesn't teach anyone anything.

I agree there needs to be more training involved. I'm just unsure how trade status would get that done, or how it would be fair to those who don't want to drive anything more than a van or flatbed.