Are you working for a driver service?

Trade Up, while I detest driver services also (I love the parasite analogy) I take exception to some of your comments. I have NEVER worked for one and wouldn't ever reccomend one. I refer to them as people pimps.

1) Everyone cares about driver turnover because it is a cost. Good driver services (notice I used the term good) do more than a simple driver's license points check.

2) I AGREE with the point you make here. You are 100% correct.

3) MAYBE for a short period of time but not for any longer than a probationary period IF you work for an employer of integrity. In many fleets a Driver Service replace a fleet's HR dept so the D/S has to charge for all the costs incurred. The D/S pays the workman's comp, they pay the source deduction (CPP UIC) and some furnish benefits taking all of this burden away from the fleets. They charge the fleets substantially more than just your wage cost and the fleets are abundantly aware of it.

Great topic and everyone who works for these parasites/people pimps should really look at your second point!

 

Depends on what you want and the type of cartage company that hired you.

Personally I like fewer hours and don't want to work 10 or more hours a day. One of the first carriers I worked for would sometimes let me go after only 4 to 6 hours of work. That was awsome. I would have more time to do things I want to do or get done. Of course, other days I would work 10 to 12 hours, so in the end it kind of balanced out anyway. And that's an advantage of working for a cartage company, flexible hours.

And the cartage company management and staff are good people and they will put me somewhere else if I don't want to work for a specific carrier. Of course, you can't change carriers every month, you have to settle down somewhere or you will find your self out of work.

Of course there are disadvantages as was mentioned. If someone at the carrier doesn't like you for some reason, they simple ask for someone else the next day, and you find yourself at a different carrier. But you gotta tough it out sometimes. That's what happened to me after 2 yrs with one carrier. Now I work at a rail terminal and they would work me for 14 hrs a day if I'd let them, but I put I foot down at the 12 hr mark. And I'm slowly getting used to longer hours, and the terminals rules. And I like the short hauls that get me out of the city P&D grind.

It all balances out somehow. And I'm making more money too, not that that was important - I'd gladly trade money for more time off.

 

I've never used a driver service but I know someone who has. He was sent to different companies like you said. It turned out one of those companies offered him a full time job driving their truck. He says it's the best job he's ever landed. Great pay and benefits and driving a brand new truck on a locale gig.

 

I'm not really seeing a problem. I am not familiar with any driver service companies, but I assume they are similar to agencies that provide temporary labour, administrative and even executive services.

I have contracted for dozens of people in those three categories over the years and both the people and agencies provide a valuable and needed service in the workplace. It allows companies to take on a greater scope of work than they otherwise might if they had to gear up a larger labour force and/or provide administrative support for the same. It also provides for expertise that a company requires on an occasional or short-term basis.

There are all kinds of different people that choose to work through such agencies. Many (if not most) in the semi-skilled labour pool have a difficult time holding down full-time employment for extended periods for a variety of reasons. At least, that has been my experience. There are also people that want to only work for certain periods of the year and it suits their needs and purposes to have someone else doing the leg work insofar as finding appropriate employment when they do want to work. Some people just like the variety.

As has been mentioned, such employment gives both the company and the worker the opportunnity to "try each other out" on a much easier basis. If the work is there, these positions can often be converted into full-time positions. I have done that many times.

 

There's no such thing as "driver service" they are supposed to be "temporary" employers but they abuse that privilege for the most part here in Ontario at least.
Avoid if possible.

 

I fully agree with you on this one, temporary services.
Same thing in Québec,
They are just "parasites" in trucking... like load brokers.

And most large carriers have at one point OWNED suck agencies ans even load broker companies.
it's just another system used by companies to avoid ANY responsibility toward drivers.

 

Correct.

At one time, all of Concord's drivers were employed through a driver service which coincidently just happened to be down the street from them.

I believe another former larger Ontario based carrier, Harrow also had their own in house driver's service.

Trans-X and Quick-X for years were intimately tied to Kee.

 

Large carriers years ago lobbied to change the status of Temp. agencies to allow them to be full time employers. Now if a temp agency sends you into a job and that co. wants to hire you here in Ont. they have to buy out your contract.

 

I dont care who lobbies what, if a company owns you, this used to be called slavery.

Hell it's worse than slavery, before they would sell a slave and made a profit one time,

Today they rent a slave and make profit for a looong time .
I know people who have driven for slave brokers for 15, 25 years.
How much money do you think those slave brokers made thru the years with them drivers?
This money couldve been used as pension plan for example no?
Instead, they went into the pockets of slave brokers.

And just where this brilliant idea came from anyway????