Marten Transport, LTD. - Mondovi, Wi.?

the sad thing, it will take a few months to get all that $1,000 recruiting bounus. They don't pay it all out at once.
new hire has to stay min of 90 days. The recruiting driver has also to stay the same amount.
Did he mention FORCED PERDEIM, as well as having to pay a .03 cent per mile Adminstrative fee for the forced perdeim.?
2500-3000 miles per week Highly doubtfull, seeing how they put all the long loads, as well a med. haul loads on the rail.

 

I read about that stuff.
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like he was trying to earn a livable wage by recruiting outside drivers.
Heck, bring in 1 or 2 a month and it could work.

I know I don't make the best money at Swift, but I do have some decent months.
I was able to save ~$1,200 bucks this past month in order to show my girls a good time for a blowout weekend - and that's after $600 child support and my own expenses.
And Swift got me there just a day after my requested date - and I was in Florida with 3 days to go.

The more I read about other companies, and the more experience I get with Swift - it often seems the devil I know is better than the devil I don't.

 

If you're earning enough to stay afloat, and aren't getting stressed out by corporate BS, staying put right now is a very good idea.

For a little while, I regretted leaving Marten, especially after working for bottom feeders way worse (one is responsible for my current disability, and ending my trucking career). But, it turns out Marten has become just as bad, worse actually, when you consider their SMS scores.

As for Marten's $0.03/mi "administrative fee" for being on the per diem, I learned that the IRS will allow that fee to be deducted from your own taxes as a necessary business expense. That could result in a few hundred dollars per year extra off your tax liability and/or added to your refund. Marten hasn't been paying taxes on that income they get from drivers, so claiming it on your return is an interesting way of dealing with that BFI company. I recently got a nice little refund after amending my returns for 2008 through 2010 to reflect the "fee," and gave the IRS copies of my payroll reports and the letter regarding this "fee."

Watch for Marten to finally admit to what that "fee" really is, a pay cut that earns them millions off the backs of the very drivers they need to stay in business.

Oh, and just checked their SMS, for giggles and grins. Seems Marten has been hiring drivers who don't have CDL's and putting them behind the wheel (one did have a learner's permit, at least) as solo drivers. Anything to save a buck or two, I guess, even if it gets someone killed. They even got cited last year for knowingly hiring and allowing to operate commercial vehicles drivers who do not hold CDL's (6-15-2011), but that appears to not be stopping them. Looks like their CEO thinks things have gone back to the old days, where anyone with a pulse and willing to work for less than who he already employs gets a set of keys to a rig, and a load to the nearest rail yard. Randy Marten was bragging in a trade publication on how he had to let go of 12% of his drivers in March 2011 over safety issues. One has to wonder just how bad those issues were, if he's putting unlicensed drivers behind the wheel, still.

Here's the part that really stinks, there are a whole lot of companies a whole lot worse than Marten, I found three since I left them. Drivers are finally starting to use the FMCSA's Carrier rating system (the same system motor carriers use when they check you out) to check out carriers, as are shippers, which is going to seriously impact the competitors for the top BFI award. It really can hurt your career to have once been employed by a company with prolonged safety issues, even if you yourself were safe, and shippers shy away from carriers who are likely to deliver their loads to a ditch along an interstate, rather than the docks of their customers. That means money out of your pocket, big time.

Use the tools available, the SMS site, this one, RipOffReport, and listen to those drivers not trying to recruit you into their nightmare. If you listen to just the idiot trying to pad his or her own wallet, and you do not check that carrier out fully, you will get screwed every time. If you go to work for a company with long term serious safety issues, just remember, those injuries and deaths reported on the SMS site? Some were drivers like yourself. I believed the recruiter for my last carrier, and now I have a permanent disability that redefines pain every single day.

Some jobs just aren't worth it, trust me.

 

I been wit marten about 3 months they a ok company but it's just ain't for me they stay out 2 long N the reefer thing just ain't for me N they tried 2 force me 2 take a hour of service violation just 2 del a load

 

I worked for Marten for 4 month's...They tell you they start you at .19 cpm perdeim (non taxable) .21 cpm (taxable) O'k not bad...
What they do not tell you is that they take 0.03 off the top of your perdeim as a service charge for them doing the paperwork for you
being on perdeim...Do the math...0.03 cpm x 2500 miles per wk.=$100.00 per wk. x 52 wks per yr.= $5200.00 that are taking out your paycheck
that YOU cannot file on your taxes...Also,if you stay out 4 wks.you can only take 2 days home time including the day you park the truck.
You come in on Friday afternoon,you go back out on Sunday morning....

 

That's a tall tale. I'm not buying it.

 

Um, i stay out 4 weeks, and take 4 days off, i have been doing this since i started.

 

go over to the fmcsa website and look at thier csa score on driver fitness, read the details about each offense. there was at least 3 drivers who were put oos for not haveing a valid cdl.

 

Ever think it was recently expired ?

Doubt marten is stupid enough to hire someone without a CDL

 

I worked for Marten 9 months the longer i stayed the poor i got 2000 to 2500 3 weeks out of the month 3000 to 3500 1 week out of the month constantly threating to fire you for speeding,seatbelt ticket or shop personal looking thru your truck looking for pee jugs or extention cords and yes they will fire you for a setbelt ticket or speed ticket 6mph over posted speed to many short loads work ya everyday you never get a 34 hr restart becuse of all the short loads