HOS & Speed and an effort to reform the industry

Heh. Remember "shut it down" on the radio, and everybody listened? I'm afraid to say it, but i think those days are gone. Many are too afraid of losing their jobs, the economy and job market has gone to hell now with all this outsourcing, etc.

I live in Michigan, and have to drive for a company based out of Iowa because theres' nothing for me here, it is unfortunate... I am willing to do whatever it takes, though.. We're certainly not getting the respect that we deserve. The main problem with this industry, and many others in this country is that the peons making the decisions have never even thought of doing the job themselves. Their answers are all based on pieces of paper with garbled statistics.

I mean, think about it. How many thousands of four wheeler accidents are there on the road at any given time? And yet, the only ones that make it to the news, or radio are the ones that a big truck was involved in. Why do you think that is? Because it happens less. That right there should tell you exactly who's to blame. But, the fact that trucking companies make $$$ automatically points the ugly finger of capitalism right at the driver, whether he, or she is to blame or not.

Ohio is a spectacular example of that. You have to laugh at 55MPH in every part of the state because it's what they deem "Safe". But for some odd reason if you are willing to pay to run 80 it's safe to do 65. Money talks, capitalism is ruining this country. I whole heartily agree with you. I pull a flatbed, and do quite a bit of free work myself, the hourly rate should be paid. "If the customer pays" What a joke. Why would the customer pay if it was up to them? Either they pay, or we don't haul their freight. Sounds like an even compromise to me.

Back before the fuel price skyrocketed, my father (who has driven for 40 years) and I were going to start our own trucking outfit. Nothing big, small, like 5-10 trucks. We talked about driver retention, and how utterly important it was to keep good drivers there that knew what they were doing. Not many are grasping that, these days. Sure, you can pay a rookie less to haul that load of lumber, but it's not going to make you any more money when it ends up all over the interstate.

If i ran a trucking company, i wouldn't be rich. I've done the job myself and i know what it's like. I would take excellent care of my drivers and their families, i'd be closer to broke than i would be rich. But, being a driver for 5-6 years, and watching my dad piss his life away for companies like this has changed my way of thinking. Money is not important, it's an item, you can't take it with you. What is important is taking care of the people that spend weeks away from their families to do their job, and to do it well. My problem is that i don't have the means to start this company, otherwise I'd be offering you all jobs!

The thing is, people. They cannot fire us all, they would lose the thing that they've worked so hard screwing us to get, the mighty dollar. And the -only- way this will make any dramatic change is -if- we all stick together... I just don't see that happening with the mentality that's on the road these days. Selfish, greedy, shoot you and take your parking spot types that run around out there now, we need to bring the brotherhood that was once trucking back again, first.

 

You know, i've thought about a way to put this to rest. The DOT is constantly looking for ways to make us be safer, and not force ourselves to drive tired. Paying us for the work that we do is one way, if we were making money for all the time we had to sit and wait around we wouldn't be in as much of a rush to get the load dropped, because we're still making money.

 

Oh sure, the Teamsters might pull a shut down at a company they're extorting, and the O/O might park for a while, but, a nationwide shut down of all the trucks in America ain't gonna' happen.

The industry is too fragmented. LTL, TL, Intermodal, Mega-Companies, O/O, Private Carriers, and Single Source Leasing, to name a few, will never be reading off the same page.

Don't forget the ATA members would trade the soul of the trucking industry for some legislation out of Washington to finish stifling what's left of the competition. If the POTUS said, "Run those trucks and you can write the next transportation bill." we all know what would happen.

Just in case all the trucks got parked (never) you can bet being a truck driver would quickly be categorized as "one of the jobs Americans won't do", and there would be three Mexicans in every vacant truck.

I am a company driver who can't avoid the anti-trucker states. All I can do, and I do it, is to go to extreme lengths to insure I never buy so much as a cup of coffee within their borders. If I don't agree with their politics it makes no sense to send them a contribution via the sales tax system. Maybe, in a small way, I hurt the idiots who voted the scum into office, by denying them the profits from my consumption.

 

I don't get it. Federal labor regulations state that the company you work for must pay you for ALL time worked. I am just curious why trucking companies seem to be exempt from this rule in the first place? Is it because we're not 'hourly' employee's?

 

Trucking was given it's own "regulating authority" back in 1938 and was considered "exempt" from Federal Fair Labor Laws.

Read more:

The above information was extracted from this Fair Labor Standards Administration web page.

 

If you're interested in a solution, please look at the website on my profile. (I can't post links yet, but I've discussed my plans with WiseOne and he's 100% supportive.) In particular, read the blog entry, "Why the strike won't work" followed by "Reuniting the Trucking Industry." All the steps needed to do exactly what you want are detailed there. All that's needed is the people to stand behind it.

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