Van Buren

Stopped here for the night on the way to Topeka. As usual the lounge is full of whiners. They also must have given the training program a large adrenalin boost along with all new hires in general. Bunch of people hanging about in the lounge waiting on cab rides to Meadors or trainers to show up in the next day or so. On a funny note, whoever put the scales in front of the vending machines gave me a huge kick. I almost laughed myself to tears! I'm not even certain if Orientation or Safety meant that as a joke or a serious reminder to be health conscious!

 

Define decent wage when applied to student drivers? I believe they start at $.26 or $.27/mile during the training program. I also understand they have a guaranteed gross of $600/week during the first couple months of employment. How is that taking advantage of somebody with no experience? In my opinion, its actually fairly competitive for newbies, as the Werner drivers I've talked to are still starting out at around $.22/mile. Not to mention that we have APUs and paper logs.

I'm not trying to bash you here but it seems that everybody always says that training companies screw over trainees on pay. Well my answer to that is that the company is taking a huge risk on somebody and they are giving you the opportunity to build a resume. If we paid trainees $.28-$.30/mile to start out then the more experienced drivers would start saying that $.34-$.36/mile was not enough because the rookie pay was too close. Then they'd want it bumped up. Then you get into that range closer to $.40/mile which is what the million milers and such demand and you run out of room to find incentive to keep those guys. It has to be a gradual process and you must work your way up the food chain. I agree that the newbies should not be made to run ragged just to starve on a miniscule paycheck, but if we take the carrot off the stick and just toss it to them then there is nothing to work forward for. In all fairness, (name your favorite fast food joint) starts out their trainees by cleaning the dining room, kitchen, and bathrooms. I'm pretty sure they start at minimum wage, not the same they are paying the cashier.