hourly wages vs milage or percentage pay for truckers

My opinion has always been pay drivers by the hour and this will cut way down on the Safty issues we are faced with..Alot of newer drivers do not understand why we had to ''run hard'' years ago..

We had families to feed so we had to run hard and at times over our driving times.The wages and equipment sucked bad.It put us in a dammed if we did and dammed if we don't posistion..

We had to feed the young ones on a terrible .15 cent a mile pay.So alot of us drove hard and way over hours to support our family..Back then we thought we were doing the right thing to take care of our family and loved ones.According to the DOT,we were not..

Our road to hell was paved with good intentions..

Today it would be a wise idea to pay company drivers 20.00 an hour for the whole 14 hours and money for the sleeper berth.Wal Mart does this for there drivers..That is a fair honest wage for the driver..280.00 + is decent...But there lies a problem..

The rich pigs at the top are greedy pigs.They want to give you company men and woman 80.00 for a days pay..I said it once i will say it again.Slavory is somewhat still here in the USA.It is colored a bit different..

IMO,I vote YES YES YES...Pay the company drivers by the hour and a fair wage to RUN LEGAL...

 

Well said, the comfort-greed at the top will be like getting teeth pulled to change though......I suspect it will take one major carrier to carry the torch and drivers will flock to that carrier, thus creating a new Fair Pay within the industry.

 

I know when you are trying to get a loan or a mortgage, it is easier to prove your income if you are paid by the hour. We should be paid by the hour. That way when some flunky on a forklift wants to go to lunch, take a break, then play around for two hours before unloading a truck, it's not costing the driver. It will also make up for lazy dispatchers who just toss you the next load in the stack rather then try to route you in such a way that you can actually make some money.

 

The drivers that are on the E-LOG are the ones getting ''ripped off'' the most in Trucking...Every second is accounted for but NOT PAID FOR..

 

I have chatted with many many drivers over the course of 25 years...One common thread..

IF the companies paid us for ALL are time,we would not have to fudge anything.This is not asking alot.It is asking alot from the GREEDY PIGS that register Millions of dollars profits in a Quarter.I say spread the wealth just a little bit for the workers that sacrifice..

My cousin runs 100% by the book.He get's an hourly pay and makes 80,000-100,00 a year and home every night.If he is stuck out on the road they put him in a very nice hotel with a pool,hot tub,breakfast and a nice warm bed..

 

Years ago when running otr I sat down and figured what I was making an hour but being paid by the mile. That's when I decided to only work by the hour. Weather you are broke down or at Distribution Center or rolling down the road your still working. It makes the company work at keeping you working. They know how long it takes to make a round. You pay for what you get.

 

@Okiedokie,

It baffles me the drivers that are in an Alcoholic Denial about there rate per hour..Even i get lambasted as an O/O at times..

If you start the ''clock'' when you leave the front door and stop it when you get back to the front door,it is close to 24 hours a day INVESTED...So lets figure it out in a 7 day work week...And YES drivers have to count the sleeper birth.We are still attached to the darn truck...!!!!

7 days x 24 hours = 168 hours

Gross pay (avg) = 1,000.00

Meals = 15/day x 7 = 105.00...This figure is very low...

1000.00 - 105.00 = 895.00- 24% (tax avg) = 681.00 Grand Total..

681.00 / 168 hours = 4.05 Per Hour..

4.05 Per Hour is very very bad...This is why the rich PIGS do not want any part of paying the OTR drivers by the hour...The Slave Masters are making a killing on paying by the Mile,the Piece and %...

 

I see a couple of ways in which to solve this problem. First, get rid of the hos. There is no evidence that they have actually made roads safer and it would reduce the compliance costs by billions of dollars. It would also take much of the stress off drivers. Since the hos are not likely to be repealed then I propose a second alternative. Get rid of the mileage pay and pay drivers percentage. It would be fair to both the carrier and the driver. If both want to be truly fair, then this would be the fairest way to compensate the driver. It would also be predictable for the carrier.

I think the biggest complaint for drivers is having to sit for hours at shippers. This should be addressed by the carriers, but that isn't likely in the near future. Shippers should be held more accountable for the time they waste. It costs both carriers and drivers to sit for hours. But, unless carriers collect from the shippers, they cannot afford to pay their drivers. It is basic economics. Paying drivers percentage would more fairly compensate drivers and they could share in the good times and suffer when times are difficult.

You can't really compare WalMart or any other private carrier with otr drivers. WalMart doesn't need to make a profit from freight rates. They make a very tidy profit from the products that they sell to more than compensate for the costs of running their fleet. Any private fleet can decide what they charge themselves to operate. Carriers don't have that luxury. Carriers must compete in the marketplace. If I were a company driver I would prefer being paid percentage rather than mileage or hourly. It makes much more sense. It is not realistic to expect ANY employer to pay workers to sleep, eat or play video games. OTR trucking does not have the controls in place to fairly compensate drivers by the hour. You cannot blame anyone but yourself if you get caught violating the hos or any other rules. That is a decision each and every driver makes for themselves. As a driver, you cannot be forced to violate the hos or any other laws. Drivers need to accept responsibility for their own behavior.

 

OK.Lets take the 10 hour sleep time away from this...That would then be 70 hours taken away..So 168-70 is still 98 hours...

681.00/98 Hours= 6.94 an hour...This brings it up a bit...I am with G/MAN on the getting paid %...I have been paid % for many many years..