Overtime pay ! Make it happen .

Please share more pics. I am hungry.

 

People are choosing bad careers and degrees. If you want to stay ahead in wages and inflation choose a career that pays well... But i dont want to be away or do this and that. I see myself being happy as a trucker or marketer. I do well because 99.9999 percent of Americans haven't even thought of my career field. Money is out there. You just have to take the plunge. So Short Fuse why do you also drive? I enjoy it. AND WHEN I WANT MORE MONEY I STOP DRIVING AND DO WHAT I DO NOT LIKE.

 

I think many of you are taking my post out of context............

I feel as a driver AND business owner that Living The way some of your examples prove is a Subpar way to Lead a normal life.

I jus think Drivers should have enough compensation to set them apart from your typical minimum wage jobs.... And From some of those examples... That's living poorly NOT by Choice.

If You Choose to live that way by putting most of your money away weekly..GREAT, I commend you, But If you simply aren't paid enough to live in a Nice Home, Raise a family properly, And have "Decent" things in life like most people want............ Its something to be addressed, Promptly.

 

All four of my truck driving jobs paid overtime. The only way id take a job without overtime is if I clocked out at 40 hours every week no questions asked.

 

You just described hourly pay. Add overtime and you have a fair system that rewards workers for their time.

 

My apartment in a 8 unit building cost $280 a month, free water and 30 ish electricity. And it's a nice place in a good location.
Plus I have my shed and land 10 miles away to play on

 

Yes it is. Seeing as all four of my trucking jobs have paid overtime.

 

I'll tell you why. Most of the otr drivers I've trained get frustrated when they have to hook up and inspect more than one trailer a day. My buddy became a spotter at my company. He was getting agrivated because it's harder than otr. But you just do your eight and go home. Bets being out for weeks at a time to me.

 

I don't understand why some folks on here seem to actually defend low wages. My grandfather had a nice home, raised 3 kids, went on vacations, had 2 new cars, retired comfortably at age 60, and guess what? My grandmother didn't work. Sure, everyone has a perspective on how they should live as individuals, but why brag that you could live on $9/hr (or some arbitrary amount)? This shouldn't be a race to the bottom.

Also remember the big picture - middle class folks stimulate the economy by making purchases. Whether it's big ticket items like homes and vehicles or day to day things like food and clothing. Heck, I took the girlfriend to breakfast the other day, the bill came to $14 and some change. I gave the waitress a twenty and told her to keep the change, that $5 and something tip could have bought her a sandwich for lunch.

I'm not, in any way, promoting a huge debt load either. I drive a truck and own a modesty successful business. My personal home has no mortgage, I have 2 newer vehicles and a Harley with the titles in my possession. The only debt I carry is a business loan. I've worked my butt off to get where I am and I'd be lying if I said that luck didn't play a part in it. But mostly it's because I was afforded the opportunity at a very young age to drive a truck for a more than sensible living wage. Hard work? Absolutely. Fair compensation? You betcha.

The only thing I can sympathize with the greedy corporations is the lack of quality drivers entering this business. I work in a union environment and (gasp) almost every driver is dedicated to doing the job to the best of their ability. Our facility has very few call off or disciplinary issues, the ones we have come from the bottom 5 folks on the board (I'm a Union Steward and I'm in the disciplinary meetings). 32 of our 70 or so drivers are over the age of 62, most of these men have dedicated their lives to our employer. Selfishly, this means that I'll be moving up the roster rather quickly in the next 2 or 3 years (lol), but it also illustrates what fair compensation can do for (lack of) turnover. For the "U" naysayers that were aware our contract had expired a month or so ago - we NEGOTIATED a more than fair deal for the members and it passed handily. Yes, we do have a say in our workplace.

In no means am I trying to insult anyone with this post, but this industry seriously needs to wake up and realize that the standards need to be raised to attract quality people. As I said before, this isn't a race to the bottom and it shouldn't matter that an individual can live on a $1000/month or whatever...

 

There you go buddy.