Should I ask for more money?

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by joseph1853, Dec 10, 2017.

  1. joseph1853

    joseph1853 Road Train Member

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    I'm not really a new driver. Had my cdl since 2007 but I still feel new at negotiating pay. Seems like for the most part the prevailing mentality is to just take whatever they offer if the job's good.
    So I'm wondering if any of ya'll have any experience in negotiating pay?
    This company I've pretty much been hired on to told me they pay 36 cents a mile, home most nights, running flat bed with several drops per day. each drop pays $7.50 they said and you get back haul pay and insurance for a "small fee" probably around 50 bucks a week but not certain on that and 401k with company match (not sure how much they match) the supervisor said there drivers typically get paid around $900 a week which doesn't mean really anything until I found out exactly how many hours a day you spend out to get that.
    so to me it seems 36 cents a mile is a little less then what I think they should be paying. I know there are other parts of the pay that come into play that will make a difference but the bulk of the pay comes from the miles obviously.
    this post is a little late as i will be starting tomorrow but better late then never right. should i wait a bit and after working for them a bit re visit the subject? should i ask the supervisor if this is the pay they give everybody or is it negotiable? or ask if the pay is different for the degree of experience the driver has etc.. or again not bring it up until i've been there awhile and I've demonstrated the ability to do the job well..
     
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  3. ChaoSS

    ChaoSS Road Train Member

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    For a home every night job it depends on the area. Some areas you can make twice that with no trouble. Some areas that's good money.

    So it's to you to decide what you'll work for, and it depends on how desperate you are. Some places might be willing to negotiate, some won't. You can always ask.
     
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  4. pattyj

    pattyj Road Train Member

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    Show your dispatcher you're an excellent driver hen I bet he puts in a good word.
     
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  5. x1Heavy

    x1Heavy Road Train Member

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    Company match will be a small percentage of your contribution to 401K, I think when we did ours with the Government, we captured their max contribution at about 6% each payroll not a dime more. Vested 100% in a few years which turned into a 7 year annuity pay out at a 10% tax penalty loss to start off. We still did well with it, but the experience was less than optimal.

    You will be told what you will be paid and if you don't like it, you will likely be shipped back home or told that you need to get home yourself. In other words not hired. 7.50 a drop isnt much. It's essentially minimum wage for less than a hour of your time. Benefits will probably run you way more than 50 a week once you understand the true cost of medical insurance etc.

    Back Haul is just another load coming back to where you started. It's nothing special. You finish one load and you get another coming back. It should work out to at least your basic mile pay.

    You can be home most nights like they told you, but you might not have the full 10 hours off at home when factoring in commute times and so on. When I did flatbed up to 4 loads a day I would put in a full 16 hours and have less than 8 to get meal, sleep, get meal and go for the new day> I ended up transferring to a sleepr truck so that Im gone a week at a time at the same payroll numbers. The experience of regional sleeper was less than optimal due to really restrictive speeds per company policy at that time.

    If you are not leaving your past employer at say... .35 a mile for a new employer that pays MORE per mile and so on such as .40, don't bother leaving that last employer. Going from .35 to .36 or whatever is not a improvement. You can actually net more than that easily by skipping a retail coffee cup once a week.
     
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  6. mpd240

    mpd240 Road Train Member

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    Always ask for more money. Worst they can say is no
     
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  7. addrenjunky

    addrenjunky Light Load Member

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    If you could average 50 miles per hour on all hours worked ( you wont) you would be making 18.00 a hour. I find the drop pay and mileage pay offensive.
     
  8. joseph1853

    joseph1853 Road Train Member

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    I agree, but not a hole lot to choose from in my area, at least close to my house and home nights.. the job I'm leaving actually did pay percentage 25% do be exact. to say it nicely the work was inconsistent though. no i'll have more consistent work but the pay's slightly less, I say slightly but I mean quite a bit less.
     
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  9. Oldironfan

    Oldironfan Road Train Member

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    Nobody should be paid 36 cents per mile if home every night. And you have good experience. I'd think near 50 cents per mile. How many miles ran in a week? Home daily food truck guys like sysco are $21 a hour.
     
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  10. joseph1853

    joseph1853 Road Train Member

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    Right, again I agree, but as I said before not in my area. the guys delivering coca cola products in my area make around $15 an hour and they work there butts off for it. I'm sure if I lived in one of the big metropolitan areas such as Dallas or Austin $21 an hour would be obtainable though. But I'm still thinking as you said $.36 cents a mile isn't close to good pay no matter were your at but you do have to consider the job itself I mean even if you get high pay but the job sucks which is the case a lot of the time what good is it? I don't know so many variables to consider is all I'm saying but I do think from what you've said and others have said I do need to try and negotiate for better pay.
     
  11. Oldironfan

    Oldironfan Road Train Member

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    I live in a dead area. Like you can not even name.
     
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