Your not entitled!!WAKE UP,ITS NOT THE COMPANIES

I couldn't agree more. I don't expect to get paid $.60 per mile, drive a shiny long nose Pete with an 18 speed and a 600 HP engine, and have every run be over 1300 miles with a return trip right back to my home city. What I do expect is to drive reasonably decent, reliable equipment and have a Company PAY WHAT THEY PROMISE TO PAY.

Also some of these companies act like getting a driver home for 34 hours once every two weeks is the greatest thing in the world. Many are much, much worse. If a driver wants to stay out for weeks or months at a time, that's their perogative. To me having a life outside the truck every once in a while to reset my nerves (for a minumum of three days at a time) far outweighs the extra couple hundred dollars a month I might make living in it for over a month.

I fully understand that profitablity and loads are limited by the economy right now. But that's no excuse for large companies like Werner, Swift, Schneider, JB Hunt, and Covenant to increasingly take advantage of the situation. I watched a Werner driver call his dispatcher from a booth in a restaurant a few months back, arguing that he hadn't been home in 3 months. The conversation ended there with the driver disgusted. In the time it took me to eat, I watched no less than 10 Werner trucks blow by on I-90.

What really disgusts me is how Werner goes after veterans, talking them into using their GI bill, and doing everything short of promising them wheels of gold. The owners and recruiters ought to be HUNG!!! I would rather play in the sandbox in the Persian Gulf for 10 years than spend 1 year starving to death in a Werner (or similar sized outfit) truck.

On the same token, I have a hard time feeling sorry for people who jump into this industry doing zero research. Then they complain while they make $.26/mile at 1200 miles per week. But Swift, Werner, etc would not be here if there weren't so many gullible gluttons for punishment working for them.

 

Actually the sense of entitlement is rampent today...the government owes me, life liberty and pursuit of happiness, and if I don't succeed on my own, then the government should bail me out and make me a success. And in our government social program raised president, it is "fair" to take from the rich and give to the poor. His own words, and now he is moving to make that true and move us more towards social control with the government controlling everything.

I see drivers every day who complain about "I don't want to go to the north east", and then complain, about setting for 2 days. There are consequences for every action and choice we make, and so many people today do not understand that, and then expect, "they are entitled" to be helped with my tax dollars to get them out of the mess they created.

This is no longer the United states of America but the United Socialist of America....
The school systems, the liberals, the government has all moved in this direction, and we the people have allowed it...

Want to change it?

or do you want all your decisions made for you?

 

This is the same tired, old ground that has been pawed over time and time again.

I can recite that rant word for word. The 'greatest generation' that gave their all for our country in WWII also set up social security, possibly the largest socialist policy in our nation's history. The members of the greatest generation were also very big into unions, another apparatus that you would label as 'socialist' or 'commie.' They had more patriotism in their big toe than you and I have in our whole bodies (that's patriotism, not jingoism!!). The gave all for their country and demanded their country to be there for them. I am not praising unions or social security, I am just saying that we have been becoming more 'socialist' for a long time.

My first post was that the sense of 'entitlement' is simply not present in the posts that I read on this forum. If you want to hijack this and make a political rant, then fine, but wipe the spit off of your mouth and cite an example that is factually accurate. What the government is currently doing is privatizing profits and socializing losses, and I don't agree with it. But it isn't socialism, because at least socialism nationalizes the profits along with the losses.

All I want from the government is for them to stop tilting the playing field away from the individuals and toward the large corporations. I'd settle for a level playing field. That's not entitlement, that's WE THE PEOPLE, not we the corporations.

 

When I got into the Industry here was my first truck a 73 International 4070 Transtar with a 290 small cam 4X4 trans and RUBBER BLOCK suspension. I drovee that hauling grain and such for my first boss til I had a parking brake line fail near Peoria IL and it cost someone coming the other way his life. I lost that job a few days later however when I was able to go OTR my next truck was a 88 pete 379 with a 310 CAT and a 9 speed then I got upgraded to a 88 KW T-600A with a 315 Cummins and 9 over. Then I got the Big horse of the fleet 88 International 9370 444 Cummins rebuilt to 720HP and 13 double over with 3.53 rears and NO GOVERNOR. However I did not abuse it either.

I am raising my kids the same way they ARE NOT ENTILTED TO CRAP THEY HAVE TO EARN IT.

 

"HYPOCRITICAL ENTITLEMENT" The ability to complain about someone Else's complaints and feel as if nothing is wrong.........

Nothing like A little circular self-justifying logic short-circuit...Don't worry, most people are caught up in it...
You can fix it but it's a pain. Self fault tracking requires a assumption that something is wrong with ones self...Obviously that's not going a very popular thought pattern. So just slap in a little social duct tape on that Faulty mind logic..Go out and find someone that shares your view...IT may feel right but your making pretsals with an otherwise rational mind
You can all go back to your regular scheduled programing... "ever wonder why they call it that"

 

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly disrespectful and impatient of restraint" -Hesiod, 8th century BC

"What is happening to our young people? They disrespect their elders, they disobey their parents. They ignore the law. They riot in the streets inflamed with wild notions.
Their morals are decaying. What is to become of them?" -Socrates, 5th century BC

Hmmmm. So much for the good old days. Every time a generation gets to be a certain age they look at the younger generation and despair. Sorry, you guys are wrong. At 35, I see the younger people that I work with and are starting out today as talented, driven, industrious, focused and hard working. Most of the whiners with the sense of entitlement that I run into are my age and older. Are there some young bums? Sure, but there have always been bums that don't want to work. Give most of them a few years in the school of life and they'll be fine (probably better off than you or I).

 

Well up until this point I was starting to become one of those nebies thinking that my company owe me so much. when in actually I owe them they took a chance on me and I intend to hold up my end of this bargain. I have about 4 -5 months left in my contract and I hear so many say man leave that company. And start making some real money but something in say no complete what you started and do things the right way. I am a hard worker and I hate sitting I have to be doing something even when I on vacation I go and get a part time job just to keep busy. So that is why I complain I just want to drive and make this money dont care how is doing what I stay focused on my load and my truck. Im just a hard working man who dont know what it feels like to sleep in after 9 am. So when Im done with contract and " paid my dues " I hope there is a company that can appreciate a hard charging kick ### work like me. I watched my daddy work in the steel mill and no matter what he always went to work. So its in my blood to work and get the job done. I dont look for the company to do anything for me i know Im not entitled to what you veterans have but when I work for mine. I want whats entitled to me. Im am a firm believer that hard work steal pay off in more ways than money.

 

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I never sat and waited on a load more than 24 hours, until I went to work for a "major" company with 500 trucks or more.

More often than not, I was already late for my p/u. BEFORE the delivery appointment of the load I was under.

The sense of entitlement comes from companies, as well as drivers. Companies feel like they are entitled to drivers who have no life, other than towing the company line.

 

That sense of entitlement you speak of is a direct result of the out right wussifying of our children. Thats what happens when we don't keep score at little johnny's soccer game because there are no winners or losers. God forbid we give a child a failing grade even when he deserves it. Wouldn't want to hurt their feelings. No more class validictorians either can't point out or celebrate one students achievements or accomplishments over anyone elses this too could lead to hurt feelings. Just wait, with Obama in the White House it's only going to get worse. Remember, "we've got to spread the wealth"....

 

I agree Ton_Bundle, it is an easy game for the old timers to pack up all the young ones in the same batch and dismiss the as cry babies. This industry has changed A LOT, for better or for worse. The equipment is better/more comfortable, but it is also getting harder and harder and harder to make a living at it, never mind saving to buy your way into an O/O. My Hubby has been out for a month now, and before that for another month (only home for a week), and he's had no real *income* to speak off since October. Between bad loads, no-load time, breakdowns, insurance and trailer payments, and fuel, most of his income leaves out the same door it came in, but we'll still owe taxes on it...Up until the summer it was (not quite great) but we made ends meet, and now it seems to be picking up, but it has been UGLY!!! And that is with a fully paid tractor in very good shape!!! He work like a dog, misses me and his little boy, and sometimes has very litle to show for it, but he keeps going and refuses to quit.