Outwest Express..BAD!!

Good write up, thank you.

 

I would say yes the first time, but don't ever ask again.
Bail out. Anyone that would have you do this and think it's ok, is an ***hole

 

Sadly, you just accurately described a large percentage of OTR companies. Those companies should be a very small percentage in a $750 BILLION dollar industry. Just goes to show the level of greed in corporations.

 

If I REALLY liked my dispatcher, I might give him an hour or two of local work @cpm rate(basically free labor) as a personal favor in hope of some later return on the favor. I have been known to do some low mileage local work for an OTR company on an odd day, but on those days I was paid hourly. It wasn't the kind of money I could make running miles all day, but it was fair enough for the circumstances.

 

Thing is, if you really liked your dispatcher, that means they must be stand up. Else, you (if you're like me) wouldn't like them. My dispatcher at my old company gave me a $25 spot award and the safety manager bought me lunch for doing him a favor and taking a loaded reefer trailer that was almost out of fuel around the corner to the Pilot and filling it up and bringing it back. I think it took me maybe 30 mins to grab it, go fuel it and bring back to the yard. Then, I had my free lunch, grabbed the loaded trailer I came there to get and was on my down the road.

Point being, I liked my DM because she was stand up and would've never pulled any nonsense like trying to get me to work for nothing.

 

….and just what blood type was she?

 

Oh, I’d have never given her the bite, either love or blood bite. Not my type on either front. But she was “nice, she’s so nice”. Lol

 

If I REALLY liked my dispatcher, I might give him an hour or two of local work @cpm rate(basically free labor) as a personal favor in hope of some later return on the favor

I'm doing my company a favor monday by working on a holiday. But they certainty don't expect me to do it for free. And they always ask if I want to do it, not tell me to do it.

This is one problem of being paid a piece rate with no FLSA protection . It puts you in a situation were you do favors for fellow employees to keep your income from being throttled..

Drivers need to grow a spine & tell them no, I will not do hourly work at a cpm rate. But I will do a favor & do the local if it is compensated fairly. I used to get po's for x-pay for locals from $50 to $200 depending on the load & time of the day. But if your willing to get rolled & do it for cpm they will let you.

Your already raising your hiney in free labor as a OTR driver, why do it on local work also? You will never make up for all the free labor you do as a OTR driver so no reciprocity will ever be achieved no matter how many freebees you give them.

 

When paid by the mile.
I will not;

run around a city looking for a empty trailers,
Do any type of local work,
Pick up loaded trailers off the yard and deliver them;
Go pick up a load and bring it back to the yard,
None of thee above.
It always adds up to minimum wage trucking.

I'd rather sit all day and do nothing than waste
My driving time for pennies.
I consider all of them favors.
Only to be done on the rare occasion for
My dispatcher who's ran me nonstop for
Weeks on hand,beforehand.

And only my dispatcher,who I know can return the favor.
Not for anybody else.

Let the company ### kissers and the rookies
Who don't know any better do them.
It's free labor, don't do it.
That's what I tell them when they ask me.