What would consist of good Hourly / Salary wage

2500 A week gross, Net should come out to about 1500. I handle whatever benefits myself if I choose to.

Any damage such as cut tires at 300 or whatever value comes out of my pay To a maximum of 400 per week until total incurred damage is paid off in lieu of firing. That way the company can assure of being paid back the loss and the driver can be assured that there will be a salary.

No use of the words minimum, gauranteed or any other way to imply a minimum qouta must be met before getting 2500 gross. That is a flat salary to one driver and done each week a hard number minus withholding etc. IF the driver lives in a tax free state, so much the better.

IF there is a husband wife team involved you are looking at 2500 salary times two people flat. 5000 dollars to the husband wife team weekly. God knows they run the miles off.

The same will apply to any two drivers who make up a team. 2500 to this one, 2500 to that one. REGARDLESS OF EXPERIENCE.

I don't care if tumblweed just got DOT physcial and CDL last friday at the DMV standing in orientation monday today. He or she will be getting a truck and the next wed payday will be hsi or her first check of 2500.00 Flat. IF that driver wants bennies, THAT driver goes to HR and signs the necessary bennies and deduct directly.

I don't care if the driver is God or with 509 years one employer experience. Pay the man 2500.00 for work get him into the truck and loaded. Let's go we are late.

Very simple. One number.

Every effort shall be made to elimiate lumpers, excessive waiting, live loading unloading etc. A company would do well in a major area to run day cabs supporting a drop lot and a local walmart DC with drop hook so that everyone will roll. YEs the Day cabs will be paid 2500 gross.

The dispatcher will be paid 2500 gross. The janitor same. The tire boy same. The mechanic so on. Officers and owner too. One number.

Now we can concentrate on doing a good job with freight.

Ask the driver when he or she can legally get the load to a customer on a date and time allowing for winter storms and other problems the driver is familiar with. Whateer the date and time that driver says he or she will be there, the broker, shipper, reciever etc and dispatcher must accept that date and time. Be ready to unload that trailer within the hour. No detention, waiting or mobile storage etc. No abuses.

We are not unskilled labor. There is a huge amount of skill in many different things that goes into docking a big 70 foot vehicle while missing a illegally parked vehicle by a inch. OR literally making a decision 10 seconds prior to someone or some family being killed to come up wtih a solution to the problem pending and never hitting anyone or anything. OR understanding the weather, people behavior, chaining and so on State laws, local laws, Federal LAws, drug testing etc etc etc. OSD over shorts and damage etc,

There are all kinds of skills. Too many to be listed here.

I don't think drivers should make 250,000 a year. Niether do i think Congressmen and women should make the prescribed 174000 a year for hardly doing anything other than saying Aye or Nay as their leadership tells them to vote. (Not the people back home)

Drivers will make approxc 10,000 a month salary. 120000 a year. Before deductions if any.

IF that driver cannot survive on 120 a year then I cannot help that driver. (Too greedy or living beyond means etc)

Not everyone can drive a truck. Or should.

One last thing. Driving a truck being away from home? Same as in the military being away from home.

With that in mind there will be free medical care and necessary attention paid so that the driver will physically continue to benefit America by driving a big truck well. When that person is no longer able to meet DOT regulations, then impose a VA style 100% disability of 3000 a month flat for life. No SSA no anything.

That way those drivers who have driven a life time and have nothing to show for it will be taken care of. Similar to the Vets.

You are going to have to make new changes to make the industry better to deserve that nice wage. As it stands there are too many people who are not doing well or being professional.

Against COLA Cost of Living.

Wage will increase once annually 5% Flat. There is nothing else to deal with so that the entire pay system is reduced to one little number for ALL CDL Holders currently employed. Those who are not employed for a good reason will get unemployment. A few who are willfully bad, destructive or a BIG problem will be excluded from Unemployment. But if found innocent or otherwise disabled, then the final life time 3000 dollars a month kicks in.

It stands to reason that a company will find a good balance between revenue to the truck and the salaries that go out each week. If there are too many people, reduce the workforce. If there are no good loads, put the driver on unemployment until there are good loads. At least it keeps the wife and family happy.

 

You know all the damage will be found to be caused by driver neglect then is the only problem.

 

Yeah, that's opening a huge can of worms.

 

If we’re talking hour or salary I think a lot of companies are already on the right track . Somewhere from 1000-1500 a week salary with an overtime or incentive to make more every week. If they add in waiting , mileage, per load pay then then that’s going to be pretty good.

Hourly around 30 would be ideal, but 25-30 with some overtime is breaking 80k a year .
Overtime after 8 hours everyday is a good practice,

There’s a ton a different ways you can set up pay structures, but There way too many different areas of trucking and peoples skill sets.
Having everyone making 2500 no matter what doesn’t work. I’m all for fair pay but what I said above is more realistic then some flat rate.
Long term everyone becomes lazy. No one would work more then they have to and no pursuit for creating/doing anything new or better. 120k a year for everyone sounds like a union or socialism
It would only push companies to become bigger and fasten the pace to make trucks autonomous and human less

 

Exactly at some point you will price yourself right out of a job, it's what happened to the car manufacturers.

 

You are worth exactly what it takes you to do the job. That does not mean that others will not do it cheaper.

Employers can have all the 32 cent a mile (or dollar and 5 cent idiot LPs) they want. Until no one shows up they will never increase pay.

There are plenty of companies that pay in the 100-120k range. They require dedication, hard work, and professionalism.

To wit 75% all of the "lifestyle" truckers start whining about how they don't have to act professional, screw business like, it is only a little dent.......

And continue making 45k a year.

 

EVERYBODY wants a hot girlfriend. Very few are willing to do what that takes and put up with what that brings along. Everyone makes their own choice about pay and girlfriends. Everybody chooses what's "hot enough" and what troubles "are not too bad." Same with pay and work conditions.

The single guy with a $4k/mo apartment in Manhattan and no parking has a different minimum wage than a family man in Missouri with 4 kids, house, boat, etc.

 

If I remember correctly when I first started out, my weekly take home was on the $750 range. And for a broke kid who was flipping burgers, that was good stuff. It eventually ended up around $1,200/wk or so take home. As still good money to me.