$20/hr minimum

I don't need all that entitlement $20 hr bull crap. I love my freedoms I have as an otr driver. I make $900 a week net which pays for a new house and brand spanking new car. Very nice SUV. I run average miles. Get home every other week. My company gives me respect. That's right, respect. I live in California where cost of living is very high.

I still make it OTR.

 

depends where youre buying, obviously it isnt feasible to rent a two bedroom for 1200$/mo on 16$ per hr unless youre extremely frugal and turning tricks on the side...there are people living on far less and there are more affordable homes, even in the chitcago (area).

 

I have always earned a good living in this business. If you can't buy a home and live a comfortable lifestyle in this business, perhaps it is because you don't understand how to manage your money. Regardless of what you earn, you can't live beyond your means. What I am not seeing from those who constantly complain about the pay, is what they are doing to make themselves more valuable or marketable to a potential employer. If you want top pay then you need to be a top performer. You need to find a way to add value to your employer.

I have been a company driver, owner operator and run my own authority. I have earned a good living in all three capacities. I could go back to being a company driver and still be able to live a comfortable lifestyle. However, I have always done better on my own. If you don't like the wages, you can always go out and buy your own truck and either lease to a carrier or get your own authority and set your own rates. Most industries have a range of wages for each job. We have the same thing in trucking. First year earnings should be between $30,000-35,000. Second year you are probably looking at $35,000-40,000. Beginning with the next year you should be earning over $40,000. I know company drivers who earn $120,000/year. The high earners didn't start at that rate. Stop complaining about the pay and find ways in which to enhance your value to your company. I have had drivers who didn't do well and others who excelled. Those who did best had certain traits. They did a little extra to do a better job. They had a good attitude. Drivers are basically paid for the value that they bring to the company. The greater your value, the higher your pay.

The economy is likely to remain flat or decline for the next 4 years. At best there could be modest gains with the economy. I don't see that happening. The cost of maintaining workers is going up due to increased tax rates and from obamacare. Many companies are cutting employee hours in order to avoid the higher taxes. That will mean that workers will have less money to spend and that should result in a slower demand for freight. This will likely result in lower or stagnant driver pay, rather than seeing higher wages. That doesn't mean that drivers won't be able to earn a good living, but may impact the higher rate of pay and could lower amount of miles. That will result in lower pay. I hope that I am wrong, for a number of reasons.

It would be good for everyone to be in business, at least once. It would change your perspective. Employers can't just pull money out of their hat. It takes a lot of money to operate a successful business. Employer's sacrifice much for their businesses. It is the employer who risks everything so that others can have a job and that they can have a return on their investment. The hardest worker in any business is the owner. But, the owner also deserves to make a profit. Wages paid are fair market based upon the freight rate and other factors.

 

Where's the entitlement?

 

Unions interfering in everything telling me I "deserve" $20 hr. Nobody owes me anything. I dictate my own life. If someone wants to give me something a little extra for myself, then ok, ill be thankful.

That's entitlements. Someone else making it to where it is legal for someone else to receive something they did not earn or worked very very hard for.

I see you work at Conway. Yes its LTL and yes your home daily. You are still non-union so you know exactly what I mean and what I am talking about.

My pay is consistent. No complaints here.

 

G/MAN,

You brought up some good points, and I completely agree. There's another factor that drivers tend to forget. That factor is loyalty. Having experience is one thing, but having all your experience with one company is another thing. What many drivers don't understand is that as long as you keep job hopping, you're going to be at the bottom of the totem pole. It doesn't matter how much experience you bring into a company. That didn't do anything except get you hired. Just like any other employer with any other industry, you start at the bottom and work your way up.

 

At the rate the economy is tanking, in 5 years, the minimum wage will be $10-$12/hr, gas will be $7, and an apartment will still cost you the equivalent of 40 hours' work.

So, what's your point?

 

I lived in the Bay Area. We got raped on taxes.

 

You are exactly right. One thing that I have noticed with many who complain so much about low driver pay is that they do tend to move around a lot. When an employer knows that a driver moves around every few months, there is little incentive for them to pay top wages to them. There are some drivers who don't get their way about something, so they quit. Sometimes, it is a matter of a personality conflict and other times it is a lack of communications. Rather than trying to work through any differences with their dispatcher or find a different dispatcher with the same company, they quit and find another company. There are legitimate concerns and not all companies treat driver's fairly. I like to believe that most try to deal with employee's in a fair and ethical manner. Those who work through their issues and do their best are usually rewarded. It may be the plum runs that you want or having extra home time or the truck you want to drive. I recall one driver who had been with his employer for a number of years and his boss told him to go pick out the truck that he wanted and he would buy it. He told him to spec it however he wanted. He spec'd a new Peterbilt with all the bells and whistles. His boss wrote the check. He was rewarded for his loyalty and good job that he did for his company. I have spoken with a couple of others who have told similar stories.

I know another business owner who was in a different business, but he took all of his employee's to the Bahama's one year. He could have invested the money or paid taxes on his profits, but he rewarded his loyal employee's with a nice trip with all expenses paid. Not all businessmen are evil. Some of us are pretty decent people. But, there is also a limit as to how much we can afford to pay people. While some of you may not believe it, you can't just dictate what shippers and brokers are willing to pay. This is a very competitive industry. We benefit and are held in check by free market forces. When rates are $1.50/mile, you cannot afford to pay drivers $0.50/mile. Many want benefits, such as insurance. That is all part of your compensation. You may not think so, but your employer certainly does. Insurance premiums are expensive, even for limited coverage. Premiums can easily run $500/month or more. that is an additional $6,000 you should add to your compensation.

I still see more complaining about pay, but little in the way of how the complainers plan on enhancing their value to the company.

 

To all you people out there who think that "the big carriers" are screwing drivers over, GROW UP! If you work for someone, or a company, you accept the wage that you and they agree on. There is nobody holding a gun to any head forcing any driver to work for a set rate. If you don't like the wage, move on. If you don't like being employed and being told what to do, you have two choices.

1. JOIN THE LAZY NATION ON UNEMPLOYMENT AND WELFARE. Seems people in the government want more of this...

2. Employ yourself. Yes, go ahead and become the employer, jump to that other side of the fence.

I personally think that everyone should shut their piehole until they step up and become the employer. Until you do, you have no effing clue....