$20/hr minimum

Call BS all you want but the fact is...I speak my mind, named my price and don't put up with bs from any employer like most drivers who're too afraid to stand up for themselves.

My employer is far from clueless...they know my value and appreciate the specialized skills and years of experience in every aspect of the work that we do which I bring to the job and affords me to be paid at the rates I request.


I was a free agent when I interviewed them to see if they'd be suitable for what I was looking for and when the day comes that they say no.. I'll consider myself to be a free agent and interviewing future employers again.

As for walking into your office...well, I'm very selective about who I work for and I don't work for those beneath my standards so you've no worries there.
Have a nice day now

 

Seniority has nothing to do with it.. It's all about what license you have and how many accidents/violations you have, nothing more. If you have the license required for that vehicle, and a clean record you are worth something.

Seniority goes out the window in 3-6 month. After that we are all equals...[/QUOTE]

that's not comfortable, that's complacency. But, if your smart, you know to pay attention to the business world, the cycles in the field your in, and when to ask for a raise and when not to. But, you also don't get greedy. If the company says all the can afford to give you is $.40 raise and you want $1.00, then you need to bargain with the company or prove that your worth more to them. But you also have to know when to say "in the interest of the company, I'm better off". Let me give you an example; US Food, resturant delivery company. Three years ago they were in contract negotiation with the union delivery drivers. The Union was demanding more more more, the company said, look we don't have it. the union called for a strike. Initially the drivers all backed the union. Until someone grew a brain, one of the drivers had the skill to look at the offer on the table from the company, as well as using the internet and information available as a publicly traded company, realized that the copany was right, that was the best they could offer without hurting the bottom line and risk firing drivers or cutting staff. He was able to convince enough others of this, even though the Union tried to shut him up, that the drivers took what was offered. Guess what, the company now 3 yrs later is in a better place when they negoiate next year, the Union has a chance to get better wages now because of the past.

 

and if companies can't afford to pay those wages, then they won't

 

LOLOLOLOLOL, thanks for the laugh, I've needed it

 

I wouldn't say we get 'raped' on taxes...we do pay our fair share but I did compare what we make here with our 'government paid ' Health Care taxes and net income to what a family member who lives in the Bay area of California was left with in net income after taxes and the costs of their medical insurance..

It was closer than you'd think.

 

Um... I know a respected forum member here who's looking for drivers right now... $28/hr to start... overtime after 10 daily and 50hrs per week plus benefits
They can afford to pay it.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...ers-forum/200875-hey-guys-i-need-drivers.html

 

Glad I could help. I hope one day you'll find the respect for your licence and the desire to demand better for yourself too.

 

Judging by your posts, not a whole heck of a lot.

Driving a truck is the easiest job I've ever had. If you think it is hard, you've never really worked.

You're right...we don't do it 60 hours per week. It's more like 68-70 hours per week driving...then another 10-15 maintaining...another 2-3 dealing with paperwork so that we can get paid....not to mention making sure tax forms are properly filed so that the politicians can get their cut.

Like I said, if you think driving a truck is too hard, try working for a living.

Nobody is entitled to those things just because they happen to have a job. When you are seeking a job, the pay scale always comes up. You either agree to work for the wages you are offered, negotiate for a higher wage, or seek employment elsewhere. NOBODY is forcing you to work for anybody else. If you really want to, start your own business and be your own boss.

A criminal record does not disqualify you from driving a truck. DUI, driving record, yeah...those affect your ability to be a PROFESSIONAL DRIVER. The non-driving offenses have no bearing on whether or not you can be a truck driver. You could've robbed 100 banks and murdered 50 people, and if you are lucky enough to be released from prison, and you can pass a DOT physical, there is nothing that would stop you from getting a CDL and becoming a truck driver.

Driver's health is the driver's responsibility. Nobody is FORCING them to sit at the buffet eating 6 plates of food twice every day. Nobody is stopping them from walking a few laps around the truck stop in the evening or before they roll out in the morning. Drivers have needed medical cards since long before I started driving...that is nothing new. So what if you have to give the state a copy? You've got to show it to any cop who asks you for it during a traffic stop or inspection anyway...and if you don't have one, you shouldn't be driving a truck because you are not qualified.

If they don't know about them, it is because they have their head in the sand...or because they just don't care. And CSA2010 went back 3 years. When it went online in 2010, your violations from 2007 through 2010 were used to compute your score. Just because CSA wasn't up & running doesn't mean they didn't have those inspection records.

First of all, the "driver shortage" is a myth. If there really WAS a driver shortage, freight rates would be higher because shippers would see that their freight was sitting on their docks instead of moving down the road and they'd pay more to see that it didn't happen again. As long as rates remain dirt cheap, it is a pretty good indication that there are plenty of trucks available to move the freight....and trucks don't drive themselves.

Secondly, the economy isn't going to get better until policies are put in place that are more business-friendly. This administration is doing the opposite. Taxes just went up on the nation's employers...which means less capital available to expand their businesses, and in many cases, cutbacks will be made....meaning less jobs. Couple that with the healthcare law that is in the process of being implemented....every increase in what an employer has to pay out on behalf of each employee means less money available to pay the wages for that employee. Wages will stagnate and more jobs will be cut. Then you look at the new regulations being pushed by this administration...whether by the EPA or whatever other government agency....further increasing the cost of doing business here in the US. Costs go up, businesses tighten their belts, and more jobs are lost. An economy hemorraging jobs isn't going to suddenly pick up.

However, just to humor you, let's assume the economy picks up. If freight starts sitting on docks, rates go up. As rates go up, companies can afford to pay drivers higher wages. As wages go up, it entices more individuals to remain in the industry if they were thinking about leaving, come back to the industry if they had already left, or enter into the industry for the first time. There are O/O's out there with their trucks parked in the barn while they work a "regular" job because the money just wasn't there...rates were low, and they couldn't justify being out on the road for what they were bringing home. With a couple phone calls, they'd have their insurance reinstated and authority reactivated and they'd be back on the road. If the money is there, the freight will be moved.

There are a lot of factors in play here for the next 5 years.[/QUOTE]