I dont get it

"Greed is behind alot of this. They want the freight moved at the cheapest driver pay they can get. It maximizes the corporate profit and allows for larger pay and bonuses."

if trucking companies are/were making such boatloads of money, why did 3000+ of them go out of business last year?


"dont worry we have many replacements ready and willing to live at there mom and dad's house at age 50 and drive for a nickel a mile..lmao"

or a penny a mile. that's called competition. non Americans are willing to work in a widget factory for $.50/hour and so American no longer has widget factories. and we're stupid enough to buy from them the widgets WE used to make.

 

My goodness, I cant believe how much attention this post has got. This is not a desperation job for me, it just seems to make sense, let me explain. Im divorced, ive had a b for 8 years and I enjoy to drive, believe it or not. My driving record is spotless, and I like to travel. I can stay with a b on local jobs and MAYBE make 30k a year, there isnt much to choose from in youngstown, oh. I dont wanna make maybe 30k, and just be able to live pay to pay, know what I mean? I just want to know as much as possible before i do it. thanks again for all the help.

 

what do you wanna know?

 

Like it or not, drivers like fuel and maintenance are "overhead" costs.
Fuel went through the roof, the costs of maintenance goes up because parts get shipped. Larger Companies still have to pay dividends to share holders.
There was "greed' to be sure, but there were quite few good companies that went down because they could not streamline fast enough to compensate for the failing economy. What about fleet replacement due to emission and fuel efficiency regs? Companies got hit hard on the "pre-buy" in 2006. The same will happen for companies to be compliant for the regs in 2010.That's money that could go in your pocket as a driver...think about that when you vote for liberal politicians who claim they have your "Best interests" in hand.

Drivers only see one side of a business. If you could step behind the desk and deal with a balance statement what would you do?
The majority of companies pay their employees first and take care of the equipment before the officers draw a salary. But in saying that, I'm sure some will still say all companies are "out to screw the employees and make them slaves".


The real "slaves" are the O/O's who run completely on their own authority.
They have to wear all of the hats in this biz and like a larger outfit, they too, pay themselves last.

I challenge anyone of you company drivers to step in the shoes of an officer/owner of a company; step in the boots of an O/O and then come out with the same mentality that all companies are "greedy".

 

Good post except one point. Most companies pay the officer salary up front first. It is one of the failings in the business losses this year. If you read the findings, say Gainey for instance, the bankruptcy court first lowered the salary of the officers to realistic numbers.

 

California's labor laws require employees to be paid in timely manner to include over-time pay. As far as officer getting paid first, every company I have ever worked for salaried employees worked more hours than they were actually paid including the officers.
I remember while working for a contractor, a driver complained about having to work 60 hours a week to the president of the company. The president asked the driver if he got paid for all 60 hours to which the driver replied "Yes". The president then showed the kid his schedule for the last month. He worked 80 hours a week and didn't receive any "Over-time".
Sure the officers may receive a bonus, but that bonus is based on achievement and not effort.

 

I understand that. At the accounting office, I was middle management. My schedule was close to 80 hours a week. I was ONLY paid for 40 and expected to work more. However, I never received large bonuses. Unless you consider a year end bonus of 400 to be something to call home about. The officers of the company received bonuses in the neighborhood of 50,000. They worked less hours than most of us.

 

Did they not have more responsibilities?

 

They owned the stock. It is no different than any other company. The president got his job because he was the son of the owner. He was my direct boss.


I saw the light one year when I reviewed the hours I put in to my salary. Found McDonalds would have paid overtime and I could have worked fewer hours.

The same is true in almost all of the corporations. Look at the wall street bail out salaries. Look at the salaries at the auto company bailout as well.

 

Don't let a handful of companies determine your opinion that all companies are less than honorable.
This country has thousands of honest companies that still have a conscience.
IIRC, Cyber posted a thread sometime ago about an investment firm who bought a town's shuttered company and put a quarter of the workers back to work, it's a start.
I still believe there is more generosity than greed in America. The greedy always get caught. Just ask Ebbers, just ask Madoff.