is trainee pay fair

Going off duty after 15 minutes at a shipper/receiver is what you do to save your 70 hour clock. If you were to stay on duty all the time you were there, you would burn that up quickly and not be able to run all week. It might not make sense to you now, but it will, trust me. As far as the trainee pay at Swift, sounds like you need to speak to your training coordinator (or whatever they call it there) about it. Don't know if the o/o is being on the up and up with you. Most companies have a flat rate they pay per day or week (I think).

 

Define fair . You knew what the pay was when you started . If you think you are being forced to log illegally report it to the FMCSA . http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/saftviolationrpt.pdf . Don't expect that to have a positive affect on your career though . Document everything . They won't investigate a complaint without specific details of the violations .

 

Is the pay fair, it depends.As far as loading and unloading, it is a double edged sword. Yes, you can stay on duty and burn up your hours quick, so later in the week, you will have less time to drive, which is where you make more money. As far as O/O, remember, he also has bills to pay, like that truck note. One day I refused 4 pplans in a row, each one was 350 miles over 48 hours. As an O/O and mentor, we have to walk a fine line. We have to make sure that the student gets the required training, but we also have to make a paycheck, and remember, we are also taking a cut in pay as far as our cpm.

 

You said you take a pay cut. I guess I'm surprised to hear that. I was under the impression that Swift made you pay the 5 cpm to have a student, however you are paid for all of the dispatched miles both you and the student drive. I guess I figured the 5 cpm would be offset by the added miles. I never thought a student would double the paid miles but I figured you would make at least an extra 30% with the student on board. I guess it really doesn't pay to be a mentor.

 

What is the company policy? Did you receive a letter of clarification about this from the company?

 

Yeah. You're being short changed.


Go find another company. Big carriers thrive on getting a guy in the door and paying them nothing in return. They know your going to quit eventually and move to another carrier so they need to make as much money off of you as possible for the limited time you will be working for them.

Get used to being payed little to nothing. Most new drivers will never see the paychecks that "they were told about" by recruiters and driving school operators.

Welcome to trucking.

 

If I normally make .92/mi without student, and with student .87/mi, then I would say that is a pay cut, and remember the students first 50 hours, running solo, and if the fr8 is crap and only getting 3-4K per week. Yes, when the student is ready and run full team, then make up for it, and also remember, after 11K per month, the .09/mi penalty. I do know some mentors out here that have some good students, and they are averaging close to 7K/week.

 

I don't work there anymore, however, I know that May Trucking pays students $420 a week while training. Doesn't matter if you are just sitting waiting or whatever, they get $420. The way you described Swift's policy sounds odd.