Pay,Risk and Talent

Oh. Well, ummm.

The last company job we had about 5 years ago, we stayed at for 7 years. We researched them well prior to employment. They never advertised.

All was understood before we ever climbed in the truck. No surprises. They paid .70 cpm. We had to have a very clean MVR, be drug free, no accidents.

We each grossed $2,100/week. We felt this was adequate compensation for the risks we took, and the effect on health and family.

Even then - sign on bonuses, recruitment lies, bells and whistles and carrots in front of the nose were all fairly typical.

Carolina Cargo still hired 2nd chance drivers and paid peanuts.

Swift still paid CDL training.

I see little change. It’s buyer beware out here.

 

Well good. Glad I’m not Simple Simon on Saturday.

I also used to question this when I was in my early 20’s. I worked 3 jobs that involved alcohol sales - supermarket management, bottle store retail and bar management.

All 3 jobs carried heavy penalties/jail time for serving alcohol to minors/intoxicated. Police regularly ran sting operations.

I decided risk/reward wasn’t there, and moved on.

 

Getting Killed? Been there. Im still here. Not quite yet. Lose Freedom? HA. Where you are there you are.

I suspect a touch of drama somewhere.

If I was so fearful of the things that happen around big rigs, maybe with me having to decide what to do when the trailer got away from me or something, I would not be doing this trucking. I don't drive in fear. I refuse to acknowledge it. In fact fear is there sometimes but you make decisions that are rational and press forward without panic or other problems related to that fear.

On the other hand, when it's towards end of day, old iron making music (Something the computers took away...) and dinner is not too far off on a good day, it's worth all the bad days and then some. In other words I am more free than most workers trapped in a cubicle being micromanaged by 3 layers of supervisors. Particularly when dispatcher hands me trailer papers to somewhere 6 days hence and tells me not to call unless big problem or empty on the 6th day. Having the whole USA to run around in and be paid for it? Awesome.

 

Hopsing...you've defined the problem. That's good.
Now, instead of getting everybody all riled up, why don't you come up with some solutions?

All we've heard from you so far is "why". What we need to hear is "how".

Don't give us any over-used aphorisms about how unfair the wage is. Tell us how the trucking companies can pay more without raising rates to the point where they're no longer competitive in what is already a low return cut-throat market.

I'd love to be able to pay our drivers forty bucks an hour but I don't see any way that will ever happen.

Educate us, Hopsing.

 

Stand together? Good idea but it's still a why and not a how.
How do we stand together? Form a guild? Join a union? Who would run such a thing and who would make sure that the driver's voice was heard?

You're still floundering. Give us a path.