Poor pay

"You were the one that brought up the newspaper gig. I personally don't see you doing more than $12000 annually, working 40 hours a week delivering newspapers.

Now, before the IT world rendered you obsolete, and you made your fame and fortune, did someone have to hold your hand to show you how to be successful? See the money you're talking about for the bottom end OTR person is for the people who need their hand held. If you need your hand held, expect to be paid towards the bottom end of the pay scale. Simple as that."

Obviously I am saying that delivering newspapers pays more than $11 an hour. More than driving.

And I never said that I was obsolete in IT. The jobs were outsourced because of plutocratic greed.

And you think that expecting a decent wage equals hand-holding?

Human nature is so predictable. I point out that the emperor has no clothes and instinctively people protect the emperor and attack the messenger

Funny that people who value the freedom of the open road will sell their lives so cheap and buy their own chains.

Simple is as simple does.

 

If government regulation was the issue than trucking in Mexico must be heaven. Or Somalia. They have a lot less government and regulation. Seems to me the walmartization of trucking is the real issue.

Carriers receive government grants to train drivers? Do you mean they get a write-off?

From your quote at the bottom you seem to have swallowed the anti-government propaganda. Pro football is more regulated than baseball so baseball is more professional? There is a reason for regulation. Would driving improve if all regulation from the roads was removed?

 

Thanks for the info!

But I want to mention that I'm not expecting to get rich. Seems to me that a dangerous and skilled job like this where I would be working over 70 hours a week and away from home for weeks at a time should simply pay more than answering a customer service phone line.

Is it that I don't understand what a typical day is like? Can anyone clue me in as to what to expect?

 

Thanks for the response but I should mention that I had a train engineer in my family. Never was time spent working without getting paid. When he was punched in he was being paid. Sure he wasn't paid if he wasn't on duty---if he was sleeping at the motel on the road. But he was paid even if the wheels weren't turning. And he put in a lot of hours and received OT pay. He was never expected to donate his time because the shipper or receiver or dispatch couldn't schedule. Nor if the train broke down. I don't have experience but cpm seems to be a labor scam designed to avoid labor laws and keep costs down. Don't forklift operators get paid when they aren't forklifting? Sure they have other duties but so do drivers.

I would be happy to get 40K but not $11 or less an hour.

 

[QUOTE="Hang - Man";3695036]Blacky, Someone lied to you -Over the Road -70 hours a week not hardly. 24/7 for 2 to 4 weeks at a time is more likely the norm. Some companies may get you home on the weekend if you call Friday night (late) or Saturday Night to mid Sunday when you have to take off with your delivery for Monday (yes i know some have it a little better). Remember that you will be with that truck 24 hours a day -its not like at home where you get to take off and hang out all night and show back up for work in the morning.
OTR Trucking is totally different than any other job period. You Must i say must love the driving of the truck almost more than life itself --because that has to carry you through every other piece of crap that comes with being a driver.
IF you dont feel some guttural urge to drive Tractor and Trailer --seek other employment in your field --the only ones that make it as OTR drivers have it in their blood and even they will probably jump out and back in once or twice when it gets to them.
There are so many things that would gnaw at while you are out there unless you were born to it -and yes - nothing like driving a big truck on a fairly deserted road while the weather is nice and all is good in your world ......but that doesn't last long.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the response.

But to be clear, I don't count time off duty as working. I don't expect to be paid for sleeping...etc. But $11 an hour on duty?...

 

[QUOTE="Hang - Man";3695134]Good news coming to the "Bred to be Trucker" if you choose to go that way and love it.
If the powers that be that are backing the "I want $15.00 an hour fast food workers" get their way - at least 50% of the drivers that aren't driving for the "Born to be, In my blood reason" will exit quickly to flip some burgers leaving the real drivers to do their thing.[/QUOTE]

Pretty hard for me to say it's in my blood at this stage. Can us wage slaves really only expect starvation wages?