This Industry is Unbelievable

ZhenyaP1991 · Aug 5, 2015

Ken Worth said: ↑

There are two sides to this story, but the things the OP is talking about are mostly the result of drivers putting up with it. Why do they do that? Many years experience and still driving there?? Wife thinks it's so bad she joined too???
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This has always puzzled me. Why do people stay with these companies for decades?

G.Anthony · Aug 5, 2015

ZhenyaP1991 said: ↑

This has always puzzled me. Why do people stay with these companies for decades?
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i think it is because all the students, then the newbies get thier heads full of shyte, from all the shyte talk at the truck stops, message boards and think that the world of trucking is paved with golden bricks and lollipop dreams.

if x number of employees STAY at a company, it cannot be all that bad, period.

one little problem, and already they work for a shyte outfit.

i think the one little problem is, the one looking in the mirror.

Trckdrvr · Aug 5, 2015

KimberlyinCalifornia said: ↑

As a wife of a truck driver who just recently returned to truck driving, I am learning new things everyday. This isn't my husband's first rodeo, he drove about 7 years ago. This is mine however, we are newly married.
What I have learned about this industry is it is a high demand type of job. Companies are constantly trying to get drivers. And drivers are not always loyal to a particular company, so they move around from company to company. Not sure if this is the norm. I don't see alot of pay difference within different companies, everyone is paying around the same amount per mile for drivers and for owner/operators. Some companies have other perks (small) and most if not all offer benefits, i.e., health insurance.
What I find difficult to understand is the way drivers are treated, specifically with the company my husband is working for (Swift). After he went through the 3 weeks of training and the 4 weeks driving with a "mentor" he was out on his own. And he was on his own for approximately 2 weeks before his "Manager" or "Supervisor" even spoke to him on the phone. That is unbelievable to me. What kind of company does that? Here you have in many cases a brand new hire alone on the road and his manager doesn't contact him for several weeks. Not alot of management support there. Unbelievable
I've also learned it can take hours to get help when stuck on the road somewhere. It can take hours to get through to the call center. And then hours to get the help you need. This is money that truck driver is loosing and no one seems to care. My husband had spent several weekends 2-3 days sitting somewhere because there were no runs for him. Again, without pay. Unbelievable
This is only industry that you can work 7 days straight without overtime. Wait, you get a 10 hour break in your truck! It's the only industry that you can work overtime in states that have overtime laws, but you don't get paid the overtime. Unbelievable.
Then when a truck driver is sitting all afternoon and evening to get an oil change and not getting paid for it, something is terribly wrong.
These men and women work hard, put up with crazy drivers, who cuss them out, flip them off, cut them off, pull out in front of them. They go to a truck stop late at night exhausted and hungry from a long days work only to find there is no place to park because it is full.
It's a lonely, difficult, stressful and underrated profession and somebody needed to mention this . I've worked in business for 20 years and cannot believe what goes on in this industry. Rally truck drivers, do something, form an alliance, change can only happen if you make it happen.
This is not how you treat the truck drivers of this nation. Be aware big Trucking companies I hope for a day when drivers will revolt and get what they justly deserve. Or better yet, lets make a new rule that all the VP's, CEO's, Recruiting people, Managers, Supervisors, and executives that work at the coporate offices, lets make it mandatory they have to go out and work as a driver for 1 month.
Let's see how they make ends meet, when they sit for a day or two without pay. Or they miss their son's graduation, or their grandchilds 1st birthday. Or they have to work 3 more days with a bad toothache. Not to mention having to work several weekends in a row and no golf and barbeques at the country club. I wonder if change might happen then. Because he way things are now, is Unbelievable.
.
Kimberly, in California
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Why in the world would you(New person) feel the need to Inform us about how bad we are being screwed?..think we hadn't noticed?

TLeaHeart · Aug 5, 2015

ZhenyaP1991 said: ↑

This has always puzzled me. Why do people stay with these companies for decades?
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Because it works for them, meets their needs, or they are more afraid of the unknown, changing companies, than dealing with the evil they know.

ethos · Aug 5, 2015

ZhenyaP1991 said: ↑

This has always puzzled me. Why do people stay with these companies for decades?
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Because it's not as bad as people ( us on TTR) make it out to be. Everyone is an expert on here and most have a deep hatred for the very industry they are in. How many that complain about Swift actually have experience there? Not many so really what do they know?

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