unpaid down time ??

I don't work weekends, but about the only good thing about California is time and a half after 8 and double after 12.

 

Most companies will try to get some free time from you.
So we have
Breakdown time
Detention time
Dispatch time
Stuck in weather or traffic time
Fueling
Pre and Post Trip
Dropping and hooking trailers
Safety Training
Bumping dock load/unload pay
Ferries/Customs
DOT inspections

Some companies will pay for some, few will pay for all.

Being "on the clock:" fixes these, in most cases.

If Not
In addition to the threshold (when these times start) you must also consider the cap (max pay)

Before taking any job I review all of these pay types and then draw up an email for the person making the offer to print out, initial each line item, sign at the bottom, and then have the HR person or Terminal Manager sign it, and return to me.

If they are not willing to do that, then they don't want me as a driver. If they stand behind what they say it takes them all of 5 minutes to do this (much less time than recruiting a new driver). But then no surprises.

At the end of the week you have to look at total compensation and decide if it is worth it.

My last company paid .40 mile, breakdown only after 24 hours ($175) $10 drop and hook, wait time ($18/hr after 2 hours) $30 live load, and $50 per diem every night to sleep in the truck.

I averaged 600 miles/day for 4 days (2400 miles) had a dedicated run and grossed $1100 per week plus $200 per diem. My on duty and drive time was 39 hrs week. I started on Monday @ 7AM and was finished by Thurs 9PM and the off till Monday. You think I worried if I broke down for 10 hours and didn't get paid? If it ran overnight then chances were 100% that truck didn't roll until I hit 24 hors and $175.

Always look at the BIG PICTURE

 

Just try taking 90 minutes of personal time before starting up that movie at the theater you work at. Thats just 90 minutes of sitting on their duff. Should be no problem with that. I am sure your patrons and boss will understand. It is not like you asked them to work for free. Just tell them, "suck it up buttercup." That should go over well.

Get over the notion that the truck driver just "sits on his duff, " and therefore shouldn't get paid. Not only is it stupid, it is disrespectful. You have no clue the crap a truck driver goes through when a truck is broken down; to not get paid is just more of an insult. I am sure you have never had to fight a dead or dying truck to the side of the road. How about being stranded for hours in the freezing cold, torrential rain, or high wind. Always fun to set out the reflectors in the middle of traffic. When a truck dies, I bet I make more phone calls in the first half hour than a movie manger does all day. I will have to call dispatch, the consignee, the shipper, the shop. I will most likely have to consult with the dispatcher, the planner, the CSR. Each and every one of them will have a issue with the situation and all will lie to one another. A lot of the time, they cannot even deal with the situation and I will have to talk with the boss. That is always a great conversation at 3am. I will have to talk with road service and describe the problem and my location. Then do the same again with the mechanic that is dispatched there. I will have to go out in the weather to diagnose the problem and see if I cannot fix it myself. Nothing better then crawling under a dirty truck in the middle of traffic. Even if not caught in traffic, a good portion of the time you will have to explain yourself to local law enforcement. Good times there. A good portion of road service guys are incompetent and I end up instructing, helping, or doing the work myself. Another portion are rip off artists, and I have dodge their sales pitch and BS. Many a time, I have had to audit the bill for the company before I sign it, but that is just not work. Good times arguing with everybody in the weather on the side of the road. Just sitting on my duff - good times these breakdowns.

 

…and assist the mechanic in repairs on the side of the road- hoping to save the company a very expensive tow bill and get back up and running again.

Last time I broke down we were able to somehow get the wrong sized EGR hose to work just long enough to get me off the road and into the yard. Took a couple hours though. Thankfully, I was paid for that time

 

I do, 45 minutes to & from (90minutes, how poetic) every...single...day. How I yearn for the day I can roll out of bed & be at the office as soon as my shoes are on.

If only that were the case. I had a projector breakdown today with an auditorium full of 300 people yelling at me every 15 seconds (while I'm on the phone with tech support). Then I dealt with phone calls the rest of the day after the fact when the people who left while I was fixing the equipment wanted to complain to the manager (me) and those who want a refund while I'm elbow deep in the guts of a 400 degree machine.

That's not counting the idiots who call because they left their cell phone, wallets, keys...or even their children.

Sprinkle this with people who can't be bothered to look online for showtimes, pricing, want donations, birthday parties, posters, corporate meetings, or employee's that can't remember what time they're in (or just are not coming in). Mix that with random Joes who want to talk to the dermatologist who has a similar number. Then I got janitors who half ### their jobs, credit systems outages, deliveries, and the guys who (don't) plow the parking lot during a snow storm.

Guests with cars that won't start, get hammered because they snuck booze in and need me to call a cab & the random medical emergencies upteen times a week.

Until you walk a mile in my shoes...I said it once & I'll say it again.

"Suck it up buttercup."

 

Actually I have. Ok, not a theater but plenty of us, including myself, have worked retail. Everything you said happens to anyone that works in customer service. From the bartender and drunks all night, to the projectionist at a theater, to the waitress at a diner, to the cashier at a grocery store, to... well I hope you get my meaning. Personally I did both retail sales and Help Desk for various ISP's and I can say I've walked a mile in your shoes. What all those jobs have in common though is for the most part you actually get paid while having to deal with it.
Now read what @Toomanybikes said and imagine all that stress you had fixing a projector, but being stressed for fear of your life as cars are wizzing by at 70 mph 3 feet from your truck. And remember all that is unpaid. If it was paid, at least one would no the risks are for a reason, and not because some company is too cheap to take care of its employees.

-Steven

edit:
P.S. You really should go read Not Always Right for some great customer stories.

 

Another thing that has bothered me is interstate truck drivers are exempt from the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Cross that state line and you kiss your protections under the act goodbye. I never liked that. Because someone might quote case law from Butcher v. TSWS d/b/a Pot-O-Gold in Federal Court, just be advised the drivers won because they had not crossed any state lines. The Songer v. Dillon case seems to be the knife in our backs.

 

The whole thing is you haven't, but you come here and indict drivers for expecting to get paid for their work.

Just tell us how much of your pay are you going to refund you employer for causing that projector to break down? By your standards, it is clear you half-assed your job and caused the whole situation. Just how much free time are you going to give your employer to make sure this does not happen again? Just when are you going to suggest that you get paid a commission of ticket sales? You know no meat in the seat no money for you.

And that has what to do with the price of tea in China? Don't divert attention from the subject or your misjudgment. We all commute. You don't like your commute change jobs or where you live. It is not a issue here. If you think drivers just roll out of bead and go to work, you are wrong once again. For the rare times that appears to happen don't forget the inconveniences and sacrifices made for that. You want to understand that better open up another post on the subject. I am not diverting this thread for sake of a loosing argument.