Log in or Sign up

Wake-Up for Carriers

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Jaybless, Aug 14, 2018.

Page 5 of 6

Redtwin Road Train Member

Joined:

Aug 17, 2012

Messages:

5,498

Thanks Received:

7,634

Location:

PBC, FL

0

Fuelinmyveins said: ↑

Between $22 and 23 per hour then top pay $30 or close to that
Click to expand...

Someone will no doubt come along and argue that the $16 forklift job is still better because of XYZ.

Redtwin, Aug 14, 2018

#41
buddyd157 Road Train Member

Joined:

May 25, 2017

Messages:

13,582

Thanks Received:

34,896

Location:

under a shade tree

0

gentleroger said: ↑

Where I live general forklift tops out at $19 an hour, local driving starts at $20.25.
Click to expand...

not much difference in pay, when one weighs limits a driver can work, over an hourly paid person.

buddyd157, Aug 14, 2018

#42
gentleroger Road Train Member

Joined:

Jun 1, 2010

Messages:

7,737

Thanks Received:

21,035

0

buddyd157 said: ↑

not much difference in pay, when one weighs limits a driver can work, over an hourly paid person.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there is. A guy running the forklift for 10 years is making $19 an hour. The guy who drove local shuttles for the same company for the same time is making $24 an hour. Warehouse workers don't get scheduled for overtime, as a general rule. Shuttle drivers get more hours, but no overtime rate. If you look at earnings potential, over time a truck driver will make more than a warehouse guy.

gentleroger, Aug 14, 2018

#43
Notd1 Bobtail Member

Joined:

Aug 14, 2018

Messages:

2

Thanks Received:

0

0

Jaybless said: ↑

So last night my nephew came over to the house after a few months of being MIA. He was in a pretty rough situation last time I saw him after being dismissed from a seasonal job packing at a local warehouse. He decided to take advantage of a Workforce federal grant which allowed him to take training in a field of his choice. At the time he started, I told him to look into taking the CDL program they offered but driving tractor trailers isn't his thing. So he decided to take a forklift traning where now he's certified in pretty much every type of machine you'll find in logistics. He came out of school and immediately was hired at a local company making $17p/h. After 3 months, they gave him an extra $1 putting him at 18. He works 4 days 12hr shifts with a 5th day being voluntary. He's also been doing a 6th day of 8hrs putting his total hrs p/w at 68. After 40hrs his pay is time + half ($27p/h). Showing me his last paycheck, he grossed just over $1400. Mind you, he's allowed to peak out at $21p/h in 5yrs. Now, I have yet to start my trucking career as I am handling some personal matters. But 2 of my fellow graduates who have already finished training and are on their own truck both come up quite short of that figure. One grossed just short of $1300 and the other $1100 last week. Both are OTR drivers. Not saying that I'm looking to be a forklift driver because trucking is something Ive always wanted to do. But the point in this post is to show one of the reasons why theirs such a shortage of drivers. The vets in the forum can easily vouch for how difficult the industry has become. DOT, micro managing, Elogs... we can literally come up with a list longer than this post. Compare that to my nephews work we he goes in, gets his list of job duties for the day, and hasn't spoke to a manager since his 3rd week working when he accidently let a pallet of water bottles fall using a high reach forklift. And even then he just got a "it happens to everybody" response. With the stresses of the trucking industry, I find it absurd that a forklift driver who's home everyday is grossing more than any truck driver, whether local or OTR. This is all food for thought and something that literally needs to be addressed. Even the recent jump in pay increases hasnt closed the gap in salary as compared to 20yrs ago + inflation. Its up to all of us out there to help do something about it. Even you owner ops are affected and should take a stand. Maybe a national freeze day where no freight is moved until demands are met. These companies claim that truckers keep America moving but when the person who's loading our trailer gets paid more than we do, its a big problem.
Click to expand...

Yeah

Jaybless said: ↑

So last night my nephew came over to the house after a few months of being MIA. He was in a pretty rough situation last time I saw him after being dismissed from a seasonal job packing at a local warehouse. He decided to take advantage of a Workforce federal grant which allowed him to take training in a field of his choice. At the time he started, I told him to look into taking the CDL program they offered but driving tractor trailers isn't his thing. So he decided to take a forklift traning where now he's certified in pretty much every type of machine you'll find in logistics. He came out of school and immediately was hired at a local company making $17p/h. After 3 months, they gave him an extra $1 putting him at 18. He works 4 days 12hr shifts with a 5th day being voluntary. He's also been doing a 6th day of 8hrs putting his total hrs p/w at 68. After 40hrs his pay is time + half ($27p/h). Showing me his last paycheck, he grossed just over $1400. Mind you, he's allowed to peak out at $21p/h in 5yrs. Now, I have yet to start my trucking career as I am handling some personal matters. But 2 of my fellow graduates who have already finished training and are on their own truck both come up quite short of that figure. One grossed just short of $1300 and the other $1100 last week. Both are OTR drivers. Not saying that I'm looking to be a forklift driver because trucking is something Ive always wanted to do. But the point in this post is to show one of the reasons why theirs such a shortage of drivers. The vets in the forum can easily vouch for how difficult the industry has become. DOT, micro managing, Elogs... we can literally come up with a list longer than this post. Compare that to my nephews work we he goes in, gets his list of job duties for the day, and hasn't spoke to a manager since his 3rd week working when he accidently let a pallet of water bottles fall using a high reach forklift. And even then he just got a "it happens to everybody" response. With the stresses of the trucking industry, I find it absurd that a forklift driver who's home everyday is grossing more than any truck driver, whether local or OTR. This is all food for thought and something that literally needs to be addressed. Even the recent jump in pay increases hasnt closed the gap in salary as compared to 20yrs ago + inflation. Its up to all of us out there to help do something about it. Even you owner ops are affected and should take a stand. Maybe a national freeze day where no freight is moved until demands are met. These companies claim that truckers keep America moving but when the person who's loading our trailer gets paid more than we do, its a big problem.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the pay increased, but so did freight charges, lumpers, etc. And alot of guys and gals out here aren’t getting paid for everything they do, like detention pay waiting to be unloaded. Just my 2 cents, and take it for what it’s worth, but that’s about what you get out here. Also doesn’t seem to be a lot of long-hauls ( coast to coast ) anymore for solo drivers, as they go to team drivers.

Notd1, Aug 14, 2018

#44
brsims Road Train Member

Joined:

Aug 8, 2009

Messages:

5,296

Thanks Received:

6,522

Location:

Meadville, PA

0

Redtwin said: ↑

How much are local truck drivers earning in PA?. I will wager its a fair bit more than $16 per hour.
Click to expand...

Depends on exact location, but normally $12-$15/hr (western side of the state, between Pittsburgh and Erie) based on experience. Starting pay is closer to the $9-$10 range.

Local trucking in Western PA generally sucks balls UNLESS you run for a Union outfit like LTL's or PI&I.

brsims, Aug 14, 2018

#45
Western flyer Road Train Member

Joined:

Mar 13, 2014

Messages:

2,807

Thanks Received:

6,796

0

Grab 500 random forklift drivers,
Then grab 500 random truck drivers.
Then compare their paychecks.

Anybody want to guess who
Makes a whole lot more than the other.
Every week.

Hint: it ain't the forklift driver.

Western flyer, Aug 14, 2018

#46

John A. and gentleroger Thank this.
Dumdriver Road Train Member

Joined:

Jul 8, 2014

Messages:

1,525

Thanks Received:

2,138

Location:

East Coast

0

Redtwin said: ↑

Where in the country is he making $18 an hour driving a forklift?. I know it isnt South Florida.

I get paid well for the work I actually do as a truck driver. I have also driven forklifts in warehouses for decades so can say with confidence that I would much rather drive a truck than a forklift, even if the forklift job paid more.
Click to expand...

Forklift drivers at my place make $26.65 per hour. OT after 8. There’s more OT than they want. Thankfully, drivers make more where I work.

Dumdriver, Aug 14, 2018

#47
Zeviander Road Train Member

Joined:

Jan 23, 2015

Messages:

4,886

Thanks Received:

36,995

Location:

Winnipeg, MB, CA

0

Personally I'd rather not have a shop foreman breathing down my neck every second of the day.

Zeviander, Aug 14, 2018

#48
Longarm Road Train Member

Joined:

Jun 2, 2011

Messages:

1,292

Thanks Received:

34,901

0

So you have yet to hook your first load and you already want to go on strike?

Go drive forklifts and save yourself the frustration.

Longarm, Aug 14, 2018

#49

MysticHZ and Western flyer Thank this.
tucker Road Train Member

Joined:

Jun 13, 2008

Messages:

12,647

Thanks Received:

40,424

Location:

IN

0

Seamen, LOL.

tucker, Aug 14, 2018

#50

(You must log in or sign up to reply here.)

Page 5 of 6

Search