Wal Mart loses minimum wage case- jury awards truck drivers 54 million

The problem isn't that they earn too much money. The problem is that average pay for truck drivers is about half what it should be.

 

Look, when I worked in construction, I traveled and spent 6 weeks at a time away from home at the project site, then got 1 week at home. My employer provided a company credit card for me to pay for the airfare and luggage fees, plus paid me a flat rate for the travel days. Once on site, I used my card to pay for a rental pickup. I was responsible for covering the cost of my hotel, BUT the company paid me non-taxed per diem at the standard GSA LM&I rate which at the time started at $124 per day, and went up from there. So every week I was getting $868 to cover my living expenses on site, and it was non-taxable. And I didn't have to get my rest in a sleeper without a bathroom and a shower. And I was paid hourly, with overtime after 40 hours per week, automatic O/T on Saturday, double time on Sunday.

I have no idea why OTR drivers don't demand something similar in exchange for giving up their home life for the job.

 

Good post^^^

The reason WHY they don't is they think its standard and "The way it is".........
Yeah,Drivers been sleeping in trucks for over 50 years..BUT After stupid deregulation, its feast or famine- They think If they Start to light a fire on Higher wages and Better Working/sleeping conditions- They'll be replaced in the snap of a finger.

its really a shame- Back in the 50's thru 1980- yeah owner-ops slept in trucks..But they also DICTATED wages that put them and their familiers in very High level atmospheres..(Homes bought in cash-cars etc)

You Really can thank an "open Market" For making drivers "Accept" anything and everything they deal with- Too scared to make some noise.....

Mega carriers would never exist if it weren't for deregulation- Carriers Like JB Hunt,Schneider and others who were considered " Medium to Large" carriers back in the 70's, Were Grateful for an open market- They can do Drivers as they Please..And Look, Who's benefited from it? Certainly Not drivers.

 

And as for the "driver shortage" or more accurately the "good driver shortage" if the pay was worth it, you would have your pick of good solid safe drivers. Our profession would once again be desirable. But the idea of being away from home 42 to 50 weeks a year for a whopping 45k a year starting? Thats where the problem is....

 

Idk.... my first job out of college (with loans for all four years too) was less than $20k starting out and when I left that career as an Assistant Controler for a Propane Wholesale/Resale company I was only making $45k... so I got a pay raise my very first year OTR... and it's much easier work and absolutely no stress... so I'm sorry if folks think life is unfair but I bought a house and raised two kids on less than what new first year drivers make.

So maybe let's put it in perspective of other careers available out there. Sure the life style is not easy and being away from friends and family... and if one is not happy one can find a smaller carrier or a specialized area of trucking and make more money. Or buy a truck and take on all the risk and responsibility and headaches and enjoy the whole pie.

{shrug}

 

And 17 years ago i was able to care for a family of 3 (soon to be 4 at that time) on 12.50 a hour. The wife didn't work... so as for being realistic.... to be comfortable now, i make twice that and the wife works. If you went to college and your first year out got you 20k, either that was a long time ago, or you chose the wrong profession. (Sorry not trying to be mean) at 12 bucks a hour, assuming ot at 40, a 70 hour work week gets you lile 860 gross... so around 45k a year. Had you been offered ot at 40, with a mandatory 70 hour work week, for 12 a hour, would you have thought twice?

 

This is where a lot of people also differ; my experience with trucking is the polar opposite lol. Not saying it's a bad line of work, but, I find it to be very stressful at times.

 

I was salaried (no OT) and worked and traveled... and no, I didn't get paid to fuel up the car when I did travel either... LOL

Had someone offered me an opportunity to sit in a seat and witness this awesome country go by while talking to family members for hours while on the job, without juggling multiple sets of books and supervising 30+ bookkeepers ... and no stress... I think I would have started driving many many years ago... LOL

 

I do know that individual experiences do vary... but a career in trucking can be a very good step and an opportunity to better oneself as compared to other options they may have open to them...

 

And if you divide that eaually between all 2.1 million WalMart employees, they would all receive and extra $9.24 per year or less that a penny per hour raise.

That is the problem when we start looking at these numbers. We see it as "well it's only $3 more per hour, they can afford it, these people are only.making minimum wage." and WalMart sees it as "if it affects half our work force that raises out operating costs by $3 million per hour."

Nothing is as a simple as saying "well Parson A makes this so person B should make that"