What do you think mandatory detention pay would do to owner operators

Let's say I work for the government, I'll be a congressman and introduce some legislation....

We'll call it the "truckers fair pay act"...

I'll base my new law on this concept, that a driver should be compensated for his time, whether driving, or being detained from driving.

I'll base the detention pay on a formula that reflects the average hourly rate that driver receives as compensation for driving.

Something like 62x.42=$25.42 per hr.

I get the feeling most company drivers would be in favor of this....

 

But wait, you say you're an O/O...

Ok. Same formula, but with numbers that reflect your carrier rate, let's say $2 a mile, just for this example....

2x68=$136.00 per hour

Can I get an amen?

 

Nailed it!!

I was actually about to say, with all the talk about drivers pay, what about the truck but you've addressed it to where it should be.
That way, if somebody wants to detain a truck for as long as they like it would be fine as the truck is profitable no mater what the case is.

 

How do the new ‘off-duty’ provisions work (as of 2/27/12)?
Time spent resting in a parked vehicle (including any type of vehicle, whether truck, bus, car, etc.) can be recorded as “off duty” (unless you are in a sleeper berth, in which case it would have to be recorded as “sleeper berth”). Unless you spend 10 consecutive hours off duty (which may include sleeper-berth time), the time will count against your 14-hour allowance; it will not “stop the clock."

Yes, but you are being unfairly detained. You are technically in the workplace and being detained in an unpaid capacity. Your ability to work is limited to 14 hours, you seem to think that if a carrier agrees to compensate you based on mileage that you can be compelled to sit at the carriers direction in an unpaid capacity.

Now, if a carrier pays any kind of additional, say layover, then the carrier acknowledges that you deserve to be paid for your time, and I think you probably agree with this concept....the only issue becomes how much pay, for how much time....

At one time in this country children worked for almost nothing, they literally worked 14 hour periods for mere pennies...kinda wild huh? They actually made more during that time period than some of today's drivers.....

 

If the carriers are compelled to pay their drivers for detention time, then they will surcharge their customers, and this will increase rates....

An O/O is not an employee and will be unaffected by this, but will benefit from the inevitable upward increase in rates.

Megas will move towards lease purchase relationships in large numbers. The only ones getting shafted will be the unwitting lessee

Maybe then people will wise up and stop signing onto these predatory carrier lease purchase deals. I won't mind watching the CRE's of the world go under....

 

But that rate assumes the truck is working. The only true detention rate would be the lost net income, not the lost gross income. So it would come in substantially less than your figures. And that wouldn't bother me a bit. If I was getting a third of what you posted (which I generally do get) per hour, it would be fair.

 

Thats only assuming you ran for $2pm! A basis that many would perceive as bottom dollar to run your business. If you haul at $4pm that $136 ph wouldn't seem like such a good deal, let alone a third of it! Your not making the $272 you otherwise would be had you not been detained.

 

wrong trees,
when the carriers are compelled to pay their drivers detention pay, they will surcharge their customers, and the customers will lower the rates to offset the surcharge... the shippers and receivers will LOWER the rate, so that they are paying the same price to the carrier...

Which reduces the pay for everyone....

be careful what you ask the government for...

And the O/O will be hurt by the decreased rates, due to the government mandated compensations... businesses always look for ways to make someone else pay for a government mandate.

 

You do understand that the carrier sets the rates, you do get that right?

Neither the shipper, nor the shipper's broker sets the rate.

I set my rates.

If you're not making money in this business, you may want to rethink how you do business.

If the mega carriers have to pay detention, they will surcharge their customers in addition to the rate.

They'll sit their drivers, uncompensated, if they can get away with it, but one thing they will not do is lose money.....

It doesn't cost them money if the truck sits two, or three, or four hours. They've calculated the distance and determined their rate of haul, if the driver is inconvenienced, well, whatever, but let that turn into money out of their pocket, as in mandatory detention pay....

Well, the customer will get surcharges, or the carrier will drop them like a hot rock.

I get detention from my customers, in addition to the rate, and the only thing that keeps me in check is my competition...

Not the shipper.

I've got direct customers, they pay me well and in return I provide superior service. I do repeat business with them.

When I do go to the broker board I'm in the strong position, why?

Cause I don't NEED the brokers shipper, and I'm only there to see if one of them is in need.

A shipper in need = $$$

This isn't rocket science.

 

Once again Trees, you nailed it!
This is exactly how it is for you and I, or any company running their own authority, however the lease operators or company drivers don't get to be as cut and dry, or even get a say with the shipper at the negotiation table. I'm not sure if this proposed law is suppose to cover lease ops as well as company drivers but I think it should if the law is passed for the aforementioned reasons.