Can Experienced Drivers Negotiate Vacation Time?

I'm going into week 2 of my CDL training. I'll be done by the end of the month. In researching different companies, I like much of what I see about Werner. Only 1 thing I don't like: according to the recruiter vacation doesn't go up from 1 week to 2 weeks until year 5. Most other companies I've checked go up to 2 weeks after 2-3 years.

I understand that I'll have lots of options once I have a year under my belt, but I would still like to start for a company that at least has the potential for me to be there long-term. My question is this: if you are an experienced driver, can you negotiate vacation time? If not, I'll probably need to look elsewhere.

Thanks, Seldon

I'm going into week 2 of my CDL training. I'll be done by the end of the month. In researching different companies, I like much of what I see about Werner. Only 1 thing I don't like: according to the recruiter vacation doesn't go up from 1 week to 2 weeks until year 5. Most other companies I've checked go up to 2 weeks after 2-3 years.

I understand that I'll have lots of options once I have a year under my belt, but I would still like to start for a company that at least has the potential for me to be there long-term. My question is this: if you are an experienced driver, can you negotiate vacation time? If not, I'll probably need to look elsewhere.

Thanks, Seldon

I really doubt you would get more vacation time if the policy says otherwise... But I'm sure you could ask for a couple more days off...

1 week of vacation a year for 5 years is barbaric in my opinion. I was wondering if can you take off a month or two, unpaid of course, during the slow months like Jan or Feb? Maybe I'll ask this in a another thread.

Guys, normally you can take some extra time off when you need to, but I would wait until you've put in a year of really proving yourself as an asset. If they have a vacation policy then I doubt your going to be able to negotiate anything over and above that, but you might could manage to get some extra days off connected with that vacation time. They won't be paid but they will be days off.

Vacation pay is still performance based at most trucking companies. They take your average pay from the previous year and break that down to the week's pay for your vacation.

Rob, are you gonna consider it barbaric when they take your truck away from you when you want a month or two off without pay? That is what will happen. When you're ready to come back, then whatever truck happens to be available will be yours at that point. Again, I'd make sure I have proven myself a real asset before I'd try and take a couple of months off. Come to think of it, I don't know too many guys in this business that are considered proven assets that take one or two months off.

I would be fine and would actually understand that if I do take 1 or 2 months off during the slow times that my truck would be given to someone else. That's not really a problem for me. Yes, I still need to prove myself, but just wanted to know if it is possible. My point was that having only a week of paid time off per year is pretty lousy. I would expect treatment like that in China or Russia not the US. What's the point of working so hard if we can't enjoy it?

Anyways, it is what it is, I guess I value my free time more.

I would be fine and would actually understand that if I do take 1 or 2 months off during the slow times that my truck would be given to someone else. That's not really a problem for me. Yes, I still need to prove myself, but just wanted to know if it is possible. My point was that having only a week of paid time off per year is pretty lousy. I would expect treatment like that in China or Russia not the US. What's the point of working so hard if we can't enjoy it?

Anyways, it is what it is, I guess I value my free time more.

Most of the warehouse jobs I had was like that... 1 week for 2 to 3 years...I don't know where you are at but pretty standard on the east coast for warehouses..

I'm used to getting a minimum of two weeks paid vacay to start, then goes up to 3 at year 3 year, then 4 weeks at year 5 and finally 5 weeks at year 10. Some co's are even better than this, but this seems to be the norm.

In Europe you START with 5 weeks off! (paid) ... doesn't matter the job. So yeah, by that yardstick 1 weeks is cheap.