Drivers Guaranteed Pay For All On-Duty Hours - Transportation Bill

Trucking is a low intelligence job for low intelligence people.

I take EXTREME offense to that statement. I have an IQ of 142. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from college with a 3.98 GPA. I am by no means unintelligent, nor are many others on this forum or in this industry. The fact that you are being called out on the carpet for making statements that are not only ridiculous but also not even remotely based in fact does not give you carte blanche to issue a blanket sweeping insult to roughly 3.5 million people.

Low intelligence job for low intelligence people. Apparently this mental phenom hasn't read the what did you do before this thread.

I'm sorry I've forgotten more about the automobile, automotive engineering and custom paint and body than this kid could ever hope to learn. I've chosen trucking because I love it, not because I'm some drop out who didn't have any other options. I think he also forgets that the majority of owners of these large, high dollar trucking companies started out in the drivers seat and built those companies with their own sweat and brains.

Well you guys are spouting the typical "truckers against trucking management" and "business owners versus employers" stuff which, as usual, holds very little water. People who have never owned a business always think every business owner is just swimming in cash.

Basically the industry has a revolving door. That's why all these companies hire all the time. Drivers recruiters make money on referrals and lies, companies get a tax break for the new hires. win win _ for them.

Rich, if you have an ounce of sense you'll run out and finance 20 trucks today and get some drivers in those trucks. If owning a trucking company is as simple as raking in the cash and keeping it for yourself by telling a few lies and garnering a few tax write-offs then for God's sake why don't you own a trucking company? Are you scared or something? Go get your share of the pie if you've got it all figured out. Don't just complain about the people making all the money. Become one of those people. It's easy, right?

Companies have the money to pay their drivers more and they just pocket it instead.

James, you should be right on Rich's tail. Get out there and buy yourself some trucks and pocket all that easy money. Why sit around complaining about not getting your share? Go get it!

In recent years Europe has made some changes to their pay for truck drivers. I know almost nothing about it except that it's now focused more on hourly wages than it is on mileage pay.

This is the first I've heard about this Bill being proposed. If they changed over to hourly pay it would turn the entire industry on its head. I have no idea if anything like this would ever see the light of day. The technicalities involved would be enormous. Everything in the industry would change. From the way the janitors mop the floors to the way CEO's conduct meetings and everything in between. It would all be overhauled. Brokers, logistics software, sales negotiations - everything would change. Not to mention a tidal wave of lawsuits going in all directions for years to come.

The other thing you have to consider is this. Right now companies and drivers make money the same way - by keeping those wheels turning. The more freight a company can move the more money they'll make and the more money the drivers will make.

If you change it to an hourly system of some sort you're now riddled with the same problem that all hourly workers and employers of those workers face - you have opposing goals. In an hourly type system the worker wins by doing as little work as possible while riding the clock. The employer wins by squeezing more work out of the workers than they're paying out in wages. So while the employer is trying to work you to death, the employees are trying to get by with as little work as possible. It's a constant bashing of heads and someone is almost always going to lose.

With mileage pay the company and the drivers win or lose together. You're both on the same side. The employers are desperately trying to get all the freight they can and the drivers are trying to turn all the miles possible.

If they came up with a hybrid system of some sort it might not work out too badly. Keep the mileage pay but include a small hourly rate for "on duty, not driving" time. Now here's where this would get interesting. The overwhelming majority of your paycheck would be made turning miles. Now you might get a few bucks an hour riding the "on duty, not driving" line, essentially getting paid to do little or nothing most of the time, but you're also going to be eating into your available on duty time. If you waste time "on duty, not driving" making minimum wage you're not going to have the hours available to turn miles and your paycheck is going to suffer terribly.

So in the end it wouldn't change much of anything. Trucking companies would simply adjust. First of all they'd reward freight based on how efficiently a driver is using his time. For those who want to sit around collecting minimum wage they'll let you do just that most of the time. You'll spend your time making minimum wage sitting in truck stops until you go broke. For those who want to run their tails off and make those big paychecks the company will make sure to help you do so. This is pretty much how things are done today anyhow.

I may be new to this but this makes the most sense to me and I agree.

What do you think of the transportation bill that has in it a guaranteed pay for drivers of all on-duty hours?

The name of the bill is: "Grow America Act"

Contact your congressman to tell them to support the bill. Use this link to write:

http://fightingfortruckers.com/app/write-a-letter?2&engagementId=47875

Hope it doesn't go anywhere, and I will tell you why, hourly wages are great, and usually based on the time that you have put in, but as a previous business owner, I found out that when the cats away, the mice will play, expect for the ones that understand that there paycheck is actually based on company performance. When a company isn't making enough money, someone gets canned, and it's not the guys at the top of the pile, it's the ones with the least time in. When I employed people I tried the hourly thing (was a in home service company) and it ended up costing me customers, and money, then I instated a set rate pay, with no payment for returns to correct problems that should have been taken care of the first time, and guess what, my customers were happier, I made a little more profit, and the shocker was that my guys were actually taking more money home because they set there pace to get more done, the ones that didn't want to work were not bringing in enough, so they quit. So in my opinion, keep the cpm pay, I'm willing and able to work, and am sure that as my performance improves that I will get a raise (even a small raise is good, there are 100 pennies in every dollar I've ever had)

This bill should be squashed and put to death. Any driver in support of this does not understand how you make money at this business. It is a sad state of affairs out here - I had a lengthy conversation with a driver last week who had sixteen years experience who was still just as clueless as he coul be as to how to make decent money out here. When I spelled it all out for him he looked me straight in the eyes and said I was as crazy as his dispatcher!

The top performers are the ones bringing home the bacon. The biggest problem is that very few want to work that hard. My dispatcher sent me a message the other day telling me how wonderful it was to have a savvy veteran on his board. He said he wished I could teach a class to his other drivers on how to manage their time. You'll find very little wasted on duty time on my logs.

Moving freight is how everybody from the CEO on down makes their money in this business. The last thing we need is a bunch of bone headed legislators trying to fix something that isn't broken.

Where do people find all this junk? First company sponsored training is not a money making scheme that brings in millions of dollars of revenue to large companies. The average cost per student to train then hire is a 5 figure investment per student. Government subsidies help defray the cost to corporations. In turn the government benefits by adding a tax paying citizen. Before you say that these businesses are making money hand over fist. See how much it costs to operate company sponsored training. If you think private and public training schools aren't taking advantage of subsidies you can get down from mars now

More like the grants keep the school afloat even with company sponsored. Some training only a few end up drivers for the company that trains them while they do get their CDL . If the school does not push people forward it will not receive grant status. It works out for everyone. They are not making bank though, it is just the system giving some people the chance of who some will not follow through or they are doing drugs and what not.

In a very general reply for everyone who is complaining about pay vs. hours (potentially limitless, since 'overtime' doesn't exist, 'salary' doesn't exist, and 'hourly' doesn't exist): In the year of 2014 (1 technical unclaimed legal dependent adult): I made a total of $5.4k net income. Far below indigenous status. How anyone could complain about getting $600/week is beyond me.. Sure driving in traffic can be stressful. But that's about it for me. I drove ~10hrs yesterday, paid $38.25 in gas, and enjoyed every moment of it (personal road trip with my overnight crew, and girlfriend, as a 'farewell to school' trip). I would almost be willing to kill for the opportunity to make even $20k net income this year.

I have myself, my girlfriend, our baby (not my biological child), and her disabled father ($700/mo. doesn't cover rent; Section 8 is out of the question) to take care of. If I have the OPPORTUNITY to work 70hrs a week, and get paid more than: $5.43/hr (net income after all taxes (~25%))... You'd better believe it! I will. The last two hourly jobs I had: The general manager became upset because I sent pictures of stuff not being done in the workplace (on going problem that I couldn't keep up with): I was removed from the schedule for 1-3 weeks. I can't see issues like that occurring in trucking. If allowed to assist in loading/unloading (nothing I'm not used to): I sure would! It'd cut down on that WAITING time.. and INCREASE that PAYING time! This post sort of drifted around. My apologies. It just bothers me deeply to see people complain about getting paid a high wage for a decent job ('career').

This bill should be squashed and put to death. Any driver in support of this does not understand how you make money at this business. It is a sad state of affairs out here - I had a lengthy conversation with a driver last week who had sixteen years experience who was still just as clueless as he coul be as to how to make decent money out here. When I spelled it all out for him he looked me straight in the eyes and said I was as crazy as his dispatcher!

The top performers are the ones bringing home the bacon. The biggest problem is that very few want to work that hard. My dispatcher sent me a message the other day telling me how wonderful it was to have a savvy veteran on his board. He said he wished I could teach a class to his other drivers on how to manage their time. You'll find very little wasted on duty time on my logs.

Moving freight is how everybody from the CEO on down makes their money in this business. The last thing we need is a bunch of bone headed legislators trying to fix something that isn't broken.

What he said!

I grossed over $51,000 from Jan 2014 to Jan 2015 as a company driver. I completed my rookie year in Aug of 2014. My per mile pay did not rise dramatically, my production did. As my FM gained trust, I gained miles, and now, I am kept rolling as much as I want to be. You want to make decent money in this industry? Drive your a** off and do it with a smile.

With that said, I would not complain if there was a nice industry wide increase in CPM. It is not going to happen with the freight rates being what they are and the cost of compliance being what it is.

In a very general reply for everyone who is complaining about pay vs. hours (potentially limitless, since 'overtime' doesn't exist, 'salary' doesn't exist, and 'hourly' doesn't exist): In the year of 2014 (1 technical unclaimed legal dependent adult): I made a total of $5.4k net income. Far below indigenous status. How anyone could complain about getting $600/week is beyond me.. Sure driving in traffic can be stressful. But that's about it for me. I drove ~10hrs yesterday, paid $38.25 in gas, and enjoyed every moment of it (personal road trip with my overnight crew, and girlfriend, as a 'farewell to school' trip). I would almost be willing to kill for the opportunity to make even $20k net income this year.

I have myself, my girlfriend, our baby (not my biological child), and her disabled father ($700/mo. doesn't cover rent; Section 8 is out of the question) to take care of. If I have the OPPORTUNITY to work 70hrs a week, and get paid more than: $5.43/hr (net income after all taxes (~25%))... You'd better believe it! I will. The last two hourly jobs I had: The general manager became upset because I sent pictures of stuff not being done in the workplace (on going problem that I couldn't keep up with): I was removed from the schedule for 1-3 weeks. I can't see issues like that occurring in trucking. If allowed to assist in loading/unloading (nothing I'm not used to): I sure would! It'd cut down on that WAITING time.. and INCREASE that PAYING time! This post sort of drifted around. My apologies. It just bothers me deeply to see people complain about getting paid a high wage for a decent job ('career').

I am with you on that one. If I do not even break 30 the first year it is still a start and experience. I would like to do this for at least fifteen years, but if not I will move on. I will expect more when I can do more. Hell some are already complaining and they have not even driven a year yet.