It's a Team's Life Driver Pay

[chillout]

How much is your time worth? If on a flat rate plan does that cover your time sitting at docks or if on a percentage time does that cover time sitting at docks?

After a good day at the Great American Trucking Show, we went over to Fair Park where Randall - Reilly, the owner of the show, had made arrangements for truck parking. While there I met up with a gentleman I had met at another show and we had a good conversation about driver pay.

Pat has begun a movement to "fix" some of the issues related to safety and driver pay. I'm not saying Pat has all the right answers, but he has at least identified what he sees are some of the problems in the pay structure for drivers. As I was once told by a county commissioner back in Kansas, "Don't bring me a problem unless you bring me a possible solution at the same time". So, Pat has identified at least part of the problem and a solution. Right or wrong, Pat makes some very good points that made sense, to me at least. I will summarize the best I can.

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[TruckingSurv]

I would settle for a $9000 a month salary, that is abut $30/hr for 70 hours a week. If you didn't produce safe miles, then the company would fire you, doubt too many drivers would quit at that rate. You solve the quality and the driver "shortage" (turnover really) all at once, the shippers and receivers become more efficient because the rates would have to be higher to pay the drivers.

I see lots of posts on forums from drivers looking for a job that go something like this, "I need $0.xx per mile and I need at least yyyy miles a week and I want paper logs and an ungoverned truck" Totally bad thinking and unsafe thinking too! What other industry allows 70 hour work weeks just so you can barely get by and as a whole drivers think that is OK? There is something wrong when you have to work almost double the hours of the rest of the workers in the USA just to eek out a living!

Shelby

 

[Greg]

I would settle for a $9000 a month salary, that is abut $30/hr for 70 hours a week. If you didn't produce safe miles, then the company would fire you, doubt too many drivers would quit at that rate. You solve the quality and the driver "shortage" (turnover really) all at once, the shippers and receivers become more efficient because the rates would have to be higher to pay the drivers.

Shelby

I can see where "some" carriers might see that as a way to expect more than they should from a driver. I've known several dispatchers over the years on salary who got burnt out and quit because the carrier expected them to work 70 - 75 hours a week, while paying a salary based on 40 - 60 hours.
If a driver was on salary, guess that reduce the amount of loads turned down too, since you would basically be an employee instead of an O/O.

 

[TruckingSurv]

Greg, salary would be for an employee i.e.: company driver, there may be a whole lot less O/O under that salary plan too as it may not be worth the effort to be O/O at that price point? If you are a true O/O (not a lease slave to a large carrier) you would set your own rates, however with company drivers pay higher, I would expect all carriers to increase rates to include the independent O/O.

If you don't want to work the same hours you do now (70), then my guess is they would find a replacement that would be willing. Maybe what needs to happen is a change in the mentality that CMV drivers are expected to work 1.75 times the normal work week in the USA to make a decent living, cutting back to 40 hour weeks would cause great problems however until you adjust the pay accordingly. A decent salary for a 40 hour week would likely end the so called driver shortage (driver churn really) also.

Shelby

 

[blackpup]

Greg, salary would be for an employee i.e.: company driver, there may be a whole lot less O/O under that salary plan too as it may not be worth the effort to be O/O at that price point? If you are a true O/O (not a lease slave to a large carrier) you would set your own rates, however with company drivers pay higher, I would expect all carriers to increase rates to include the independent O/O.

If you don't want to work the same hours you do now (70), then my guess is they would find a replacement that would be willing. Maybe what needs to happen is a change in the mentality that CMV drivers are expected to work 1.75 times the normal work week in the USA to make a decent living, cutting back to 40 hour weeks would cause great problems however until you adjust the pay accordingly. A decent salary for a 40 hour week would likely end the so called driver shortage (driver churn really) also.

Shelby

I would be curious to see how that would work . Not holding my breath though. LOL.

jimmy

 

[Deville]

I can see where "some" carriers might see that as a way to expect more than they should from a driver. I've known several dispatchers over the years on salary who got burnt out and quit because the carrier expected them to work 70 - 75 hours a week, while paying a salary based on 40 - 60 hours.
.

13 years ago when I was in"transition" from my partnership in my first trucking company I was bouncing around for about 2 years within the industry for the most part until I started my current company and I took a job as lead dispatcher for a plumbing company that had a fleet of trucks/vans and driver techs. I was working 6 days a week, on call 7 days a week in the evenings and all day Sunday for a pittance of a salary. I got the place in good working order as it was in total disarray when I was hired. The Owner was a nice guy but liked to party and it blurred his judgement.After 8 months I was done. I was already burnt out when I took the dispatcher job. That job just finished me off. I was happy to leave there and reassess my life.