Robinhood … Pay by the mile became ilegal in the UK in the mid 80’s as it encouraged speeding and as you say running ilegal.
Best thing ever happened, paid by the hour from the second you start work to the second you finish.
Pat Hasler:
Robinhood … Pay by the mile became ilegal in the UK in the mid 80’s as it encouraged speeding and as you say running ilegal.
Best thing ever happened, paid by the hour from the second you start work to the second you finish.
It will have to happen one day, things cant go on like they are. The paper log book isn’t the issue, its the complete lack of protection truck drivers receive in the US and Canada. Isn’t it the case that we are the only occupation in both countries not covered by the minimum wage? What I can see happening is both governments forcing elogs on to everyone and before they act and actually enforce hourly pay, thousands of drivers will go under financially due to their wages being cut by 20-50%. On the reefer job I was doing it would be absolutely impossible to do it legally and still earn even a livable wage, and I’m single with no wife or kids etc. Interesting times ahead and I dont like what I’m seeing to be honest.
One of the tanker drivers who comes into the Yonkers refinery lives in Florida and only goes home once a month, he told me he lost his job there when another young driver said he could do it for $100 a day.
Pat Hasler:
One of the tanker drivers who comes into the Yonkers refinery lives in Florida and only goes home once a month, he told me he lost his job there when another young driver said he could do it for $100 a day.
$100 a day is poverty money however you look at it. I know you guys pay lower tax but even at $700 a week top line, he’ll be taking home FA. You’d be lucky to see $500 of that in your bank at the end of it in Canada, if not less. Willi Betz US tanker division?
robinhood_1984:
It will have to happen one day, things cant go on like they are. The paper log book isn’t the issue, its the complete lack of protection truck drivers receive in the US and Canada. Isn’t it the case that we are the only occupation in both countries not covered by the minimum wage? What I can see happening is both governments forcing elogs on to everyone and before they act and actually enforce hourly pay, thousands of drivers will go under financially due to their wages being cut by 20-50%. On the reefer job I was doing it would be absolutely impossible to do it legally and still earn even a livable wage, and I’m single with no wife or kids etc. Interesting times ahead and I dont like what I’m seeing to be honest.
Nothing will change all the while people carry on doing a job that requires them to run bent to earn a living wage 
It doesn’t matter how they structure wages, there will always be good and bad jobs, although E-logs will hopefully force the night and day merchants out of the industry and those of us that do the job properly will not have to compete with idiots that are carving the job up 
newmercman:
robinhood_1984:
It will have to happen one day, things cant go on like they are. The paper log book isn’t the issue, its the complete lack of protection truck drivers receive in the US and Canada. Isn’t it the case that we are the only occupation in both countries not covered by the minimum wage? What I can see happening is both governments forcing elogs on to everyone and before they act and actually enforce hourly pay, thousands of drivers will go under financially due to their wages being cut by 20-50%. On the reefer job I was doing it would be absolutely impossible to do it legally and still earn even a livable wage, and I’m single with no wife or kids etc. Interesting times ahead and I dont like what I’m seeing to be honest.Nothing will change all the while people carry on doing a job that requires them to run bent to earn a living wage
It doesn’t matter how they structure wages, there will always be good and bad jobs, although E-logs will hopefully force the night and day merchants out of the industry and those of us that do the job properly will not have to compete with idiots that are carving the job up
Yes it does matter how the wages are structured. It may not in your Manitoba based job where your destinations are 1000’s of trouble free km’s away but things are a slight bit different on the east coast where the vast majority of companies are engaged on eastern seaboard triangle work where its 900km down, 800km across and 1400km back over again with all sorts of delays at every stage of the way. Its not a matter of drivers willingly doing it, thats how every company is here and people dont have the luxury of sitting on a high horse and being unemployed on princepal. I’ve done my fair share of long haul work out west as well, down to TX etc and thats a doddle, any one can earn decent cash running 100% legal on milleage pay when you drive for three days straight, tip, reload and then three days back.
robinhood_1984:
any one can earn decent cash running 100% legal on milleage pay when you drive for three days straight, tip, reload and then three days back.
That is very true, which is why I live and work where I do 
Although there are many companies here that run night and day too, it’s the same wherever you go, but just as you had to run hooky to get the job done due to the nature of the work, there are companies out there that don’t do that, people run the East Coast triangle legally and get plenty of miles in too, I’m not running you down personally, in the same boat I’d do what I had to do to earn a living wage, but then I’d be part of the problem too 
There I sat tuesday of this week driving down to Bordentown NJ and the phone rang, it was the area manager asking if I wanted to upgrade to a brand new truck ? I pointed out that I had just got a new truck a month or so back but he said this would be a 2012 model and mine was a 2011 model and that one of the newish drivers would get this one when I got the brand new one. I told him I was settled in this one but he almost insisted so eventually I agree’d.
Thursday night the ‘newish guy’ phoned me to tell me he is getting a brand new truck 
“You are getting this one and I am getting the brand new one” I said, he sounded devistated even though both trucks are identical apart from a 2 instead of a 1 in the fleet number and the miles on the clock. Next morning the manager called to say my new truck would be in Albany NY for me to swap out on weds 28th and I asked to keep this one and the new bloke get the new one as I don’t want to spend hours switcing over, I hate changing trucks.
“But you are the senior driver and he is a new man” said the boss, I don’t care about that and convinced him to let the new guy have the brand new one.
Two new trucks in a month is too much for me and as long as I have a nice roomy and modern truck I don’t care, besides which new trucks bring new problems, in and out of the workshops for a week or so.