Pat Hasler:
I believe you are right Mark. Drivers in Canada have a far better deal and workers rights.
US companies in the main just regard drivers as pieces of equipment and disposable because they can always find another driver and I got that straight from the mouth of one of our dispatchers a week ago when a drive walked out in a rage … “We’ll just put another mug in his truck” was the comment I got when I spoke up about how he was treated.
Thing is … there are only so many ‘mugs’ out there and eventually mugs talk to a previous mug who has experience of that company.
All most of the big companies want is ‘bodies in the seat’ preferably warm, drivers are ‘ten-a-penny’ to them. I was at a Schneider National yard once when the managers were haveing a cookout for the drivers, just another oppertunity for more company B/S, when one of them asked the drivers what the most cost was to the company. I was thinking of fuel or tyres but the biggest cost to these managers were drivers wages.
They did’nt think drivers were an asset but a cost to be kept as low as possible
A new driver would start out at a lower rate per mile and get an increase every year up to the top rate. They would run the arse off the new guy the first couple of years then his miles would start to drop as he reached the top rate.
I thought i’d have lots of adventures as a trucker over here like that old tv show ‘bj and the bear’ but im getting tired of ending up with the monkey all the time.
That’s probably going to be the same wherever you’re working wether it’s UK or in the States .There’s usually a difference between big fleet type driving jobs,with the employee/boss type working relationship,versus being an owner driver/freight forwarder type working relationship.
Which is probably why it’s usually always been those big fleet type jobs where they need union type bargaining to make the job viable while owner drivers are usually able and prefer to just sort out their own working conditions for themselves.
The old story of being an employed driver who’d rather be an owner driver is as old as the industry itself.For good reason in most cases.
Pat Hasler:
I believe you are right Mark. Drivers in Canada have a far better deal and workers rights.
US companies in the main just regard drivers as pieces of equipment and disposable because they can always find another driver and I got that straight from the mouth of one of our dispatchers a week ago when a drive walked out in a rage … “We’ll just put another mug in his truck” was the comment I got when I spoke up about how he was treated.
Thing is … there are only so many ‘mugs’ out there and eventually mugs talk to a previous mug who has experience of that company.
All most of the big companies want is ‘bodies in the seat’ preferably warm, drivers are ‘ten-a-penny’ to them. I was at a Schneider National yard once when the managers were haveing a cookout for the drivers, just another oppertunity for more company B/S, when one of them asked the drivers what the most cost was to the company. I was thinking of fuel or tyres but the biggest cost to these managers were drivers wages.
They did’nt think drivers were an asset but a cost to be kept as low as possible
A new driver would start out at a lower rate per mile and get an increase every year up to the top rate. They would run the arse off the new guy the first couple of years then his miles would start to drop as he reached the top rate.
I thought i’d have lots of adventures as a trucker over here like that old tv show ‘bj and the bear’ but im getting tired of ending up with the monkey all the time.
That’s probably going to be the same wherever you’re working wether it’s UK or in the States .There’s usually a difference between big fleet type driving jobs,with the employee/boss type working relationship,versus being an owner driver/freight forwarder type working relationship.
Which is probably why it’s usually always been those big fleet type jobs where they need union type bargaining to make the job viable while owner drivers are usually able and prefer to just sort out their own working conditions for themselves.
The old story of being an employed driver who’d rather be an owner driver is as old as the industry itself.For good reason in most cases.
.There’s usually a difference between big fleet type driving jobs,with the employee/boss type working relationship,versus being an owner driver/freight forwarder type working relationship.