Story: How Trucking Went From One Of The Best Jobs In America To The Worst

And by the way, the list I made of the things we need - that would have been the same list I would have made in 1993, except for the 14 hour rule of course. That didn't exist in '93 so we've actually regressed when it comes to the logbook rules, and otherwise remained stagnant.

For the guy who is thinking about entering the industry. I do actually cover the company driver side of things at big truckload companies in my book.

Brett, again I doubt we disagree on much in terms of the problems for drivers, because I spent countless hours talking to drivers and I really did listen. My conclusions are not the same as other academics (Btw, as far as the millions of academics studying the industry, trucking for its size and importance is definitely one of the most understudied industries - there hasn't been a representative survey of truck drivers since 1997). The root of the problem is that truck drivers don't have control of the labor market the way that they did before deregulation (the point Mike Belzer made in Sweatshops on Wheels). One of my arguments, for instance, is that the lack of control then allowed firms to remake owner-operators and how drivers thought about being one to fit with their new systems for sourcing and moving freight. And how that was done is not something I have seen written about anywhere else.

On self-promotion, guilty as charged for sure. In terms of making a difference, I think educating people about the industry is critical to getting anything important done. As far as whether I can make a difference, we'll see, but for 1400 or so drivers in an arbitration with Central Refrigerated Services over minimum wage my "dabbling at the fringes" as you put it had an impact: http://getmansweeney.com/current-cases/central-refrigerated-forced-labor-minimum-wage. Similar cases, such as the recent ruling against Swift, could change how firms treat drivers a lot.

Best, Steve