Job Hopping...

I had a long message typed up that a much more detailed explanation, and I set my phone down and my cat stepped on it and closed it out. So I'm going to do a shorter version.

I have been with the same company for 13 years and I am a million mile driver. The vast majority of that time I have been on a local fleet where I meet up with another driver and we swap loads. I am home every night and off on the weekends.

In the last three weeks several things have happened that have affected my pay drastically. A reduction in the Fleet, and a family medical emergency from my partner that I meet up with, and my making the statement that I was struggling to sleep well in the truck (I was doing the entire run so has to sleep in the truck every other night) has resulted in my position being changed to the shortest lane.

Unknown if this is temporary or permanent but in the meantime my income has literally been cut in half. I started exploring other companies, but I'm finding that the home daily options are not any better than what I'm currently doing. 13 years in the industry and I know that there is B.S at every company. And I'm hesitant to go start over back at the bottom of the totem pole when I have invested so much time with this company. I see a lot of drivers leave for what they believe is a better opportunity and more often than not they come back within a month. I don't want to be job hopping.

I had asked for a pay increase a few weeks back and was denied, but now they know I'm inquiring at other companies. I'll go in next week and have another discussion. But I don't think they're going to change their minds. And I don't know what I should do.

Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Hello Ahmalia - it's great hearing from you again!

Your situation seems odd, to say the least. Most LTL jobs like this are really strong on seniority. Yours is being ignored. I'm not sure what's going on based on your words.

Just a few comments...

There's no way they are going to increase your pay rate after reducing your load of work. That's not going to happen, and you already found that out.

You said...

Unknown if this is temporary or permanent

How is your relationship with your dispatcher? This statement shocked me. The first day I realized they were reducing my work load enough to cut my pay in half, my driver manager and I would be having a discussion. I'd ask lots of questions and they'd know how unhappy I am with the current situation.

I'd have some clarity on what their purpose was and I think I'd know how to respond. They definitely don't want to lose me, just as I'm sure your employer wants to keep you.

I'm thrilled to hear from you, but the folks you need to be talking to are right there in your company's chain of command. There's some kind of reason this has happened. You've got to get some clarity so you can mend the breach. There is no way we can do that for you.

Also, I agree with you completely about people leaving and then returning. I've been running on the same account for more than a decade. I see this happening all the time. This particular job is a gravy account in my opinion, but knuckleheads always find a way to figure they're being mistreated. It usually takes them about 2 months elsewhere to realize what a boneheaded choice they made. Don't be a knucklehead!

Communicate with your bosses. Find out what's going on. You're a smart girl, but you're in the dark right now. You can't make a good decision without factual information. Get what you need, focus on whether there's actions you can take to make things better, then you can make a proper decision.

To clarify the reason I don't know if this is a temporary or permanent move is I don't know if my partner is going to return to work. He was already considering retiring and then his son was in a very bad motorcycle accident and is still in critical condition and in a coma. So if he does come back it's not going to be anytime soon.

Some additional information. My dispatcher is male and has demonstrated on multiple occasions, his bias towards female drivers. I have often been the target of that. His boss is female and she has tried to get me to help her get him fired. I refused because I'm not getting involved in the drama. That's why I drive truck so I don't have to deal with that. So because I refuse to back her up I am also often a target for her frustration.

I also don't report things to HR because there are too many ways they can both retaliate that still fall within the parameters of the job. I'm living an example of that right now. They were short a driver on a lane and so I got moved because I don't currently have a partner. Looks like a legitimate move, but I believe it's retaliation because I inquired about different positions within the company. And now they know I've also talked to outside companies.

I've dealt with this behavior for years because I had people in higher positions that were on my side. But I have outlasted them and so now I'm kind of on my own with new people in the higher ranks on the chain of command.

I heard from a third party that supposedly I am going to be getting bonus pay to compensate for the paycut. But that is just a rumor and nothing has been communicated to me directly. I do intend to go in on Monday and request a meeting with our terminal leader to see what I can find out. I'm just frustrated because I do my job and I do it well. And it doesn't seem to be appreciated. Anyway, wish me luck.

You're in the best position to find out what's going on between you and your employer. I can tell you that now is not the time to be looking for a driving job. Imagine jumping ship, being promised the moon and finding out you're only working 4-5 hours a day! I know several drivers that has happened to several times. Now they didn't just jump ship - they didn't want to work part-time and couldn't pay their bills on $600/wk. After that happens a few times, good luck getting anyone to seriously consider hiring you.

Some key data points:

Freight volumes in 2024 are about where they were in 2015. Problem is, there are 70,000 more trucks and CDL drivers on the road since 2015. That's just regular CDL holders. Since 2022, our government has seen fit to relax the requirements to communicate in English and issued another 300,000 non-domiciled CDLs to folks who aren't US citizens. While the current administration is working to reinstate the English requirement, they've only taken 1,500 drivers off the road as of July 31st.

Freight volumes in 2025 are trending at 5.6% lower than they were in 2024. While the industry is in one of the most protracted freight recessions on record the ATA is still claiming that there's a, "driver shortage".

We're just at the beginning of a once in a century change - similar to the invention of the steam engine or electricity. Millions of jobs are going away permanently with existing AI technology. If you go to a Wendy's drive thru you're ordering your meal from a computer 70% of the time. College recruiters report that they're hiring 37% fewer graduates this year because the entry-level jobs they were doing are being replaced by AI. Uber drivers are being replaced by autonomous vehicles. Basic data entry, computer programmers, proofreaders, financial analysts, travel agents, translators, tax preparers, entry-level bookkeepers and accounting jobs - all going away. Some estimates are that as much as 30% of the world's jobs will be eliminated.

Hard to see how that many people losing their jobs will increase freight volumes. On the other hand, they will be looking for new jobs. The ATA will continue claiming that there's a, "driver shortage" - luring vulnerable workers into a saturated market. Right now, they're busy lobbying congress to reduce the age for interstate CDL driving to 18 years old!

Those autonomous trucks we've been hearing so much about? They're coming too. One outfit is running trucks from Laredo to Dallas another Dallas to Houston. Their freight volume is negligible today but as they figure out the details every year will see more freight moved that way. Linehaul , the driving you do, is the most vulnerable to this threat. Autonomous trucks are quicker (no breaks) and cheaper (no driver and less expensive insurance). P&D will probably be the last to go. Trucking isn't going away anytime soon, but I don't see many bright spots between here and there. The model T was invented in 1908. Horse-drawn delivery wagons were a common sight in New York City until the 1960's