Countless Hours Of Unpaid Work As A Company Driver. Trucking Truth

That article (Why Drivers Are Paid By The Mile) is worthy of a college textbook. The piecework thing applied to trucking means You drive a mile, thou get paid for a mile. If you have to wait, you are not really working so your company doesn't pay you. (Shill time: read my article My First Week Adventure. I'm an expert on waiting!)

Now put the human element into the equation, as 6 string and Stevo have done. Suppose your dispatcher knows you don't like detention or deadheading. So to keep you happy (& not to listen to your moans) she gives you trips that don't include those things. But you'll miss out on the jobs that keep 6 string & Stevo busy because there are so much more like that. And when that choice run comes up, you can bet your sweet bippy your name won't be on the top of the "Go To" list.

Of course, when the going gets though, 6 string and Stevo get going while you are waiting for the trips you prefer.

I dont look at hours except for my allowed hours..Thanks to this site i knew It is more about the miles and not the hours except for those allowed.So yes we sit and sometimes (at least my company) pays for that time i sit.But i look more at my miles i drive

Personally if you look at every hour that you work and don't get paid it will drive you crazy, and to think that truckers are the only ones that do it, well your wrong. Prior to trucking i owned my own business for over ten years, and worked lots of hours that i didn't make a single dime on. Truckers and business owners however are not the exception to the rule, think about this, the last time you sat down to eat, did you get great service or was it barely passable and what did you leave for your server. I see lots of servers that run there butts off, but have so many tables to cover that some people feel that they were ignored, and leave little or no tip, if you do that to them, guess what? Yea they were forced to do what your complaining about. People that are successful go that extra mile, they put forth that extra effort, and most times it goes unnoticed, and under appreciated. The best example at this moment that i can think of though is right here. I didn't pay a members fee on TT, did you, and i don't think any of the great guys, and gals, that spend countless hours answering the questions (sometimes repeatedly) so mabey , while your crying over your "free labors" you might want to be thankful that there are those out there like Brett, Old School, Danial, Red Gator, and many many others that don't think of what they are getting paid for the work that they are doing right here.

Ok rant over, you all have a great day, and stay safe.

You work way more hours than a normal worker and all those off duty hours you are working to save clock because you only get paid for miles. Experienced truckers need to chime in on what move to make so im always getting paid. I like otr and the job but all this unpaid work is ridiculous.

I'm on the 6 month marker with same company. Many a day I say to myself WTF! How did I get myself into this, what a waste, blah, blah, blah. I've had that talk with myself many a time. Instead of quitting I'm using this as an incubation and learning time. Drive safe, practice every back in, test myself on blind backing when in an unpopulated dock area, do good pre-trips and safety checks writing up issues on trailers, etc. I also do little time studies on myself. How long it takes to go to destinations, how long to refuel, how long it takes to do a double and triple drop and hook , etc. I just try to learn everything I can so I can communicate and ask better questions of the next company I might go to. Now that I have 6 months there are more companies interested in me as a driver. I'm calling companies to find out what they paid and how things work now that I know what sitting around with unpaid hours is. I'm using anytime I'm idle to spark up conversation with other drivers about how they like there companies. If I see a truck company that I think might appeal to me I try to find an idle driver form that company at one of my stops to get the inside scoop.

There are so many different type of gigs for drivers. I'm trying to figure out what is the next best move instead of being another new guy just jumping ship because I'm ****ed or now I recognize I'm still too ignorant to make the next right or best choice for myself. I'm asking everyone, define local, define regional , define 80% no touch freight (what do I have to be doing with the other 20%), define what a run is, define, define, define. I don't want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire.

I look at it this way, the pay might be low now, but I'm a Professional Driver. Notice I say Professional Driver, not trainee, driver, truck driver or any other title. So when I look at it that way, I figure if or when I go tot he next company I am, should be treated and should be paid as a Professional Driver.

Anyway, that was a little long winded but my 2 cents.

So when I look at it that way, I figure if or when I go to the next company I am, should be treated and should be paid as a Professional Driver.

Don't forget that acting like a professional is a huge part of that. Get along well with people and do a great job out there and you'll be in fantastic shape. One without the other is only going to get you so far though.

I've had to wrap my mind around the 'working for free' thing as an Uber driver for the past 8 months. Sitting around, waiting for a ping to get a ride. Some days, nothing-others busy all day. Looking at it daily it's up and down but averaging it over the week or month, it's ok. Same thing when you work for tips. Making $2.75/hour when you have no tables is working for free. Then you get busy and make up for it.

Except you'll never get $2.75/hr... The law requires a MINIMUM WAGE. If you make (at the end of the PAY PERIOD) less than MINIMUM WAGE: The company pays out of their pocket, the difference. You are guaranteed a set number of pay, or more, for your hours of labor.

I've met so many people who do not understand that fact. I've worked as a busser before. It is a super rewarding job. $2.14/hr (lowest allowed in Texas). I worked 3 12-hour days (back-to-back weekend work), and made roughly ~$150/day (total per week for 36 hours flat: $450 average).

I learned a long time ago that you work until the job is done or you do not work (here) for long.

Here is an example: I got up at 0500 to be at our Nashville terminal to get my truck turned up then had to drive here to Fairfax, VA to join a tour. I got here around 10 pm local time and just got loaded about an hour ago. I am now waiting for the rest (7 trucks) to get finished so we can all roll out together. We are going to Winchester, VA forthe night. Do the math on that one.

If I let myself **** and moan about hours vs pay, well, I would not be doing this part of trucking. With a hard work ethic and a good attitude, I can gaurantee I will be called for the next tour, and the next...

Oh, I was called at home around 3am Saturday morning and asked if I would jump on and help because the client wanted to add a truck, so, here I am.

It has always worked out in the end. That's just how I and many other truckers roll.