It’s been a hectic two weeks. The Future of Freight Festival was last week, the federal government is cracking down on broker fraud, and the Teamsters union is still unionizing new trucking companies (when its president isn’t busy getting into potential fistfights with a certain Oklahoma lawmaker …).
On Nov. 9, lawmakers in both the House and Senate introduced legislation that would remove the clause in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that exempts motor carriers from providing overtime pay.
It would be a boon for truck drivers who work at trucking companies, but it’s unclear how it would affect the approximately 300,000 drivers who own and operate their own trucks. As you could expect, the lobbyist group that represents trucking employers has slammed this potential law.
Lots of truck drivers sent email with their thoughts on this bill, and even more left a comment on my article from last week. So, I thought I’d turn over this edition of MODES to the drivers who emailed us with their thoughts on the Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act. Some comments were lightly edited for clarity.
Enjoy!
Joshua Allison, truck driver for 21 years based in Chicago
Back in the day when I ran reefer, there would be loads where I would sit for two or three days for the loads to finish and get loaded. I wasn’t getting paid because that employer paid mileage and no layover pay, so that was all free in terms of pay.
Pretty much any freight you’re hauling can take a while to get loaded or unloaded. The detention time doesn’t kick in for two hours usually and doesn’t pay much. Just think if I was working a job that wasn’t driving and did 2 hours of free labor.
Honestly, I think they should just pay hourly. There is a lot of free [labor] these employers get — fueling, pre and post trip inspection, breakdowns, and so on. These companies can afford to pay drivers better; they just don’t want to. It’s all about greed.
The price of everything is going up and it’s going up because of greed, not inflation. Wages nowadays are not paired with company profits like it should be where it used to be. “Oh, we’re doing good, let’s share the wealth with the people that make our company run — either with bonuses or pay increases.”
No, that goes to only the executive level now, which is a shame. I could tell you half the executives wouldn’t know what to say if you asked what a specific employee in certain positions do everyday at their company.
Jerry McAlister, truck driver since 2013 based in central Massachusetts
Here is what nobody is talking about when it comes to truck drivers and overtime.
Over-the-road drivers are paid by the mile and pay CAN be adequate provided carriers take every factor of the job and time requirements into account and compensate drivers appropriately.
The OT issue really plays to the local drivers who are paid hourly.
As a local driver, based in Massachusetts, but employed by a Pennsylvania-based carrier, not only do I not qualify for OT after 40, I don’t qualify for paid sick time in accordance with MA state law because drivers and other DOT-regulated positions are exempt.
Changing the federal law that exempts drivers, driver helpers and mechanics involved in interstate transport from OT after 40 hours would allow those employees to make a sustainable living and reduce turnover in those fields.
There is an enormous difference between over the road and local work. Current laws take advantage of a class of employees who are under a huge burden of education and liability.
Commercial vehicle drivers are held to a much higher standard, have much more driver training and bear the weight of the huge responsibility that comes with piloting an 80,000 pound vehicle among the increasingly distracted drivers who are more and more ignorant to the rules of the road.
The lack of OT and paid sick time, in the local or LTL industry, is a direct contributor to high turn over.
No one talks about that aspect of the topic … why?
Give me another industry, not counting the military, where the “employee” is expected to operate under such conditions for so little respect and so little pay.
Nick Lopez, truck driver for 27 years
Charge the shipper and receivers for waiting and detention time. That will fix delays. I’m at a company now — no overtime pay. Now I’m injured. I’m tired of cheap old trucks shifting clutch. My back is shot.
Absolutely, there are a lot of unpaid scenarios. I make $20.50 an hour to drive 80,000 pounds. My daughter makes $17 an hour doing steakhouse carryout. Yes, I’m pissed.
The industry is broken. We need protection. I don’t care if the goods are gonna cost more. Just fix this manipulation.
Rick Wick, truck driver for 22 years based in Ontario, Canada
I’m a Canadian truck driver. The same BS goes on here too.
Although the company I work for pays overtime after 10 hrs, the only reason is we are a specialized carrier/heavy haul.
I have pulled dry vans. The money was brutal, when you take into account the days away from home, not having access to a proper washroom or shower free of charge, not being able to eat properly. It most definitely takes a special person. I have great respect for these men and women who do it.
A lot of drivers are working 55-plus hours a week for straight time pay. In a lot of cases, they are probably only being paid for 40 hours of that. And they wonder why there is a problem in the trucking industry.
Email rpremack@freightwaves.com with your thoughts. Subscribe to MODES for weekly trucking insights.
Dave
White Collar and Office people and company owners think truck drivers are dump stupid pieces of sh— without an education and that we are ugly as f—- and don’t deserve to have a life. They do not understand we have a heart and emotions and a physical body that needs sleep and recreation .
I say hell yeah pay us for time spent waiting to load and unload and pay us o t after 40 hrs behind the wheel . That’s one way to lure new drivers ( and give us education benefits if we want to better ourselves so we can do something else besides be a truck driver .)
Oscar L 20 years OTR
It’s not fair for any driver to make that amount of money for all the stress that we receive every day. Traffic delays inspections, state trooper pulling you over, to end up in a warehouse waiting for 7 hours to get loaded or unloaded, if that’s not enough, just wait…. the broker doesn’t want to pay for your waiting hours.
Meanwhile the other scenario is work in a warehouse where you are getting paid by the hour, after 40 hours you start to make overtime and making the same money as a truck driver without all the points that you get on your license when you are on the road. Your license will be immaculate.At the end both scenarios will make the same money. But one goes home to rest and the other one will have to struggle to find a place to park and stay away from home for 2 or 3 weeks. Not worthy
Toxie Wright
This has all been going on for years and nothing has happened and sadly nothing will happen, everything that I have read is absolutely true but one other thing that wasn’t included was load cancelations which sometimes pays a minimal if canceled within a certain amount of time usually 2 hrs, but by then it’s usually to late because you have been ready to go and have put some high dollar fuel in your truck and now you’re load has been canceled and you’re back on the load board looking again, I know you don’t want to hear UNION because it won’t take long for that to get corrupted, I think the only way is a STRIKE, but good luck on getting that organized without a union, but I think this is the only way. UPS, UAW etc. Or we could be happy that we are all able to add another 10ft. to Bezos boat , yacht, ship or whatever
David Stetler
I do get overtime, but I work in an area where we provide our own product so we are different, I believe if everyone got OT after 40 it would dynamically change the industry, trucking companies would have to charge and that would mean at some point down the road less wait times for everybody, right now common carriers don’t charge enough for detention and most don’t pay drivers till after 2 hours even then it’s very little, because of that no one cares, if it doesn’t cost money, money drives change, if it costs shippers/receivers money-they will change, this is the only fair thing to do. I saw a comment earlier about OTR not benefiting, but that it’s true, if carrier pays by hour then you get that, but some companies pay mile and then hourly for pickup/delivery, I’m not sure exactly how this bill would work with OTR, but congress should have meetings with drivers to discuss that
Stephen webster
In 1980 a local truck driver made the same as a city firefighter or police officer or a R N at the local hospital in rural Canada. Most companies paid overtime after 44 hours a week except long haul. Today all those jobs pay much more in Canada on a per hour basis. The large trucking companies in Canada brought in cheap foreign drivers often as students and not provide housing or medical services when sick or injured.
Michael driver since 1994
The mentality of the industry needs to change for safety. A driver getting paid by the mile will only see a loss of wages when they have to slow down. If that same driver is paid by the hour their mentality will change and most will not be riding a foot off of your grandma’s bumper because she is not going fast enough for them. Drivers will not drag unsafe equipment down the road because if they stop to get repaired they will not be paid. Drivers would stop and take 30 minute nap when fatigued instead of pushing on because they would be paid. Hourly wages for all Drivers! We have the telematic apps and the location technology to make this happen!
Larry Lile
I’m retired now since Oct 2016 after 40 years as a driver.
when I started freight rates were printed on the bill of lading we were paid 20 percent of load revenue and that provided a great income for drivers in the 70s.
Deregulation started a race to the bottom for drivers and rates.
Companies started springing up everywhere big companies started disapearing, the succesfull small companies that were started by truck Drivers who treated their drivers with respect started getting incorperated into bigger comglomerates and paid by the mile became the norm.
Every person involved with handling a load of freight except the driver is covered by the overtime rates, the people building the product, the forklift driver, the shipping clerks, the recieving clerks ect.
In the 1930s I understand not paying overtime even in the 70s companies had no real controll over the drivers paper logs and no satellite monitoring left the company dependant on the professionalism of its drivers.
After cell phones and the controll of satellite tracking and communications became prevalent there is no reason why drivers are not paid over time rates after 40 hrs except the scare tactics of the big company’s and their lobbying groups screaming about what it will do to the economy, these are the same groups that have profited from the drivers Sub standard working conditions and wages over that 40 year span
I was earning more per mile as a rookie on percentage in 76 than I was earning per mile when i retired in 2016. And I only had 4 employers in 40 years
Over that 40 years the small mom and pop trucks tops that served good healthy food were taken over by big truckstops that took out restaurants and put in burger joints so the availability of wholesome food was also removed from the long haul truckers lifes with a few exceptions
I made a living for 40 years as a truck driver but there is no way that I would suggest, and thankfully none of my children have followed in that path
Terry
If shippers & receivers were forced to pay detention fees companies would be able to pay drivers MUCH better. They don’t have issues forcing companies to pay lumper fees.