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.
Tim
I’ve been a driver for 27 yrs now I’ve done local an I’ve done otr an owner op also. I believe we need a reform the current system is theft. When u are required to give free labor for a customer that has no regard for ur well being an how u can make a living by tieing u to a dock for up to 6 to 8 hrs an the pay is less than a fraction of what u can earn moving an u do this 2 x 3 a week ur losing money. When we are forced to sleep out on the road we are technically a security guard at night guarding a truck an trailer. Then when we are harrased by the dot an regulations made by people who sit in office they don’t have any clue. No one likes being treated like dog crap by customers an there is easier money to be made in town so people won’t stay in the business. To me along time to find a job that pays fairly I am. Currently hauling food grade tanker where there isn’t other tanker companies an I work for local business doing sucrose deliveries I get paid pto, an instead of hourly like are California drivers I make per stop my company pays flat rate of 140 per stop an avg unload gate to gate is 1.5 hrs an I avg 3 to 4 stops a day mon -fri weekends off an if I work weekends I get an extra 150 for day. I’m home every night an I can get done in 8 or less hrs.
Billy Goodrich
Going to paying our drivers ot and so on is going to cause a lot of companies to close or downsize. I’ve been driving for 49 years and am very well pleased with how I’m treated with the money I make. Yes drivers for the most part work on mileage. Once in a while you may have a live load or unload. But pretty much today is drop and hook. People say they aren’t getting there fair share are the ones that want the rewards but don’t want to work for it.
Let’s do the math now I’m speaking of the OTR drivers basically.
I get .70 a mile
Average 625 miles a day = 437.00÷11=39.00 a hour
You work a10 hrs day at 20.00
On a Average =200.00 a day but you go home you don’t get paid for that we sleep and take our breaks in the truck compared to 30 years ago these are houses or small apartments.
So 437. × 5= 2185.00
Compared to 200.×5=1000.
Like a person said it’s about GREED. If you’re not making the right amount which is reasonable or being treated like a robot or a number then you need to find a company you’re happy with.
And also I get paid for my days off which the company pays me a 100.00 a day with bonuses for miles and fuel.
So do the math and you’ll see some of us are doing pretty good. But you have to work and put an effort out.
To some this up a person once said if you enjoy what you do you will never work a day in your life.
Trucking is an adventure it’s a life style for which I’ve enjoyed for 49 years
Thank you and I hope this brings a little light to the subject
I am and will be happy to discuss this further
Steve
I’ve worked just over 10 years in local, both construction and warehouse, and have never received OT; because I was either a state employee who was considered emergency-exempt and required to break HOS and receive OT as a stipend (which is heavily taxed) or as future leave, or because I was a salaried driver.
While being salary is convenient and gives an incentive to working and completing quickly, when my week went over 50 hours it would be nice to receive some form of compensation.
I think OTR trucking needs a pay reform, but it doesn’t need to be hourly, this would only convince drivers to take their time and would result in greater turnover. But I can assure you that salary is not the answer either: my company receives A LOT of applicants who want to get off the road, thinking it is a sweet gig, but don’t realize the manual labor that goes into a warehouse delivery or LTL delivery. I lost 25 pounds coming to this industry from construction driving.
Jim Harrold
I am paying my local drivers $32 an hour for local work. Home every night. We work some weekends, which I pay at time and a half,$48 an hour. If I am forced to pay after 40 hours, I will have no choice but to cut pay or hours. The majority of my drivers make close to 100k a year. I pay holidays and some sick days, and paid vacations. This may help drivers who make low end wages, but for me, I still need to make a profit. I have almost 0 turnover. In my case, the drivers will lose.
Michael e keen
I’m a local truck driver in Utah I deliver to businesses & residential area. I work delivering more than driving ,why don’t I get time n a half pay .I’ve hade easier jobs that pay overtime I don’t understand how trucking companies get away without paying overtime I even get docked for 30 minute lunch break every job I had before I became a driver I got payed for lunch break if it was only 30 minutes. I think it’s unfair how delivery drivers are treated if you work overtime you should get payed overtime, just how would businesses operate without out driver’s I work in extreme heat n cold while workers that get overtime have heated and cooled work place ,it’s not fair how companies get away with this,
Nathaniel Hosea
My employer already pays overtime despite this unfair law that truck drivers should not get it. All company drivers should be paid OT just like other professions. These carriers make lots of money, they can afford to pay OT, there just greedy. Give company drivers overtime, we work hard..
Darrel Russelburg
I been out here 46 years as a driver. I been screwd blue and tattooed as they use to say .
No pension no retirement .I like to see congress pay a pension to all cdl holder like a 100 per month for every year out here . My brother retired from railroad with $4500 a month pension and I work 3 times harder and longer than he did a week .
Airline pilots get great retirement also as do crews on riverboats .
We have been forgotten and dismissed far too long .
But doing the pandemic who did they turn to to get the job done . Yes the American truck driver .
The ones people love to hate on .
Don’t like trucks don’t buy stuff and you can eliminate a truck on the road .
We get charged extremely high prices for food and other products in truck stops ,police harass us for parking when we are tired .
Wake up America truck driver are the backbone of America
Donato
Everyone in this country apparently forgets that the economy depends on us truckers, DOT does intimidate and detains us just for the pleasure of generating income for their states and we pay tolls 4 times more expensive than the others, we pay 10 times more to register our trucks. When it comes to paying for our work, they pay us as little as possible and the hours we lose delivering and receiving are free. The warehouse owners and their employees treat us as if we were garbage, however, they have work and business thanks to the fact that we deliver their materials. .FMCSA only knows how to create regulations to make our lives miserable. HOS is the biggest piece of garbage, it puts more stress on our lives and it does not prevent accidents as they want us people to believe. I believe that people who do not know how to operate a truck should not create laws and regulations for us. This is another smokescreen by the FMCSA.Everything is more expensive, diesel, parts, labor for the trucks are ridiculous prices but when it comes to paying us they are paying us rubbish, THE BIGCORPORATIONS WANT TO PUT OWNER OPERATORS OUT OFF BUSINESS.