Bet it isn't 1/2 Cent Per Mile, either!!

 

KEY EXECUTIVES
Pay Exercised
Mr. Robert W. Cunningham , 52
Chief Exec. Officer, Pres, Chief Operating Officer $ 843.00K $ 0
Mr. Jerry Moyes , 61
Founder $ 718.00K $ 2.76M you swift drivers better keep buying that stock, he wants to dump some more when the price goes up

 

I've been self employed for the better part of my life, so I'm used to being paid for the finished product, as opposed to being paid by the hour. Now, I've done both; as an R.N., I was paid by the hour, and while the money was very good, but the work was also very stressful and demanding.

In real estate, I work on a commission basis; I do a lot of work to put a deal together, and no one pays for my expenses or my time while I'm in the process of doing it; yet, at closing, when the funds are transferred, and my commission is paid, the compensation that I receive justifies the time and money that I've spent on the deal.

As a business owner, profitability is determined largely by what other people do, and losses can result if people fail to do as they should. I am paid based upon what I do, and what others do, but if our objectives are not met, then the business has to withstand the loss; that's why I make a practice of surrounding myself with people who are smarter than I am, compensating them well, and empowering them to do what they do best. So far, with a few exceptions, and some mistakes on my part, operating that way has served me well.

When I began driving OTR, I was not dependent upon a pay check, but the company for which I drove was depending upon me to deliver a finished product in such a way as to allow them a profit after the job was completed.

Being paid by the hour can work well for some, but it is also a way to subsidize slackers. Paying a driver by the mile is okay, as long as the miles are calculated properly, and the compensation in cents per mile serves as an equitable reflection of the work that the driver has performed. Sadly, all too often, that objective is overlooked.

This is where the industry is hurting. Companies like Wal-Mart offer "The Lowest Price Guaranteed", but few people stop to consider the high cost of that "lowest price". Consequently, the suppliers and vendors of Wal-Mart are squeezed, and to make up for it, they all seek to pick someone else's pocket. In the end, due to the size of Wal-Mart, and other giants, everyone beneath them is squeezed economically.

I'm not sure just how it will happen, but as more consumers are squeezed, and more jobs are shipped over seas, I do hope that this form of what I refer to as "Vacuum Cleaner Economics" will be arrested, and we will bring The American Dream back to our own shores.

 

Be sure to send our White House that pretty statement also.

 

You asked who gets paid for delays, waiting, weather, etc and I gave you an answer.

Really? Name them.

Wrong. There's plenty of good local jobs: fuel-haulers, LTL, dumps, construction, mining, parcel (UPS, FedEx, DHL), etc. A newbie might have to pay their dues for awhile, but with the baby boom generation retiring, these local jobs will be hiring in droves.

There are, however, only a handful of good OTR jobs.

 

Why do I do it? Probably because it is really the only job I know, I have been around trucks and the trucking industry my entire life. I've been driving trucks of some form since I was 18, I've been running my own trucks for many of those years

I've driven Local and OTR, personally I am getting sick of driving OTR, I'm sick of all the regulations, sick of all the bulls**t, and I would just like to be home more often, I don't want to spend my entire life on the highway like my father did. I did enjoy it for the most part but it is getting harder to make a decent living anymore driving OTR, with all the new regulations and such, border crossing is starting to get to be a pain in the a**. I started out driving locally, making good money too, but since truck driving is in my blood I gave that up to buy a truck and go OTR.

But now I am looking into a job where I can put my truck on a dedicated run and be home every day, I know that I will always be involved in the industry in some way, like I said before it's the only job I know, but I can tell you that it won't always be OTR driving, there are plenty of good paying local driving jobs and with my experience I won't have a problem finding one

 

Up until Jan 05, I put in 30+ yrs as VP/GM of the family ranching operation. Fancy title.. but all I was was the cowboy on the ground. It's On Call 25/8, 366 days/yr. A book's worth o Stresses, all for 'top pay' o $1400/mn n some bennies, and a succession o old run down houses to live in.
Grandad tol' me, "Boy. It's a Goode Life. It's just not a good living."
We closed the business, Jan05. No retirement/ pension/ severence...
"Looks like you need to getcha a job, Mr 49yr old..."
I flatbed now. Not a far cry from the craziness n hard labor I left behind me. But DAMNshur better pay...
No pity party here. I'm responsible for every move I've made, including staying 'too long' as a 5th Generation TX cattleman. I've worked a Desk - I'll never do it again. I've worked Union steel, warehouse, 4 yrs a President of a Company Credit Union...
I belong up in that truck. I belong up on that load, full tarp 8' drop in bad weather. I belong out in it, whatever it is, anywhere it is, at anytime.
My soul will accept no less. My pride demands no more.

 

I do this stuff because it's who I am. I've tried living the "normal" life. 9 to 5. Home everyday. It just doesn't suit me. I'm an introvert and a misfit. I can't change that as much as I sometimes want to. Even when I drove local I still had to pretend to fit in with the other company drivers. Driving OTR I don't have to worry about it. I can be myself, and be completely free of society. That's not to say I'm anti-social, just that they're anti-me. Strange enough I still love 'em all. Just call me a nervous wreck. 8)

 

Oh, Most Indubitably, Scania!!

I heard that over at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., morale has been a wee bit down as of late; this would no doubt give them a bit if cheer!!!

 

I think in the end you just ask yourself two questions.

1. Do I like what i do?

2. Do I make enough money doing it?

If you answer yes to both, then you are doing the right thing.

If you answer yes to just one, then you need to change the way you are doing the one you answered no to.

If you answer No to both, it is time to do something different.

If you answer No to both, and keep on doing it anyway, then you really have no reason to bitch about it.