went to the class room for 2 days in a crapshoot of a hotel and waited two days for a trainer. I finally got one noontime today and we headed out of Allentown PA to Michigan and made it right into Ohio when the truck broke down. Freightliner down here can't fix it till Monday so I am back into a hotel for another few days. The trainer seems nice and drives a freightliner classic xl. So far I am pleased with Werner as a whole with their treatment of me. Then I found out my trainer has been driving for more then 20 years and gets paid .34 per mile, highest Werner offers for 48 states I can not believe how little they pay!

 

Keep you record clean, hang in there for a year and you will see a lot of doors open up for you.

 

That is low. I started right out making $.34/mi. with an O/O leased to USX. None of that "contract labor" crap either. They did all the payroll taxes with great bennies to boot.

 

What you're not taking into account here, as far as your trainer's pay is concerned, is that he is getting paid for all the miles HE drives AND all the miles YOU drive! At least that's the way most companies that train pay the trainers. Most of the larger companies run their trainer/trainee trucks like team trucks, so the trainers make out pretty well on pay.

 

But a solo driver at Werner who is not a trainer and has 20 years of experience is getting screwed. That is the point that he is making. Not all of Werner's drivers are trainers. .34 a mile for 20+ years experience is an insult.

 

He said his TRAINER gets paid .34 cpm. Let's see...avg. team miles 5000 per week times .34 = $1700 a week. If they pay their regular solo drivers .34 cpm of course it's lousy. He said his TRAINER!!

 

Werner's web site states that for a solo driver with 2 yrs exp the avg pay per mile would be .393, so a guy with 20 yrs exp would OBVIOUSLY be earning more than that.

 

Stop training new drivers and solo drivers wages will go up. Training drivers for more money is like heating your house with a wood stove and use your walls for the wood supply.

 

To clarify a few things he said that he does get .34 per mile and said that on an average week takes home about 800$. To me that seems really low and he does dedicated office max. So he must not get paid like a team. Im not sure how perdiem works but i signed up for it anyway. When i told him id like to make 500 week after training he laughed and said i shouldnnt get my hopes up

 

Eddaddon: said
Hi Ekkaddon, I also drive the Office Max account, out of Hazleton, however Im a solo driver. I probably know you trainer, (dont give any names) maybe Ill see you around the roads or the DC. I know some of the trainers on the account run mostly like a team truck, some are run a little closer to solo miles. $800 take home (net), seems a little low for a full blown team/trainer, however keeping in mind his/her driving/training style and the fact he is probably only running 5, maybe 6 days then taking off most of the weekend.

My truck # is 52405, Classic XL, you can keep a look out for me if you like. If you have any questions about Werner feel free to ask.