Come on JD and CFM lets get this show on the road. Its been a couple days.

I want a nice clean fight. No hitting below the belt. Both of you got it??

Lets go.:thumbsup::lol:

 

Good for you. I am glad that you found a job that works for you. Contrary to what some believe, there is nothing wrong with being issued a 1099. The problem comes in when someone who is paid that way fails to pay his or her taxes. They don't want to take responsibility for paying their own taxes and then blame it on someone else. I like the idea of keeping my own money until it is time to pay taxes. I don't like the IRS being able to sit on MY money all year long until they choose to give some of it back at the end of the year. That is what happens when you are issued a W2. When you get money back at the end of the year it is like you gave an interest free load to the government. I think that it is much better to pay them $1,000 or less at the end of the year than to have them send several thousand dollars back at the end of the tax year. When you receive money back on taxes it means that you have over paid. That is money that you could have invested to earn more money. Instead, the government used YOUR money for a year for FREE.

And it is not illegal to be paid on a 1099.

 

Gman you might want to check that again. If you are an employee it is illegal to pay on a 1099.

Plus what about workmens comp. When your a 1099 worker i hope you dont get hurt on the job cuz you wont get nothing. What about unemployment you cant get that when your paid on a 1099 as well.

GMAN for an employee why do you say it is better to be paid on a 1099??

W-2 is by far the better choice to be paid if you are an employee.

Employment Law: hired and was not told 1099 status, unemployment insurance, insurance workers

If you google being paid on a 1099 you will see tons of websites stating it is illegal.

Being paid with reporting on a 1099 does not allow the employer to account for paying you social security and medicare, nor tax withholding, workers compensation or unemployment. That is why companies like to make people independent contractors because then they don't have to pay those things.

 

well, i have been debating replying to this for the last few days. it really bothers me that there is a person here that despises truck driving and those that do it so bad that he calls anyone who wants to do it "idiots". it really bothers me that i tried to give someone that wants to work a suggestion on where to look for work and it turned into a debate on the way that I get paid...instead of helping someone find a job. that being said i will say this. i dont know cfm, or whoever he is now days, and i dont really care to know him. there are many people on this board that give great advice, gman, otg, to name the first two that come to mind. gman constantly catches hell because he give good advice but sticks up for the otr side of the business. i know that i am a smartass and i welcome the smartass attacks that i tend to dish out. as for the what if something happens to me on the job, seeing as i do not pay into workers comp, unemployment, etc. well, i guess i will deal with that should it ever happen. what if i get killed in a car accident on a sunday morning on my way to the grocery store? things can happen to ANY of us at ANY time. i would like to think to my family and friends that i am more than a paycheck. as for cfm knowing that my contractor would not help me out...he doesnt know me much less my contractor. so that was out of line. there seem to be people on this forum that seem to know what is best for everyone else that is here based on their past experiences. i for one hated otr, being gone for minimum of 5 days at a time. does that mean that everyone else will as well? nope, just means it didnt work for me. i am sure that cfm knows what the local truck driving job market is in my area so he knows that i would make less money and only be home long enough to sleep. yes, on a 1099 you dont have what many of us would consider benefits. that may also be what we define as benefits. is a benefit being home alot with your family? is job security a benefit? is going to work and actually enjoying your job a benefit? in my humble opinion there are many more things to look at when accepting a job than dollars and what we call benefits. and yes i know the downfalls to getting paid on a 1099..i also know the downfalls to getting paid on a w2. from my own dealing with both i do better on a 1099, but that is just me!!! it doesnt mean that it will work for everyone, but it works for me.

i signed a subcontractor contract when i started this job 6 years ago. i read it and signed it and knew what i was in for when i started. swift is also being sued the same as fedex is now for the same reason. a group of people signed the lease deal with them and did not make it. now instead of taking the responsibility of the failing there are going after swift saying that they were employees and not contractors. they, like me, signed a contract stating what the deal was. there is nothing illegal about that, there is personal responsibilty which we seem to be lacking. the contract was read and signed, i assume it was read anyways. that makes us liable. there is no difference between what fedex ground does and what landstar does.

there are alot of good people that have made a good living driving trucks. there are alot of people that have made a good living owning trucks. i am not sure of what i think of that kevin rutherford guy, but he seems to be doing alright in the trucking industry...and his trucks are leased on to fedex ground in orlando.

that is my response, tried to not argue or fingerppoint. just sharing my side. for those that were hoping for a big argument i apologize. i am not really here to bash the local jobs, they are great..if you can find one that suits you. as otr is not bad if you find the deal that suits you. as in my case there are some things in between otr and local that my suit you. all that being said, a person need to find what is best for them. my best and your best will most likely be two totally different things, but you shouldnt care what is best for me or someone else, but what is best for yourself.

 

WTF jd this is not like you. I was waiting for the big blow out. This has got to be by far the best post you made.

I see where your coming from with somethings. I'm sure the guy you work for pays a 1099 weather or not you like it. So you got to do what you got to do to put food on the table. I'm not trying to knock you at all. If your happy thats all that matters. Im just trying to point out facts about 1099 vs W-2. :thumbsup:

 

While I generally support everything you've posted, I have to take issue with this. I'm not saying you're wrong, only that this is the very basis for the lawsuits. Keep in mind that a couple of these were tried recently in CA and the carriers lost . . the drivers are employees. What the lawsuits basically say is, the carriers have become very clever at sculpting independent contractor agreements that make very distinct turns around very specific obstacles in employment law. In other words, if they were sincere about a genuine independent contractor relationship, the agreements would read like one and not like a road map around employment law. The agreements stipulate that carriers exercise complete and exclusive control over it's contractors over long periods of time and that sounds too much like an employer/employee relationship. FEDEX has the additional burden of explaining away the uniform requirements.

You have to admit, there's a powerful motivation to get "employees" off the payroll. Beyond the usual expenses of having them, crashes caused by employees can be very expensive, too. Swift had one recently that set them back $27 million, thanks to a meth head with a history Swift knew or should have known about. Had that been an IC, Swift's liability might have been limited to damages caused by defects on it's trailer, if any . . or not much.

Let's not forget the lessons of Arrow and how Doug Peil*****er et al rewarded themselves from their self insurance fund while they were ska-ska-ska-ska-screwing their drivers. Lot's of companies self insure to some degree. For every dollar they collect, they set aside x number of pennies to pay claims. If you pay no claims you end up with big funds. If a company was able to magically eliminate all driver employees and replace them with ICs, thus reducing their exposure to claims but they continued to fund self insurance, there'd be a much bigger fund to loot come lootin' time.

 

No health insurance, no worker's comp, no disability....and you've got a wife and 3 kids.
Why would you gamble like that so you can go play trucker?
Sure, any one of us could get hit by a car crossing the street tomorrow.
That's why smart folks have health insurance to cover medical expenses.
Have you been to a hospital lately? Do you know how expensive it is?
What if one of your kids needs an operation?
What if you're injured on the job?
Then what are you gonna do?

If you want to listen to the industry ho's pulling for the same rates they were 20 years ago and telling you 1099 and no insurance is a square deal, then that's a matter of your own affair.
I sure as hell wouldn't listen to them.
Check the load boards...that's a real smart bunch there.
Hey, whatever....it's your family not mine.

 

Rigid sporty has some good advice, and even though I don't drive any more my CDL kept a roof over my family and food on the table when there were no other jobs. And yes, I would go back to driving before I took a lot of other types of jobs if the one I have now ended.

Another piece of advice: Yes, most companies want 23 to 25 or older with 1 to 2 years experience OTR for the good local jobs, but if they need a driver and you are there and come across well in your interview you could get the job. Check road construction companies, logging companies, concrete, sand and gravel, even trash collection.

 

who said i dont have insurance??? i dont have any through my contractor. and those of us paid on a 1099 are not playing trucker..we are truckers..just like everyone else that drives a truck. i have been to the hospital..in october of 09 as a matter of fact. i paid my bills and went on down the road. again, it is disturbing that some advice was giving for a young man as to where to look for a job and it turned into bashing jed and the way he gets paid.

as for the uniforms....yeah, we have to wear fedex clothes. they are cheaper than any cloths that i would buy at walmart to wear to work and they are tax deductible. if that is the basis for the lawsuits then i am not worried.

as for not worrying about my family because i get paid on a 1099. **** you, you dont know me or anything about me other than i drive at fedex ground and get paid on a 1099.

this is a forum for truckers and for people to maybe learn about how to get into trucking. who cares why they wanna get into it? is it a deadbeat job as you describe? i would certainly think not since it is how you support yourself. it is a sad state of affairs when that is the best advice you give someone is that only an idiot would want to drive a truck...maybe you should look in your mirror and see the idiot in the reflection...TRUCKER!!!!

 

What insurance do you have?

No surprise there.

If FedEx make you wear uniforms, then why are you paying for them out of your own pocket?
Why don't you pay for fuel to put in the truck while you're at it? You can write that off on your taxes, too! :lol:

Driving for a FedEx Ground contractor means you're underpaid.
1099 means you're a fool.

More than anything, I feel sorry for you, man. Really, I do.