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Dan Rather story on trucking.....a MUST SEE
Dan Rather Reports Trucking Controversy
Anybody that has an interest in trucking should most definitely take the time to watch this video. If you are a newbie, this is an excellent introduction to what you are getting into. I'm sure that the seasoned vets around here will also enjoy this report by Dan Rather. If this has already been posted, my bad. Actually, this report is so relevant that it probably deserves a double posting anyways................ Enjoy! Gary |
This "seasoned vet" really enjoyed watching that. Not only did it make me think back remembering, but reevaluate my life out here NOW. Thanks for posting this. =)
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Definitely worth watching.
Makes you think about how you got into trucking as well as who might be driving the rig next to you! |
the otr apologists will come in and slam dan rather. i don't really care for him. however, there was no bias in that piece. it was fair and balanced. it wasn't a rip into the real professionals. it was a piece ripping into the bad apples within the industry.
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I wonder how the apologists respond to this line from the video? Touche'!! ".......for every 100 new drivers hired. A recent study funded by an industry organization found an astounding 97 were no longer on the company's payroll a year later." I love these reports from 3rd party sources that back up everything that a few of us have been bellowing for years now. I hate the fact that my fellow drivers are the ones suffering from these abuses. |
Belpre said:
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I enjoyed the video. Sure makes me glad that I got into the REAL world of OTR trucking.... not the crap the Mega's sell. |
Don't mean to be a dummy here but I can't find the video through your link Bel. :o
I see the DAC video and the Jason law video but can't find the Rather video. |
Hey Rosty........I checked the link again and the Rather video is right under the DAC video. Maybe try another browser?
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Good post.
More of a reason why i stay local. But to all you guys that can put up with that BS my hat is off to you. |
Nice job, Detective Belpre!
I looked for that video after I read a rebuttal, here . . TheTrucker.com - America's Trucking Newspaper . . that branded the story as hogwash. Danno barely scratched the surface of the routine abuses perpetrated by the megas and the even more unscrupulous single and small fleet owners. In fact, I have to rate the story "limp wristed" for the really heinous stuff that never got a mention. He says they'll be a follow up and, hopefully, it will include some of the stuff I'll be forwarding to him. |
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Why is it so hard for the organizations that claim to represent us to just TELL THE TRUTH!?? |
Excellent Piece!!! bravo!!!
and thats how my first trucking school was that i went too.. and i stayed there for the first weekend end and bailed!! got ripped off but it could of been worse but yeah man i truly enjoyed that piece and at the same time shake my head!! some people are just desperate and do anything to try to make money and so on.... sad just sad |
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As far as Dan Rather's story goes. The networks, especially the little one's like that one (HDNet), are not going to throw money at a dead horse. He did a decent job. He gave some decent information. You know he did, since the ATA is up in arms. If I had to chose between Dan Rather and the American Trucking Association, :cool: for "truth" in trucking, I would have to lean towards Rather. Does Mz. Desiree still work for Covenant you suppose? Or was she sent kicking rocks....from some remote location....like maybe Havre Montana? |
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Now now now Great White North weather reporter. ;) Personally....My biggest beef with CFM was his continual denigration of "the drivers" NOT the companies. *sigh* But I gotta admit. I miss the sparing matches I had with him. *sigh* go figure! Say.......Did Dan's report make you yearn for those nights of rumbling along the bi-ways, in that there "Gold" truck you used to drive?? :p |
Spot On !
While the reporter only focused on one big company, he covered the majority. Hope but doubt this (bringing of the truth by 3rd party) will change anything. |
I liked it, it helps ppl come to the realization this isn't a get rich industry. You can make "decent" money but you have to pay your dues. A shame those dues are probably tougher than other industries. I did see some $0 paydays, in what other industry would that be allowed?
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Here's the link....
Trucking Industry Controversy Focus of Trucking Talk Radio | AskTheTrucker Go to the right side, third video screen down....Dan Rather-TruckerDesiree video. Baldy |
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Always remember, and never forget Stan: .........."work 80-100, log 70, paid 40".................... http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/l...pre122/cfm.png |
The news media can always find a story then pick the worst situations to portray that job. Is there alot of wrong doing in the industry? Of Course but there are bad pratcies in every job. Keep rolling be safe
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I just got to see the first half (with the lady Covenant driver). Only problem I see with the reporting is it seems like after her limited driving experience she was sent to Covenant orientation and put in a truck to drive herself. We all know that's not true. She had to go out with several weeks with a trainer before they cut her loose on her own. Those training procedures may not have been great, but there is a little more to her story than they tell.
I went to Schneider's training school in Green Bay in July of 05. I liked how they did the program very much. 2 weeks in Green Bay learning paperwork, backing, basic city driving, shifting, coupling/uncoupling, etc. 1 week in Gary, IN with more backing practice in more difficult situations, more driving (more interstate and city), and more advanced paperwork. By the time 3 weeks was over I felt I was ready to go with my trainer. Trainers/students only ran SOLO miles (trainer in jump seat) and student did all the backing and most of the driving. I was with him for 3 weeks before more tests and was cut loose. I feel this is a better system than 99% of companies that train use. Of course now Schneider doesn't train (and I haven't worked for them since 07). When my dad got his CDL in the early 80's (well, he got a chauffeur's license) they sent him to the "back 40" of their lot with a single axle Ford tractor and a pup trailer for 3 days. First day another guy was out there for about 30 minutes to show him the basics, then he was on his own. End of the third day the guy from the DMV came out and set up cones and gave him his road test on the property and he was a truck driver. Sent him to work driving the next day. Almost thirty years later he has had no accidents or even "fender benders." I guess that system worked for him... |
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I got my driving experience, working on the ranch back home in Montana, where I grew up. Started out with a 59 Chevy 10-ton farm truck, summer of 1972. By the next summer I was learning semi's. Started out backing bull wagons up to the loading ramp at the feedlot. Once I had an idea what I was doing there, the boss took me out on the road, and got me started going forward. After getting the hand of driving the truck empty, he started me out hauling grain in a belly dump and a dry van, then hay on the flatbed. Learning to make the turn out of the feedlot onto the county road, was freaking scarey! But I learned. And because of that....I drive far better than if I had been to a "driving school". Of course....in the 70's...there was no such thing as a "Truck driving" school. :o |
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Were they paying 14CPM back in the 70's Stan? Mackman and I used to get a charge from teasing one another about earning the almost unlivable, ridiculous wage of 25CPM. Heh heh. Now we've been presented with a new all time low...........14CPM! I almost fell out of the chair when I heard that one. Memo to board newbie: At 14 cents per mile, this is a crude breakdown: 1. One week at 2500 miles X .14 = $314.00 weekly gross. (errrrrr that is before taxes.........) Try feeding the family, making the house payments, car payments etc., from that pittance. Factor in your road (living) expenses and you might as well be homeless. Actually..........you are homeless. Homeless on 18 wheels. What a friggin shame! $314.00 X 52 (weeks) = $17,328.00 annual. :eek1: For performing the most difficult and demanding job that you will ever have. Home (maybe) 4 days a month. HUH? |
Gary what did i tell you about making fun of me for working for 25 cents a mile. I told you thats all the company can afford to give me I'm just doing my part to help them stay in business so i have a job.:thumbsup:
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Gary...I hate to say this...but before I left the ranch, I was making $16.00 a day. The ranch also provided 1/2 a beef every 4 months, a hog every 6 months, telephone, electric, and cable tv at the family home (off ranch property). When I left the ranch in 1979, I went to work for DOW at $1,750 a month (guaranteed), for a 50 hour work week. We got OT after 50 hours, and most weeks ran 85 to 105 hours a week. The trucks were ITH Paystar 5000 bobtails, autocar tractor for the semis, and lot's of International 549 gas engines. We logged under "Oilfield Exemption", so going over hours was un-heard of. If we traveled cross country at all, it was usually on United Airlines, American Airlines, Or Eastern Airlines. Some times by company plane. I did do a lot of cross country driving....but that was usually special circumstance....and I flew to the truck. Stayed a lot at Holiday Inn, Best Western, Hilton and Sheraton. The good old days!!! :thumbsup: The absolute best cross country trips, were the trips to Hawaii!! Usually got there 3 days before the equipment. Sometimes 6 days! Depended which island we were working on. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: I loved the pools at the Marriot at Kaanapalli!!! Those Mai Tai's floating to you on the raft were yummy!!! :thumbsup: |
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FWIW, I wrote 60-Minutes a couple years ago telling them the horrors of this industry would make a great story. Natch, I highlighted the slave wage aspects of the bizz and how the Trucking Companies, DOT, FMCSA, and Congress are basically co-conspirators in maintaining our sub-standard working conditions. |
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14 cents/mile is an average starting pay for a TEAM driver.... who gets that amount for EVERY MILE the truck runs that week. He drives HALF of those miles, so essentially is getting paid 28 cpm for the miles "HE" drives. Not saying that is a great rate of pay, but it is pretty close to the national average for "starter/mega carriers." Covenant was paying 19.5 cpm for team drivers when I started 4 years ago. Most companies will pay a solo driver a little LESS than they pay a TEAM. i.e: solo gets 28 cpm... TEAM gets to split 30 cpm. Now... having SAID all that, and correcting Belpre's mistake, I must say that it IS possible for a newbie SOLO driver to get much LESS than the average of 2500 miles/week. Therefore, MANY of them do not make much of a paycheck while living in their trucks. (and many megas pay a set rate of about $350 for MANY weeks of training.) This is ONE reason that I recommend TEAMING for the first year or two, while learning the biz. TEAM trucks almost HAVE to be kept running by their dispatchers, where solo drivers can be left sitting. I'll admit that, when I got out of CDL school, I went with a TEAM company that started me at 14 cpm for ALL MILES. The "TRICK" was that I picked a company that had contracts that took EVERY truck to the west coast each week, and we brought a load of produce back. I got home EVERY week for 2 days (or more)... and got about 5500 truck miles average. That's $770 gross from my 5th week. The first 4 weeks were considered "training" and I got only 12 cpm. I STILL made more than nearly EVERY driver on this board that went with a MEGA! I hear the horror stories from the likes of CFM, Belpre and others. I don't doubt they are telling the truth. I just don't understand the kind of people that take what they are offered when getting into something like this. It's like the military. One of the jobs that has the HIGHEST recruitment/staffing need is "military police." The other is "infantry/grunt." If you show up at the recruiter's office and say, "I want to join the military," they are going to put you in the field they need you in the most.... and sell you a pig in a poke that will make you think you made the right choice! :hellno: If you walk into something like this WITHOUT doing your homework and considering your options.... you deserve the crap they will feed you. This post is NOT a comment on the video being discussed. It is only a rebuttal of Belpre's negative views. As for the video? It sounded pretty truthful to me. We ALL know what is going on out there. We ALL need to be careful and suspect of every other driver on the road.... BIG RIG or not! But, this is why my sigline says that "trucking is not for Wusses!" I KNEW before my first day of class that I would have NO PROBLEM driving a big rig. All I needed was for someone to show me the parts and explain their functions. Give me a spin around the park to get used to the gears and that big AZZ behind me, and I WILL DO THE REST! I don't have a problem with women like the one in the video getting INTO this biz. I just have a problem with the "polyannic naivete" of many (of both sexes) who DO! I was IMPRESSED by the way she dealt with the problem... and she appears to have "made it" as a driver! Well done lady! And don't be swayed by the fact that Rather got this stuff from a woman. MANY men out there, in their first year, would say the same things! Many more MEN have quit before they earned the respect THIS lady got from ME! Yes, it's dangerous out there. Too many drivers of big rigs are NOT professionals.... seasoned OR rookie. I will go so far as to say I believe that Kevin is more professional than many so-called "seasoned veterans." Being a Veteran does not guarantee being a safe driver. But, riddle me this.... would you rather be in a truck while there are fools around you.... or in a 4wheeler? Take a "civilian job," and you will be out there among the giants and much more vulnerable. Drive a truck and you have some survivability around you... not to mention a CB so you can yell at the schmuck! And the MORE good drivers that join the biz, the more the bad ones will be pushed out. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. The sixteen year old girl, who just got her license and is texting her best friend ever, is JUST as dangerous on the road as a newbie driver of a big rig who hasn't received the "proper" training. I'm not defending the CDL mills.... but, at some point one HAS to wonder what makes people decide to drive a rig if they are a WUSS???!!!! :eek2: |
Follow Up Radio SHow 11/4/09 7PM EST
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Trucking Industry Controversy Focus of Trucking Talk Radio | AskTheTrucker Sign up on the BTR Show link so you can join the chat room also. Comments and questions: Call in # 347-826-9170 |
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belpre painted the worst case scenario to TRY to prove his point that all otr and mega carriers suck. one thing he failed to do was mentioned in golf hobos post. what belpre also missed was the fact that training last six to eight weeks, then your pay goes up when you get your own truck..that pay is usually substantially higher than that of training pay. so, if he were actually trying to help people, he would post honest truthful numbers that would actually reflect the first year earnings of a newbie truck driver. i would do it but i just dont feel like doing the math..to be perfectly honest. what belpre also has failed repeatedly to realize that HE would not do that job for that pay, this does not mean that it is a bad job, just one that he would not do. what the newbies reading this need to realize is that you gotta start somewhere..we all did including belpre and his star crossed lover cfm. they started with a starter company, they didnt like it and they moved on. i started with tmc years ago, i HATED it...but i got through it and moved on to something different, and it took me quite some time to get where i am now. just as it did with belpre.
and on a side note i dont think belpre moved to alaska, as he would claim with the photos. i think he moved to boston and married cfm!!!! |
Reading up on this, makes me very happy on the route I took. Went to school at 21 for 4 weeks, got my CDL and slack adjuster endorsement. Went with my dad for 3 months, he had to be in the passenger seat while I'm driving and help me back up. After that I just bought my own damn truck. So that's 4 months of someone being in the jump seat. Although we never went far, I did get enough experience to go out on my own. I'd say 2-4 months is the minimum to have someone in the jump seat. And a "trainer" shouldn't have less than 5 years of experience. And they shouldn't run team.
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There are far too many situations that these new drivers run into, that they are not prepared for in any sense. The vast majority of them find out what questions they should have asked of their instructors and trainers... when they learn the answers to the questions themselves. It's rather like graduating high school. You are told you are ready to go out and meet the world. But to light the world on fire, it will take far more education. The training the new drivers get, on the over-all average, is far below what they should be getting in order to be ready for the real world. |
He'll be on again Tuesday night, focus on trucking with a different storyline/format . . the show was recorded tonight at Willy Nelson's place in Carl's Corner, TX. I'm pretty sure they said 8PM, EST, but check this link to be sure . .
HDNet Original Programming - Dan Rather Reports The only response I got to the info I sent was the link to this show . . I don't know if they'll get into the drivers exemtion to FLSA overtime and CPM fraud but I sure hope they do. Please, if you read this post, post a reply and bump it to the top so more people will see it . . Thanks! |
Greetings all!
Belpre, thank you for posting the link for this video. I truly enjoyed watching it. I was rather embarrassed to admit to myself that my experience with a three-week driving school was similar to Ms. Desiree's, although my driving and finishing school and first employer were the same corporation. I did not do well on the backing range (I messed up the straight back for God's sake!) or on the street, yet I passed anyway. I figured my trainer would help me work out the kinks. Turns out she was not great at backing herself. I learned to drive the truck and how to "survive" in the truck, but if a new driver cannot back... well, you all know how that story can go. If I had been smarter, I would have used the Internet to research trucking before diving in head first. I actually worked for the same transportation company (in the office) that I ended up driving for, so I thought the drivers there might warn me.. My brother was a truck driver, too! It turns out I had not asked them the proper questions. It took me six months to learn to back properly. The more I learned, the more I realized that my trainer was not as experienced as she should have been, though she touted TEN YEARS of driving experience. Simple mistakes she had made and told me about during my training time should have been huge red flags for me... For example, she used an emergency vehicle turn-around on the interstate in the winter and got stuck on the ice! Another example (that actually happened while I was with her) was that we arrived at a giant warehouse that would have been empty save for the three or four trucks that were on the property. I mean, there were at least FIFTY dock doors on this one side of the building, and she could not back up to the dock because there were no lines on the ground! A company driver had to back in the trailer for her!! Did I mention that she was an "owner operator"... That should have been a HUGE red flag, but me.. well, before trucking, I was a little naive and too trusting... not anymore. Some of the major life lessons I have learned have come out of this industry. A lack of proper training can get you or someone else killed. I know everyone says it, so it has become a trucking cliche... and as drivers, we all know it... but it seems to me many new people to the industry do not consider it one iota before they run to a CDL school believing that trucking will save their lives. And I think that part of the reason why a lot of experienced transportation professionals (from drivers to safety people) are p!ssed off at DOT and companies alike and disenchanted with the industry altogether. Thanks again for your posting Belpre! And I have enjoyed reading everyone's posts :) |
Although the story may have its faults, every potential new driver should watch it. Nothing in the story was untrue. Pay really is low in the beginning, as it should be, but that is never highlighted with new drivers. Desiree tells the story from a womans perspective and I found that truly interesting.
YouTube - On the Road - Vol 3 - Comin Home.wmv |
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