Hitting the nail on the head

[minx]

The infrastructure bill provides bux for people to go to school to learn how to drive a big, big truck.  The organization of professional truckers has a problem with this.


www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/lobbyist-for-truckers-on-the-driver-shortage-if-the-job-that-youre-offering-sucks-is-the-solution-really-go-find-more-suckers-or-should-you-improve-the-job/ar-AAQS7So?ocid=IE11FREDHP&li=BBnb7Kz&OCID=IE11FREDHP


“The reality is, if the job that you’re offering sucks, is the solution really go find more suckers, or should you improve the job so people will come and stay?”

BI-NGO!  The trucking industry suckers tens of thousands of folks into the industry each year with the promise of 'free' training.  Most wash out and then find out the training wasn't really free after all.
Not to mention the ways they rip off drivers who do manage to stay.  At an average salary of $35K per year, who the hell in their right mind would sign up today if there was any type of viable alternative?

And I swear, that question should be asked of every employer whining that no one wants to work for them right now.  "Is the problem that the job you're offering sucks so much that no one wants it?  If so, why not improve the working conditions AND the salary?" Hmmmmm.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

100

Absolutely the issue at the core of the so-called worker shortage/great resignation.

I watched a short piece last night on the trucking thing and the report stated that there are waiting lists to get in these schools now and that with the grants, the numbers are expected to multiply. For a job that starts you out at +/- 35k a year. I can't knock the free or low cost training though. If a driver can suck it up for a year or two, their experience can often lead to better opportunities with better companies. I have a friend that worked for ConWay as he called it and got his spurs. Now he works for Walmart and claims to have it made. Same for another friend that worked for (I don't remember the company) that was "be home every night" and that was a true statement, but it was a few words short of how things really worked. He too paid his dues and went on to get his hazardous materials endorsement and drives for Valero or someone and is doing extremely well. So when they interviewed the young woman, which the piece made a point of the industry being female-friendly so to speak, I could see the excitement in her eyes because she had never had a skilled job nor trained to do one, and will make more than twice the wages she had ever made in her life. That can't be all bad IMO.

[minx]

I just feel sorry for a lot of these folks. Sadly trucking is not 'female-friendly' unless you doing a tandem rig with a man aboard. Lots of reports of women truckers who get raped when they're on their own.
And lots of trucking companies take advantage of folks by pushing them to become an 'independent-operator' by buying a rig of their own from them. Unfortunately, if you do that, you not only are paying a huge loan, but now you've taken over all the costs involved, like insurance and maintenance.

It's just sad, because trucking used to get you at decent standard of living. You weren't going to get rich, but you could support yourself and a family off of it. I think the key now is to be single (or at least not have any type of home payment to worry about), and get a short-haul route that doesn't require idling for hours somewhere. I agree with the guy in this article - truckers should be paid by the hour, not the mile. The federal government says you're only supposed to be behind the wheel for X hours a day, so pay should be tied to that. Easy enough to see where the truck is, what traffic is like, and how long they're waiting at the loading docks.