Question:
There are different ways to pay a commercial driver. Two common arrangements are:
Pay by the hour:
Hourly pay for the time defined or logged as "work" each day.
Like a factory time-card, the driver is paid for the quantity of time worked.
They leave work (return to the yard) and go home most nights.
Most local delivery jobs, including most closed-shop union jobs, pay by the hour this way.
For city CMV drivers, there may be very little mileage involved each day.
The driver may spend most of their time unloading and working with customers, drop/hooking lots of trailers, driving a bus, hauling cement or dirt, construction truck, etc.
But if you’re paid by the hour, you generally go home like a normal job after you put in your time each day.
Pay by the mile:
A payment for the "paid miles" the load represents between it's point of shipment and delivery.
It doesn’t matter how much time you actually spend working.
You're paid by the mileage, so any hourly translation depends on the conditions the load involves (traffic, weather, dock delays, etc) and varies from one trip to the next.
Pay by the mile paychecks go up and down more, depending on the available freight the company schedules each driver and the paid miles that driver can accomplish.
In addition, the "paid miles" are determined by established industry standards, originally based on the shortest possible route from one city to the next.
You usually drive 2% - 9% more miles than the trip's "paid miles" (even more on some shorter trips) on roads that get you there fastet on longer routes.
Most no-touch dock work (paperwork, maneuvering around the dock, waiting etc) is also unpaid whe you're paid my the mile.
In short: Pay by the mile is morelc losely tied to the mileage revenue the truck creates each day, not the driver's worked hours. Company drivers are paid as if they were contracted owner/operators, minus the cost of operating the truck.
These radically different pay arrangements sometimes lead to similar paychecks in the long run, since both employ from the same basic pool of workers.
Local jobs are in greater demand for the more "normal" lifestyle living at home, and for many drivers. the perceived equity of wage payment in strict exchange for the time worked.
Paid by the Hour -vs- Pay by the Mile is extremely controversial .--> --> --> --> -->
.
[This message was edited by Shuffler on June 30, 2003 at 0:44.]

Answer:
We have nothing to do other than confuse the newbies?
_____________________________
-Sign The Petition To Repeal Truck Drivers Being Exempt From Provisions of The FLSA-
_____________________________
Humans are amazing creatures. "With all the things you can train them to do, I've been considering getting one." -Stoney
Don't you have to have DOT Operating Authority to own a human in the US?
_____________________________
-Battered Truck Dweller Syndrome-
Homeless... -->
Will Work For Buffet Money And Fancy Lugnut Covers... -->
_____________________________


Answer:
It may be confusing to someone who doesn't know the differenc between a green, yellow or red light.

Answer:
What is it (or was it) that you are trying to get across? I think you just like to hear yourself rattle don't you? --> So even with companies that pay demurrage, most drivers log on line four, saving time for more miles! Hey, it's MY paycheck!
******************************
"I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something". (Jackie Mason)

Answer:
I think you just like to hear yourself rattle don't you?
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black -- man.
You're a fine writer when you want. You should try it more often, instead of refusing to rise to your best. Just because you're not being paid union scale to write, doesn't mean you can't put forth the effort you're capable of. jeeeez BEDSPREAD... Do you have something to actually say about my original post?
(probable answer, "I already did".....
[This message was edited by Shuffler on June 30, 2003 at 20:14.]

Answer:
Hey, you forgot about percentage pay.
Many people work on %, and not just O/O's.
-->
_________________
RC Universe


Answer:
Originally posted by Stuffs:
Percentage doesn't count. Your being paid way below a mileage driver and even farther below an hourly person. Lets see just for starters 28 percent at a buck a mile is 28cpm if all goes well. Until you start to account for all the unpaid deahead miles no layover or detention. You end up even doing more free labor than a cpm driver does with no way to recooperate a dime. If you are experienced and manage to make 30 percent you would still be far behind experienced cpm drivers.
Your Lack of knowledge, about actual freight rates shows thru here. While there is plenty of $1 a mile freight out there, most companies average far above that, also, all rates are not based on mileage, especially those loads that drivers seem to complain about the most.
The load that you spend a couple hrs getting loaded, drive 2-300 miles and then spend a couple hrs unloading, while getting paid .30 cpm $60-$90, and the company is getting $600 to move it $2-$3 per mile. If the driver is only getting 25%, that is $150 for his time.
Many local construction jobs pay %, ask the next rock or dirt hauler you see, and I'll bet the majority, will tell you that the truck gets paid by the ton, and they get a % of that.
If drivers actually want to get paid a fair wage for the work they do, including waiting time, they should demand to be paid by %.
-->
_________________
RC Universe


Answer:
"Many local construction jobs pay %, ask the next rock or dirt hauler you see, and I'll bet the majority, will tell you that the truck gets paid by the ton, and they get a % of that." Yes they do. Their not paid for waiting time in the pitts to get loaded and their not paid to dead head back for their next load. It's a trade off for most. Make a little less money and get home every night and off most weekends. Not a bad deal but not high dollar either. It's a job.
"If drivers actually want to get paid a fair wage for the work they do, including waiting time, they should demand to be paid by %." I didn't even see this comment the first time. Now I know you have no clue.
Great Stuff
"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of all who threaten it"
_________________
RC Universe


Answer:
You have to forgive ole Shadetree. he has one of those 'business oriented' minds that tell him that because something is tax deductable that means the government is paying for it, so it's free.
___________________________
Humans are amazing creatures. "With all the things you can train them to do, I've been considering getting one."-Stoney
_________________
" I can hire half the working class to kill the other half."
Jay Gould
__________________________
This post coming to you live, from Jesus Land !!!

Answer:
Originally posted by Stuffs:
Now you've driven 2300 miles for 3400 dollars thats only $1.47 a mile. Not 2 bucks and 1 buck, doesn't work that way. Then where were you when you got the first load, 10 miles away or maybe 100 or 200. Where did you have to drive to to get the second load, how far away was it from your drop? How far away from your next load are you dropping the back haul. It's all miles and a percentage driver is not being paid for it.
In your last post freight was $1 a mile, now it's up to $1.47. Maybe if you would quit taking those cheap loads, because you went chasing after $2 a mile freight, without thinking about your next load. Then maybe you could get your average up around $1.60 or $1.70 a mile, and just so you'll know, melons out of FL.,were paying $2.50 - $2.75 back to PA., where you could still get $1.50 or better a back to FL.
I know it's hard for people to get out of that mode of thinking about "per mile", but that is why if you want to get paid for the job you do, then demand a %, and start looking at it as "per job", or "per trip". Some jobs pay more, because of the extra waiting time, or extra work involved, and it's up to you to decide whether or not the compensation is worth the effort . If you are only getting paid for the miles you drive, and they are not enough to compensate for the time that you spend on the job, then it's your own fault.
Drivers should demand a % of what the truck makes.
Unions aren't the answer either, Union LTL drivers are probably compensated the least, in comparison to what the truck actually makes. you don't need a Union to get a decent wage, all you need is a backbone, along with a good work ethic.
-->
_________________


Answer:
Originally posted by Dominoes:
You have to forgive ole Shadetree. he has one of those 'business oriented' minds that tell him that because something is tax deductable that means the government is paying for it, so it's free.
No, you have me confused with some of your Liberal buddies. I don't consider Tax deductions as free, I look at them as being able to keep more of my hard earned money out of the hands of people like you, who believe that the governments job is to take from those who earn it and give it to those that don't.
-->
_________________