Posted on 06/29/2018 11:27:49 AM PDT by Titus-Maximus
LAKE MILTON, Ohio - Bob Blocksom, an 87-year-old former insurance salesman, needs a job. He hasn’t saved enough money for his retirement. And trucking companies, desperate for workers, are willing to give him one.
Age didn’t matter, they said. If Blocksom could get his “CDL” - commercial driver’s license - they would hire him for a $50,000 job. One even offered to pay his tuition for driver training school, but there was a catch: Blocksom had to commit to driving an 18-wheel truck all over America for a year.
So far, that has been too big of an ask for Blocksom, who doesn’t want to spend long stretches of time away from his wife of 60 years. “The more I think about it, it would be tough to be on the road Monday through Friday,” he said.
As the nation grapples with a historically low level of unemployment, trucking companies are doing what economists have said firms need to do to attract and retain workers: They’re hiking pay significantly, offering bonuses and even recruiting people they previously wouldn’t have considered.
But it’s not working. The industry reports a growing labor shortage - 63,000 open positions this year, a number expected to more than double in coming years - that could have wide-ranging impacts on the American economy.
Nearly every item sold in America touches a truck at some point, which explains why the challenges facing the industry, including trucking companies rapidly raising prices as they raise wages, have special power to affect the entire economy. Already, delivery delays are common, and businesses such as Amazon, General Mills and Tyson Foods are raising prices as they pass higher transportation costs along to consumers. A Walmart executive called rising transportation costs the company’s primary “head wind” on a recent call with investors.
(Excerpt) Read more at savannahnow.com ...
All we need is a sub-population of basket weaving snowflake lesbians running 80,000 lb trucks!
“Increased weight capacity and evens out the stress on the axles and frame.”
But the cops are there because with the axle up, the load on the roadway is above allowable limits.
But the cops are there because with the axle up, the load on the roadway is above allowable limits.
Draconian.
How does one ‘blow through’ a green light?
Seems to me, we need to figure out a way to get goods transported by other than trucks. Here in the SF Bay Area, the highway leading out of here for the Central Valley and Los Angeles is perpetually clogged, particularly at commute times, with OTR 18 wheelers. We have a friend whose son drives a truck from Los Angeles to The Bay Area five days a week, sometimes six. The trucks on that route turn around each and every day. Tractors bring in full trailer on each end, and hook up to a new load, rinse and repeat. Even at 55mph, it’s only a day’s drive each way. Trains are a joke today, because they can’t match that kind of turnaround. Stupid!
Ooops. A red light.
Maybe we could look into hiring more Christian drivers as they tend to have statistically lower percentage of drug use and generally have a sense of responsibility.
However, upping the base hourly rate up another 50% could do wonders.
Oh gee, hey maybe Juan will do it.
Trump has these people freaking out, as if U. S. Citizens won’t take any jobs now.
As the wall comes closer, it’s feak-out time.
The newbies can't back. Dont know how many times we have backed trucks for guys just to move the process along. Heaven forbid that they dont watch signs and get a half mile down the road to a low bridge and half to back the rig all the way back.
Beau retired as a Construction Manager two years ago. His old employer is so desperate for workers that they’re paying him an amazing hourly wage to fill in for people on vacation and even honcho a few projects. We need a new barn, so he’s stashing the cash towards that so we don’t have to borrow.
He can work up to 400 hours in a year (no matter what they pay him - no cap on $, just on hours) and it doesn’t effect his pensions (Laborers and Electricians) at all.
He told me that the Laborers Union and other unions are thinking of raising that cap to 600 hours in a year, they are so strapped for workers.
I’m glad our Economy is booming under President Trump, but we really DO need to do something on the back-side to get people working and productive, again.
A decade of being paid to be a layabout or being given a phony ‘disability’ is going to be tough to overcome - not to mention all of the young people we put through the meat-grinder of Iraqi and Afghanistan for the past 25+ years. And, to what end, that?
Prayers up for those smarter than me to figure this all out.
Yes. That's the beauty of capitalism.
And really, $50K per year is not a lot of money for the kind of hard work, and grueling hours involved. Then again if you have no job, it's a pretty good start.
I wish, wish, wish there was a way to get the American underclass involved in the workforce. America would never need another illegal or legal alien ever again.
Trump needs to get rid of Federal regulations limiting trucker pay such as no overtime pay over 40 hour of work if they cross state lines. Also hours of service.
The electronic logging also counts if you are sitting in your rig waiting to be loaded. In the past, the log book was for actual driving time(limited to 10 hours/day).
This has resulted in minimal hauls going up 20-40% in cost. Long hauls have gone up but not as big of a percentage.
I also have been hearing for the last several years(before electronic logging became law) that many new applicants could not pass a drug test. Would you want to put a pothead in a $150K tractor, pulling a $75K trailer loaded with a product that could be worth $100k ?
“I’m glad our Economy is booming under President Trump, but we really DO need to do something on the back-side to get people working and productive, again.”
Thanks to unrestricted immigration, widespread drug use popularized in the media, and three decades of outforcing America’s Middle Class jobs, we really do have a “lost Generation”.
Hopeless people get stoned and vote Democrat, which is why they have tried so hard, and spent so much money to wreck the economy.
“Over regulated and under paid. Bad combination.”
Yes, that’s correct, and truckers are treated as scum of the Earth by their peers. Drivers are lied to, abused, demeaned, and manipulated to the point they just quit sometimes in the middle of a run they just have had it. I’ve seen it countless times.
It’s an industry standard treating the drivers like scum, but oh do the trucking companies put on a show they care for their truck drivers....NOT.
Changes in attitude are in order for trucking to ever be a viable occupation. Owner/Operators have it better, but they still get treated like scum. Even after such an investment, but they do have it somewhat better if they are also good businessmen/women.
“Yes. But is it, really? And $3,500?
Draconian.
True! The cops are, for the most part, the “new Borg!” Here in CA we almost never see a CHP on patrol. They are at construction sites, sleeping with their lights on and engines running, and they are hiding out enforcing the newly minted toll lanes on the “freeways.” Meanwhile, we are sufferning with Mexicans with DLs now that they have them, revert to their “normal driving habits,” which include running stoplights and weaving through traffic in clapped out cars at at least 20 above the speed limit!
My younger son runs the shipping dept at his work and is having a difficult time finding carriers for short haul jobs.
He had a shipment in Chattanooga that needed to be picked up and transported to NC and out of 1500 carriers his broker uses there was none who would make the pickup.
Eliminate all of the government safety nets and a guy named Darwin will fix this quick.
If you're young and don't mind hard work you can drive local P&D for a major freight company, make about 60K. If you can find your way to a line job with such a company and don't mind driving 14 hours a day and layovers, you can hit six figures.
Too many applicants CAN NOT pass the drug tests.
Legalize drugs all over the country & then you CAN NOT get alot of jobs.
Employers certainly have the right to drug test.
Local Dollar General cannot find workers BECAUSE THEY DO NOT PASS THE DRUG TEST.
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