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smartest_kobold OP t1_ir66l19 wrote

Assuming you even believe "company spokesman", $110k in compensation and benefits seems pretty fair for 70-90 hour weeks.

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invenio78 t1_ir6yzgb wrote

Do you have data for those hours and that the $110k includes benefits? Average compensation is pretty easy to get and most likely accurate.

As I understand it, these drivers get paid pretty well considering the requirements of the job is a drivers license for truck driving (which can be obtained in a 6 week truck driving program). Not too bad for somebody with a only a high school degree compared to other work.

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smartest_kobold OP t1_ir728se wrote

If a company spokesperson says they "get" $110k, you'd be a fool to assume anything is left out. A spokesman's one job is to make the workers look as well compensated as possible.

They're working 12 to 14 hours a day. I'm assuming a six or seven day week.

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invenio78 t1_ir734aa wrote

Actually, the company has legal obligations when it makes statements about employee costs as if it lies, it can be fraud against the share holders. So it is highly likely that those official quoted numbers are correct.

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Also, drivers are legally limited in the number hours and how long they can drive.

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https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hours-service/summary-hours-service-regulations#:~:text=Drivers%20are%20allowed%20to%20extend%20the%2010-hour%20maximum%20driving,adverse%20driving%20conditions%20are%20encountered.

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Listen, I'm not "supporting" either side, but you shouldn't just make things up. If you have real data that supports falsehoods the company is making, present it. I don't know, it is a little hard to feel sorry for a salary of $110k with good benefits when people with the same education level are making near minimum wage.

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Truck driving seems to be a great avenue to make 6 figures without a fancy and expensive college degree.

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smartest_kobold OP t1_ir76ki3 wrote

>Actually, the company has legal obligations when it makes statements about employee costs as if it lies, it can be fraud against the share holders. So it is highly likely that those official quoted numbers are correct.

I never said otherwise. But a spokesman is going to pick biggest of mean, median, or mode and include all the bennies. Literally the job.

>Also, drivers are legally limited in the number hours and how long they can drive.

70-85 +/- just driving per average a week seems doable within regulations. That's not necessarily counting time/labor unloading.

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invenio78 t1_ir77t0d wrote

"Mean" is the average,... not a median or mode.

The regulations strictly say 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 maximum. So I don't know where you are coming up with those numbers. And that's a maximum. Where are you getting that over 60 hours per week would be attainable or 70 in an 8 consecutive period.

I think you are stating your opinion as fact or regulation. Please provide links to actual regulations or data if you think these numbers are inaccurate.

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smartest_kobold OP t1_ir7btis wrote

>"Mean" is the average,... not a median or mode.

It's probably a mean, but you probably couldn't be successfully sued for defrauding the shareholders if you used the most flattering.

>The regulations strictly say 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 maximum. So I don't know where you are coming up with those numbers. And that's a maximum. Where are you getting that over 60 hours per week would be attainable or 70 in an 8 consecutive period.

FMCSA Interstate Truck Driver's Guide to Hours of Service March 2015

"If you follow the 70-hour/8-day limit and work 14 hours per day for 5 days in a row, you will have been on duty for 70 hours. You would not be able drive again until you drop below 70 hours worked in an 8-day period. However, if your company allows you to use the 34-hour restart provision, you would have driving time available immediately after 34 consecutive hours off duty. You would then begin a new period of 8 consecutive days and have 70 hours available"

"The use of a “valid” 34-hour restart resets a driver’s “weekly” hours back to zero. In addition, an individual may perform other on-duty tasks, such as loading or unloading and paperwork, after reaching the 60/7 or 70/8 hour limits."

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invenio78 t1_ir7i5o4 wrote

There is nothing flattering or unflattering about a statistic. It's a number. The mean (average) salary is $110k.

But if you mean relative salary to other professions, truck drivers are way above. And they are way way above when adjusted for education level prerequisite. I don't know why you make it seem like these guys are making minimum wage? What other profession makes this kind of money without only a high school diploma and such good job security? Not a lot.

There may be some exceptions, but the rules linked are pretty clear so it's not that restart rule is utilized constantly, it would not make any sense. Also, at the end of the day, it's up to the driver how much they want to work. Most likely those doing maximum hours are doing it because they want to earn more money. And at that hourly, who would blame them.

But it's beside the point as you are not arguing that work hours should be limited (and they aren't either), they just want more money.

So question, how much should a high school equivalent job earn in your eyes? Obviously low 7 figures is not enough and the fact that they guys are earning more than teachers, nurses, etc... who have college level requirements as comparison confirms that.

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asuds t1_irg00y0 wrote

in this case the mean will overweight the higher end of the pay scale (the most senior, most overtime etc.)

Median is more appropriate imho.

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invenio78 t1_irh3pxh wrote

You don't know that without access to the data set.

Also, they are negotiating for the same contract. So pretty much all the drivers have access to the same pay scale and benefits.

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