Two Questions (Could be controversial)

[rukadikar]

I am bringing up two topics that may appear controversial but I think are pretty important in today's times:

#1. Shouldn't there be some kind of a law that compensates driver/operator a fixed amount of money if they do not any loads for an entire week? After all why should the driver/operator suffer because of poor bidding practices, reputation or other reasons of the carrier? This will actually force the carriers to do a better job at getting loads. What do you think?

#2. Shouldn't driver/operators be allowed to work with more than one carriers to stay busy and keep rolling? Why should a driver wait to hear from only one operator when he has to make money and not sit? This will make the industry more competitive as the carriers will get back to the drivers quickly to stay in business. The operator should reserve the right to decline a carriers request if they are not quick enough to present the load.

This is especially applicable during today's tough times when the drivers are not getting a fair share.

I am open to any comments

 

[Zoli]

You are absolutely correct! The first one I don't think ever will be possible because the drivers are not UNITED but the second one I think is possible.The companies put the qualcom on your vehicle( you pay if you have or no loads) and they own you.But like I said if we do not have an UNION nobody will stand up for us.I don't like UNIONS but in this situation when you invest 30-60 k to buy a vehicle and the recruiter said a number and after couple of months you see that you far away from your goal,yes we need an UNION.We pay car payment,insurance,Qualcom (why?) , we stay in cold weather and... nothing.When we buy a truck we buy a dream but after couple of months this dream transform in a nightmare....

 

[rukadikar]

Absolutely. I may also add that the carriers should honor the original rate quoted on the contract and not bend it as they deem necessary. Often times they offer lower rates to get you out if you are sitting too long. They know that we do not have a choice but to accept it rather than stay longer. We operate on a position of weakness which I find very uncomfortable. There should be a review period after which the rate contract can be renegotiated again. A breaking of rate contract loses credibility, respect and interest in working for the carrier, which is not good for both parties.

 

[nightcreacher]

If you have your own authority,you then have the ability to haul freight from whom ever you wish, thru a brokerage,or by soliciting your own loads,you then can haul any load at what ever price you can get someone to pay.
If you are leased to any company,in that lease it will discribes how the monies will be split.
Do you not know that in any business,there are no gurantees that you are going to make a profit,if there were, that would make you an employee,then you can have your Unions.

 

[CharlesD]

Before you claim poor bidding practices by carriers, try being a carrier for a while and placing bid after bid only to lose the loads to some cheapskate companies that are willing to run expedite loads at LTL rates. That's what the poor bidding practices are, people going way too cheap.

You can have one or the other. Your carrier can always bid high enough to get you that contract rate with no flexibility, and in so doing they will lose a lot of bids when you are in a competitive area, or they can negotiate with you on a discounted rate when things are too competitive and that is the only way they're going to win a bid to get you rolling. I would think a little flexibility would be the way to go. These days it's the companies that are winning most of the bids that are guilty of poor bidding practices, not the companies that are getting undercut because they're trying to do the loads at an actual expedite rate.

 

[ATeam]

#1. Shouldn't there be some kind of a law that compensates driver/operator a fixed amount of money if they do not any loads for an entire week?

No.

#2. Shouldn't driver/operators be allowed to work with more than one carriers to stay busy and keep rolling?

You already have that option by getting your own authority or selecting a carrier that allows you and makes it easy for you to find and book outside loads.

 

[wellarmed]

All the answers are in your questions.

 

[Jefferson3000]

I think someone needs to go back to work at McDonald's, or maybe for the UAW. Here's the answer you asked for:

1. Yes there is a place for compensation.....if you're an employee, OR your lease agreement states that you are entitled to something. Otherwise, you are a small business owner, whether in your truck, or someone elses, and no one, I mean no one is obligated to buy your services on your schedule. The former Soviet Union might be very happy to help you with your economic plan. However, it didn't work out too good for them either.

2. Yes, you can work with more than on carrier. How? You can apply to the FMCSA to grant you authority to operate as a motor carrier yourself, just like the folks you are leased to. Once you begin, you are free to attempt to develop as many working relationships within the industry as you desire: Forwarders, broker and shippers alike. Be prepared to knock on some doors though. They are STILL not obligated to buy your services. I'll bet communism is lookin' pretty good right now.

If you're so concerned about thier poor bidding practices, go ahead and let them know that you'd gladly accept loads from them, even if they are reduced beneath your contract rate.

 

[termite289]

I think we have too many laws already.

are you not allowed to backhaul with a broker? i mean we do it somtimes to get home, rather than deadheading 900 miles, we get a broker load. there normaly cheaper than regular loads, but if they pay for the fuel, and a little extra, so that i dont have to pay for the entire cost of going home, then, deal.

 

[rukadikar]

I am not being a communist. I just want to be treated fair and want a win-win situation. There has to be a way where both the carrier and the operators can both be happy and make money. I know that the business is very competitive but then the resources to do the business i.e people should be (or become) competitive as well thats all.

 

[Nadal]

I think someone needs to go back to work at McDonald's, or maybe for the UAW. Here's the answer you asked for:

1. Yes there is a place for compensation.....if you're an employee, OR your lease agreement states that you are entitled to something. Otherwise, you are a small business owner, whether in your truck, or someone elses, and no one, I mean no one is obligated to buy your services on your schedule. The former Soviet Union might be very happy to help you with your economic plan. However, it didn't work out too good for them either.

2. Yes, you can work with more than on carrier. How? You can apply to the FMCSA to grant you authority to operate as a motor carrier yourself, just like the folks you are leased to. Once you begin, you are free to attempt to develop as many working relationships within the industry as you desire: Forwarders, broker and shippers alike. Be prepared to knock on some doors though. They are STILL not obligated to buy your services. I'll bet communism is lookin' pretty good right now.

If you're so concerned about thier poor bidding practices, go ahead and let them know that you'd gladly accept loads from them, even if they are reduced beneath your contract rate.

What do you know about Communism? Where is Communism in the guy question? We not talking about taking our authority. That is a diffrent question.Because people like you (no offense), drivers sleeping in 0F ,stay away from their homes, put their life at risk everyday ,to make money just to buy a dollar menu from McDo. The big company's makes false promises and the drivers buy them.Maybe If this is correct for you but for somebody who think it's maybe not.Put yourself in this situation:buy a $30.000 car and after a while you find out that is no 200 Hp just 160,no 30 miles/gallon is just 25, etc .etc. After that I'm coming and say:Hey ,if you don;t like it make a car for yourself...

 

[xiggi]

I am bringing up two topics that may appear controversial but I think are pretty important in today's times:

#1. Shouldn't there be some kind of a law that compensates driver/operator a fixed amount of money if they do not any loads for an entire week? After all why should the driver/operator suffer because of poor bidding practices, reputation or other reasons of the carrier? This will actually force the carriers to do a better job at getting loads. What do you think?


This is especially applicable during today's tough times when the drivers are not getting a fair share.

I am open to any comments

Take a percentage of each settlement, hide it away and then when you make nothing one week pay yourself something. If a freight expediting company gave you a weekly guarantee they would just pay a lower percentage per load and use the balance for the guaranteed money.

 

[cheri1122]

Sorry Nadal, but if you buy the "big promises" of any company that are NOT written in your contract, you need a reality check.
They don't promise in writing any specific number of miles, do they?
IF IT ISN'T IN WRITING, IT DOESN'T COUNT.
Not an easy lesson, but worthwhile to keep in mind, always.

 

[Nadal]

I know...I just don't think that is fair...

 

[Jefferson3000]

I must agree with Cheri. No one makes you buy into those promises. You choose to believe who you want to believe. If you only get the hype, then you'll wonder why isn't isn't going so well.

So here's the deal about the original question. Congratulations. You are now self-employed. This is your business. You make it what you want. There are no guarantees, unlike being an employee for someone such as McDonalds.

My reference to communism (as well as socialism) is based in the notion of that everyone gets the same portion. We don't live that way in these great United States. (At least not yet.) There are no guarantees that you will succeed at your endeavors. You may very well fail. But on the other side, there is no limit to the success that you may achieve. You determine how high you want to go. Only by failing to plan, do you plan to fail.

 

[cheri1122]

I know...I just don't think that is fair...

Hey, I agree - but we don't get to write the contracts. We get to choose between accepting them as written, or doing without a contract by getting our own authority.
Much in life isn't 'fair', methinks, and we just do the best we can with what it is instead.

 

[CharlesD]

I am not being a communist. I just want to be treated fair and want a win-win situation. There has to be a way where both the carrier and the operators can both be happy and make money. I know that the business is very competitive but then the resources to do the business i.e people should be (or become) competitive as well thats all.

How does a carrier be more competitive? When you bid a load at a flat $1 a mile, all included, and you miss out on the load because some other company is bidding at .60 a mile just to get the driver a load home or to relocate that truck, how are you supposed to compete with that? Exactly how competitive is a carrier supposed to be?

Now maybe some people think the carriers are making a nice fat profit off freight, but that's just not the case these days. Spend a few days looking at the boards and bidding on freight and you'll see just how it is right now. Take the time I was sitting in New York City and there was a 650 mile run picking up on Long Island. I called in a bid over the phone and the guy told me I wasn't even close to the low bid. I asked him what the low bid was and he told me $250. Do you want your carrier trying to compete with that?

I try to be competitive. I try to look at the area and see where I need to bid to secure freight, but when you have people bidding LTL rates just to move a truck, you just can't compete with that. Bottom line is if you own your truck, you're a business owner and not an employee. Nobody owes you anything except for pay for the miles you run.

 

[Nadal]

"No one makes you buy into those promises"
We all know that.You just mist the point...Like I said before,nobody force you buying a car,but after you bought it and you see that it is a fake I think you go back to who sold that car.Can they tell you:nobody forced you buying this car????..
How do you know that this is a great country?Maybe it is but maybe isn't.. Did you try Germany? Or Norway? Or Finland? Or Denmark? Or Netherlands? Or Japan? Or South Africa?Australia?Don't understand me wrong ,I love this country but is not so great like we like to be.I was in couple of country's and what I saw over there we may have it in 20-30 years from now.

 

[cheri1122]

No, Nadal, YOU miss the point: if you buy a car and "see it's a fake", you have a written contract to protect you from fraud. The written contract is the same in expediting: nothing that isn't included can be assumed to be part of the deal, no matter what the recruiter (or anyone else) says.

 

[davekc]

I know...I just don't think that is fair...

Maybe look at it another way. If a restaurant buys food from a supplier, should he not then pay for those supplies if customers fail to appear? I think you know the answer.
Expediting is competitive, but it is no different than that same restaurant making a killing and then a competitor opens across the street.
People have to get out of the employee mentality or you really are going to become a casualty.