I have always thought it wrong that drivers are expected to sit around without being paid. Now, it is time to take action. If you are not being paid for part of your day and you decide to change companies, let them know why. You may want to wait until after you leave. What will this do? These companies need to know that we aren't going to tolerate volunteer time any more. The more they hear about it, the more they will realize what they are doing is wrong. If you think drivers can't have any power, look at what just happened in the last couple of weeks at UPS. Because drivers said they MIGHT NOT come to work over a contract dispute, UPS stopped accepting shipments! The power was with the drivers because they stuck together. You may not totally agree with unions but those drivers got a raise and had the company on the ropes. We can definitely make the industry change. Stop sitting for free!
I recently received a complaint about the color of this blog. Its black letters on a white background here. Is it readable? This is the first complaint I have received so I want to make sure its legible. A portion of all book sales in November will be donated to the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund. Did you get your copy yet? Check it out here! See you on the road!
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Here is a question I received. A person graduated truck school and went to work for Schneider. They weren't making any money really so they quit. Because the truck school and Schneider were in cahoots, Schneider informed the school. Subsequently, the school contacted the driver and said that if they didn't get back to driving their CDL will be revoked. This is simply a LIE. Why would they say this? Well, they know that if you don't get back to work you are less likely to pay for your schooling, that's for sure. Now, if you agree to pay for the school, you should pay it. You owe it. Telling people a lie to get them back in a truck is not a good way to go, though. Your CDL is yours and cannot be taken for failure to pay a debt. Child support may be an exception but that is the state taking it, not some truck school. A private business has no power to take your license.
See you on the road! OK, so I think I have the new email server up and running. I am sending a quick test email today to see if everything goes well. If it does, the newsletter will be back up and running. Thank you for your patience. I spend 20-30 hours a week answering emails and running Trucking Answers so I am working as quickly as I can. Together, we can change the industry.
If you have not yet signed up to join the Nation, what are you waiting for? Its totally free! You can sign up here. There will be some accumulating snow tomorrow in Indiana north of 70. Be careful, its our first real snow here for the winter. There will be crazy people out. Even though it won't be much snow, it will be enough to put people in the ditch. Don't be one of them. See you on the road! There will be no video today after a long dentist appointment. Do not fear, more are on the way including some large companies that have been requested. I also want to talk about a question I got from a viewer who has had money withheld wrongly from his check upon quitting and what you can do about it. I will also want your feedback on some ideas I may have missed. It is a huge problem in the industry.
Another person has contacted me on Instagram. Yes, I am also on Instagram! Anyway, this driver is saying that he is getting only about half of what his company is advertising. As much as I want to call out companies for this stuff, I need some kind of proof. You can send me check stubs, contracts, driver manuals or whatever. I never use the name of anyone unless you tell me to do so. But if you are going to say that your company shows 50 cents on their website and you are getting 30, I have to be able to see that to call them on it. I have yet to hear back from Veriha when I sent them an email. Sad. See you on the road! Tomorrow is the big day! I go to have some dental work done. I have taken off work tomorrow and Monday to give me a long weekend and to get some much needed updates done here on the website. I also get 2 four day weeks and a 3 day week. Nice I have to say.
Remember, if there is something from your company that is not right, send it in here. This can be a contract or driver manual, anything I need to see. When I call a place out in a video like Veriha, I have to have the stuff to back it up. An astute driver sent me their contract so now they can't say I don't know what I'm talking about. That is why I need things sent in that are in writing. A picture of a qualcomm message is also good. Maybe a screenshot of something. Whatever it is, send it in. See you on the road! My next eBook will be on the Hours of Service. A complete look at HOS, it will include each part of the log and what they all mean. What must be logged and what is off-duty. I enjoy teaching the log class at work so I will do a book on the subject. At the end of the book, you will know everything you need to know about logging and how to log legal. I don't teach people how to get around the log rules or take shortcuts or anything like that. Change would come much faster if everyone followed the log rules.
Many companies may seem good on the outside but are rotting from the inside. That is the problem with the Crap Company of the Week today. I hope you will check it out! This slight of hand that companies do with their prices of truck school is very maddening to say the least. We shouldn't have to tolerate it, if they post a price online that should be the price you pay when you show up, not $5000 more. Plus, this company did not respond to my email request for clarification on why the difference in price. They should answer me just because I asked regardless of the fact that I do YouTube videos. They just don't like getting asked questions from an experienced driver, they would rather have students call. See you on the road! Did you vote today? So many drivers want to see changes in the industry. The people in power get there by our vote so it is very important. We can't just complain, we have to take action. For those of you asking, yes I voted.
On an upcoming live stream I will be doing a SuperChat for good. What is that? I can choose a charity and all of the SuperChat money that is sent in during the live stream is given to the charity. YouTube does not take any fees or processing money, 100% goes directly to the charity. I also would not get any of the money. This way you know the charity gets the money. I will be doing this for the St. Christopher Trucker's Relief Fund. This trucker-focused charity does great work and I will have more information about it soon. I hope you will all be there with open wallets. See you on the road! Today is my regular Monday live show at 1pm EST and its also the 10,000 subscriber extravaganza! There will be a parade, we will crown a Miss 10,000 subscriber Queen at the pagent, there will be clowns and hollywood stars! Ok, none of that will happen. What there will be, though, is a giveaway of Love's gift cards and a grand prize of a dash cam and 32 GiG memory card to go with it! You must be on the live show to win. Names will be chosen from the comments during the live show so you need to be there and participate, no purchase is necessary! I hope to see you there and let's have a good show!
Remember, there is a live show every Monday at 1pm rain or shine! Also, I offer a small group live chat periodically. This is geared for new drivers and those wanting to be drivers. I keep these very small, only 5 people. You can be on video or even call in to these in case you are driving. Here is the page for information. See you on the road! I had a newsletter on Friday but it hasn't been out for a while. Where is it? Because the list got long, I have to comply with email requirements and stuff. So, I am getting a provider set up (Mailchimp) to ensure my emails comply with the law and a newsletter will be starting up again soon. Look for it in your inbox.
I have a couple of new dates for the small group chat geared towards new and student drivers to ask questions and bounce ideas around. These last an hour and you can find information here. There is talk that drivers are being unsafe because of the ELD mandate. There is no way I will accept that. Don't blame your unsafe driving on the log. You should have been following the rules already. Ultimately, the decision to drive safely is yours, not a rule or anything else. I will have a video up on this soon and I'd like to know what you think. Safety has to be your number 1 priority. See you on the road! I got an email today from a driver in Puerto Rico saying Stevens has set up a recruiting station there. Is that crazy or what? I guess everyone in the mainland US has heard of them and is not interested. Instead of spending all that money transporting people here, why not just raise the pay and better yet, answer questions when people call?
If anyone is interested, I am starting a small group chat for new drivers and those interested in becoming a driver. The dates and times vary and you will have to RSVP by the time shown as I keep the group small. Here is a link for information. LINK Be sure to set your clocks back this weekend. See you on the road! |
AuthorHi! Welcome. I'm Mark and I've been a professional truck driver for over 33 years, the last 19 years at the same company. It is time that drivers got paid for every minute that we work and we are treated like the licensed professionals we are. Archives
February 2022
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