few questions about starter pay 1st year
Posted by donnthebuilder@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 29 comments
do truckers get paid overtime? im graduating cdl A school may 7th and i overheard my trainer say in a convo he was having truckers don’t get paid OT?
we also had a recruiter come by and offer us 36 cpm during training and 45cpm after training and it seemed like a lowball.
i looked up k&b transportation and maverick and both start at over 68 cpm so not sure why id settle for such little?
imo 60 cpm seems to be sweet spot but im not really sure what to look for.
pianodude01@reddit
Truck drivers are considered "unskilled labor" and are exempt from overtime laws.
My first year i started at .48cpm, and was given .60 after training running flatbed.
I made 65k my first year pulling flatbed with a mega(roehl) not a HUGE amount. But their training was top notch, and i felt like it was fair.
Kong__Dong@reddit
I started at Maverick in 2018. I don’t have a bad thing to say about them. I only got stuck out once the first week with my trainer every other week I was home for 2 full days. They even start you slow when you first start and don’t give you crazy loads.
donnthebuilder@reddit (OP)
what was your first year pay?
Kong__Dong@reddit
I didn’t stay for a full year I only stayed for the 6 months to not owe them money for my CDL and I had a local job. I never brought home less than 1200 a week.
donnthebuilder@reddit (OP)
i was hoping to make at least 1k weekly so that’ sound great. my current forklift job only pay &18/hr but it’s over night which i like but im trying to move out my moms house bro, i cant do that on $650-$700 a week in orlando. at least not comfortably. i’ve been homeless prior so this is just me getting back together in life.
also was your pay impacted because you owed them? i’m on track to having a fully paid off cdl due to scholarships at my community college. not under any contract
Kong__Dong@reddit
No at the time every week they would deduct how much I owed them but I only had to pay anything back if I quit earlier than the 6 months and it would only be whatever was left not the full amount. They might have changed it since people will get the CDL through them then immediately quit because they don’t like being on the road. A year on the road with basically no bills will fix almost any financial situation you have.
donnthebuilder@reddit (OP)
amen to that brother. thanks for the insight
trucksarekewl@reddit
I worked for them for a few years. Was decent money and they took care of me, just couldn't deal with the lack of home time.
Kong__Dong@reddit
Yeah I lived around Little Rock so getting home wasn’t a problem for me. I only left them to go local but to this day it’s the most professional company I’ve ever worked for.
Southern-Action454@reddit
45 cpm is way too low. 60cpm should be your minimum your willing to take starting out, but keep an eye on your benefits and what not.
jqmallah@reddit
First year pay matters, but the number they pitch is only half the story. Ask what new grads in your area are averaging in weekly miles, how long training lasts, what happens if freight is slow, and how home time works. A higher cpm with dead weeks can lose to a lower cpm account that keeps the truck moving. Also ask what the first check after training looks like, that tells you more than the flyer.
Timecook@reddit
Trucking was carved out of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, so companies are not compelled by law to pay overtime. Some do as required by a negotiated contract (union) or voluntarily to be competitive in a local market.
I think I started at 36cpm 14 years ago… that’s really bad pay today shit it was bad then. 45cpm is still low but tolerable for a first year driver. Regardless, the pay is going to be bad for the first year while you figure things out. You could get lucky and land a great job early on but don’t make any plans with that in mind.
Auquaholic@reddit
This is correct. A company that pays hourly can run your 70 hour clock out in a week and never pay any overtime, legally.
DonTostada_@reddit
If you start out making 60cpm that would be glorious, but I’d try and talk to the drivers to see if there is a lot of work . Because some companies may pay high cpm but don’t have the work to back it up. I started at FFE / KLLM hauling reefer trailers , pay was at 55cpm which seems pretty good at the time. But during winter time I’d sit for 2-4 days sometimes waiting on work so just keep that in mind .
Cringey_NPC-574@reddit
Were you able to tour the city during sitting times?
Timecook@reddit
That’s certainly possible to do when you know you are going to sit for a while but it gets expensive with Ubers. I bought a folding bike while I was OTR but it didn’t get much use because a lot of truck stops aren’t easily bikable unless you’re comfortable pedaling in traffic which sounded like a bad idea to me.
Sufficient_Wall5192@reddit
I got lucky and found hourly local gig. Just have to check around.
FrYoungtrad@reddit
Same here, will be slinging for coke 34 starting in New England
Free-University-6497@reddit
Anything contract pay (cpm, stops, detention) will not offer overtime. OTR never pays OT. There's a lot of jobs that pay hourly and have OT but they are mostly local jobs and hard to get.
Starter pay is ass always. I made 41 cpm at my first gig, put in 70 hour weeks for $1400 at 20/hr average. This was just a couple years ago. Name of the game.
Parking_Exit2297@reddit
I’m otr im paid hourly, private carrier
Free-University-6497@reddit
We all work for private carriers bud get specific or stop being pedantic.
Parking_Exit2297@reddit
I work for a company that hauls are own product specific enough??
Free-University-6497@reddit
Nah not even close
Parking_Exit2297@reddit
They’re not useless, idk maybe do some research like I did , stop expecting to be handed to you,
Free-University-6497@reddit
LOL
SanPaladin07@reddit
Nah, 36 is too low. Find a better company or do dedicated
edsavage404@reddit
Fyi some companies pay zip by zip miles not hub and that makes a huge difference
Suspicious-Office-42@reddit
if you’re paid per mile you’re paid per mile, no overtime. you are correct in thinking 45cpm is lowballing; it’s dogshit. unironically you would make more flipping burgers in most states. if you can handle it physically, try to get an ltl job like cisco, pepsi, or local produce/freight. the work is hard but the pay is decent for getting your foot in the door with driving experience
chocolate_asshole@reddit
most otr is cpm only, no overtime, they skirt that by paying by the mile not by the hour. don’t chase just the cpm either, check miles, detention, layover, home time, training pay. 36/45 is low now. recruiters love newbies cuz they think we’ll take anything, sucks out here