Based on 4 trips per week and an average of 3 stops per load, IAM members are working an average of 44.8 hours per week loading/unloading, etc … while making an average of $8.03 an hour, without Overtime. See details below.
Note: When 2004 Negotiations Committee was formed, a representative from each terminal was invited to be an active participant in contract negotiations, with the exception of the the lowboy division! Because of this professionally biased exclusion, lowboy drivers have taken a big hit physically and financially. See Baltimore below.
Typical Load from Terminal 542: (Florida and Georgia = 700 miles +/-)
Dispatch/Load: 8:30 am until 12:30 pm = 4 hours of load time.
Total Unload Time: Average of 4.5 hours delivery time per load. (See below)
To location = ½ hour or more (from interstate)
Unloading = ½ hour or more unload/reload time
From location = ½ hour or more (to interstate)
Stops per load – Average 3 stops per load
Typical week @ Terminal 542:
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Four loads per week:
Total load time: 16 hours per week
Total un-loading time: 18 hours per week
Total hours per week loading/unloading = 34 HOURS, PLUS…
Fueling Time: 2 hours per week*
Pre/Post Trip Inspect: 2 hours per week*
Paper work: 4 hours per week*
10 – 15% mileage cut: 2.8 hours “unpaid” driving
Breakdowns/repairs: etc, etc, etc…
Congestion/Accidents/Construction etc, etc, etc…
Total NON DRIVING hours per week: 44.8 HOURS PER WEEK
Average (non-driving) pay per hour:
$8.03 an hour (load pay divided by 44.8 hrs)
Remaining Driving Time: 25.2 HOURS REMAINING HOURS
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Jacksonville Lowboy Facts:
- The Department of Transportation allows a CDL driver to work a maximum of 70 hours per week. Less then half of these allotted hours are spent “driving”.
- Jacksonville’s “professional” CDL drivers are averaging less then half of a yardman’s rate of pay in a 40 hour (non-driving) period!
- Over one day a week, one week per month and/or three months per year is spent doing “job related” tasks without any form of compensation.
- The average American works 40 hours a week, while the Department of Transportation requires a truck driver to go off duty for 34 hours a week “unpaid.
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Baltimore Lowboy Facts:
Baltimore drivers average less then $6.00 an hour due to the favors, tolls, loading, congestion, miles shorted, late dispatches and dealership delivery cut off times. Mitsubishi customers have also complained about this for several years, yet Auto Truck had failed to listen to any of us. Instead, the stress had been placed upon on the drivers.
Because of this, I had gathered information to make some changes with our upcoming 2004 Contract. When the Negotiations Comittee was formed, Boysen Anderson had invited a representative from each terminal, with the exception of myself, the shop chairman of the lowboy division. Yeah, we were left out of the contract!
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A typical week in Baltimore: (And PS: Don’t piss management off or they will force you on a 6 truck/5 stop load to the northeast. If you refuse the load, you get fired!! … Thanks for the great contractual language, IAM!)
- Dispatch at 10:00 am, take a short load as a favor in order to get a longer load to get away from the northeast.
- Go to the port to find your trucks (dead batteries, out of gas, can’t find the trucks, etc…)
- Go to Hino yard; load three trucks, drive back to Mitsubishi yard, unload two, reload three.
- Four hours later, drive back to terminal to get paperwork, wash up, etc.
- Drive to Morgantown, Jonestown, etc …. Body company(s) will not recieve trucks after 2:oo
- Unload trucks and layover, read a book, whatever …. in your sleeper for the rest of the day ….. UNPAID! (Company will not pay for a hotel or layover for lowboy drivers)
- How much did we make today (and yesterday)? Well, this took two days so far and the company just shorted us 100 miles on this 240 mile trip and we get no layover pay. So, lets say about … $55 bucks a day?
- Now that were unloaded lets go back to Baltimore for another dispatch. Maybe there will be something long that will get us out of Baltimore.
- OK, I’m finally back …. but now I am the last driver who signed the board. After everyone else picks the good loads, there will be nothing left but short ones for me.
- Oh yeah and …. Sorry but the port closes at 4:00pm, you will have to come back in the morning to load.
- Next morning … Just got loaded ….. But delivery locations are closed at 2:00pm. There is no way I can deliver to four different delivery locations before 2:30. Layover again!
Thanks again Boysen for the lowboy divisions’ exlusion from 2004’s Contractual Negotiations Committee. The IAM’s language in our contract has really made our families successful here at Auto Truck.
