TRUCKER STRIKE IN USA DRIVERS
Some long-haul truck drivers fall into debt trying to get the several months of training they need for the job, according to Steve Viscelli, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania who studies freight transportation and is the author of the book, “The Big Rig: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream.” Compared with the average worker, motor vehicle operators are 10 times more likely to be killed on the job and nearly nine times more likely to be injured on the job, according to a report from the Department of Commerce referencing 2015 data. That means drivers are only earning money when they are actively driving and not when they are waiting for cargo to be ready for pickup, or while the truck is loaded or unloaded, for example. The median pay is $47,130 per year, which is higher than the median for all occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.īut long-haul truck drivers are typically paid on a per-mile basis, rather than per hour worked, and are also exempt from receiving overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
TRUCKER STRIKE IN USA DRIVER
Long hours, weeks away from home and low payįor long-haul truckers, the job typically consists of multiday trips in which the driver spends nights away from home and sleeps in the cab of the truck. The massive infrastructure legislation passed last year also starts to address some of these workforce challenges, but experts say it’s going to take time to rebuild the pipeline of truck drivers. The Biden administration has taken several steps to help recruit new drivers and keep experienced ones on the job. At smaller carriers, the turnover rate was 73%. The average annualized turnover rate of long-haul drivers at larger companies was 96% during the third quarter of last year, according to the American Trucking Associations, a trade group. The tough working conditions for long-haul truck drivers in particular make it incredibly difficult to retain drivers, who often leave for other companies or quit the industry altogether.
Those issues were thrust into the spotlight when the pandemic disrupted supply chains across the globe, leaving many American store shelves empty.
But in the United States, truck drivers have long been frustrated with other problems, like bad pay for long hours and weeks away from home. Canadian truckers recently shut down North America’s busiest land border crossing to protest Covid-19 mandates.
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