Unskilled Labor

The U.S, Department of Labor classifies truck driving as
"unskilled" labor.
It doesn't matter that you have to attend a truck driving school, obtain a special class of drivers license, spend several months driving with a driver-trainer, need 2 years of OTR experience before most companies will hire you, need a special medical certification (like airline pilots), have to pass written exams for general knowledge, air brakes, multiple trailers, tankers, and hazardous materials (like hairspray, mouthwash, swimming pool supplies, paint, etc.), keep mandatory daily activity logs (inspectable by police and government agents -- you get a ticket/citation and monetary fine if they find errors with your logs), a verbal knowledge test, vehicle pre-inspection test, and a digital finger prints identification set (for hazmat) ... but you are still
"unskilled" labor.

So, unlike a mechanic, carpenter, electrician, painter, plumber, or office manager ... a truck driver is unskilled labor. Just thought I'd let you know this little tidbit of useless information. Knowing that it is unskilled work ... try hopping into a big 18-wheeler truck some day ... drive it around town a bit, take a spin through a big store parking lot, and back it up to a loading dock ... another fun thing is driving on the little 2-lane streets in downtown Los Angeles, Chicago, Newark, New York, El Paso and backing it up without crushing any of the little cars parked along both sides of the street ... oh, and try not to run over your neighbor's lawn with something that is longer than their house and weighs 80,000 lbs. (cars & SUV's weigh 1,000 - 2,000 lbs).

My seestor discovered how big one of these trucks really is ... when I parked at the curb ... clear across the length of her front yard ... and asked if she would like 70 cases of lettuce ... (that I had to get rid of ... because it was the correct lettuce, but the wrong label on the packaging ... labeled by unskilled labor ... so WalMart wouldn't accept it). :-)

About Knight Transportation/Refrigerated

They have up thru 12 levels of pay ...
but regardless of how many years of trucking experience you have
everyone starts at the same "starting rate" level.
That 0-200 mile pay is actually for 50-200 miles.
0-50 miles they pay you an hourly rate.
Team pay is split between the 2 drivers ... each getting $0.20 per mile ... for every paid mile that the truck runs (regardless of who is driving).

Knight is one of the few trucking companies that apparently penalizes you for taking longer mileage trips ... THE LONGER THE RUN, THE LESS YOU GET PAID PER MILE. You will not find this on their website. Only after you have applied to them will they send this information out to you.

There ARE drivers who have been there a long time. If you live close to one of their terminals ... you WILL get home on a regular basis. Which is really nice. And, like any trucking company, they do have some 98 mph dispatchers ... while their trucks are governed at 62 mph.

Questions Answered

The Recruiter said, "Ok. All my questions have been answered. Now I need to get together with the regional driver guys and see if we have an opening in your region. I'll email you."

No email yet.

Looking Up

Received a card in the mail today from Werner ...
Isn't it pretty!
They are out of Omaha, Neb. and it is almighty cold up there right now.


UPDATE: called them ... they asked, "Who are K&J Partnerships?" ... a bookkeeping company ... so they are trying to verify my convoluted work history ... "Call us back about the same time tomorrow for a status report."

Tractor, tractor, who's got a tractor

Daniel drove the black tractor last week ... and came back complaining about 1) it leaks water ... 2) we know it is missing an A/C hose so there is no air conditioning ... 3) the wind-wing on the passenger side rear is tearing loose ... and 4) when you step on the brakes to stop, the steering wheel jerks back-and-forth ... so he insisted that these are things that John needs to have fixed before we can drive it again.

So yesterday I met him at the repair shop with his green tractor to swap out for the black one. He cranked the landing gear for the trailer down to support it on the ground ... then when we pulled the black tractor out ... the trailer sank about 8" into the ground. We slid the tractor back under it so that it was at least resting on the frame ... because it wasn't high enough to hook up to. Cranked the gear up ... put lots of blocks of wood under them ... cranked them back down until it was high enough to hook the truck back up ... managed to get the trailer a bit higher ... then did a fast swap. With the green tractor parked right next to the black one ... as the black one pulled out ... the green one pulled forward and immediately backed under the trailer (before it sank too much deeper).

The green tractor doesn't have a 2008 fuel tax sticker (IFTA) ... making it a magnet to be pulled over and fined at truck scales (I can do without those kinds of citations) ... some places won't let you fuel without it ... and drivers are told to call D.O.T. and report anyone who doesn't have the current sticker. So Daniel was checking on getting a current sticker or paperwork in lieu of.

Probably time to float more resumes' ...