We had a big meeting at work yesterday, all drivers required to change.
The ostensible reason for the meeting was training on the new tracking/communication system they're installing in all the trucks, to replace the electronic logging system they currently have, and which was "state of the art 1985 technology." We haven't had to keep a paper log, and we won't with this system, either, after the first couple of weeks. It has a lot of good things about it, but as you know, it takes about 6 weeks for any new computer program to become "transparent."
However, they also rolled out a new pay system. They're calling it "activity-based pay," which is a euphemism for "mileage pay." We HAVE been getting paid by the hour, from the time we walk into dispatch to the time we finish up and walk out. Some guys, like me, stick to work and get the job done. And some guys "ride the clock," making sure they get the maximum pay out of every trip.
In addition to that, instead of dispatch making up our loads for the week, we have to bid on our next week's work based on seniority. Yep, you guessed it, out of 26 drivers, I'm #22. My guess is they'll lose a few drivers over this. In addition, instead of the 4-day workweek we're currently running, it looks like it will be 5 days most of the time.
This is an experiment, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of changes shortly.
The ostensible reason for the meeting was training on the new tracking/communication system they're installing in all the trucks, to replace the electronic logging system they currently have, and which was "state of the art 1985 technology." We haven't had to keep a paper log, and we won't with this system, either, after the first couple of weeks. It has a lot of good things about it, but as you know, it takes about 6 weeks for any new computer program to become "transparent."
However, they also rolled out a new pay system. They're calling it "activity-based pay," which is a euphemism for "mileage pay." We HAVE been getting paid by the hour, from the time we walk into dispatch to the time we finish up and walk out. Some guys, like me, stick to work and get the job done. And some guys "ride the clock," making sure they get the maximum pay out of every trip.
In addition to that, instead of dispatch making up our loads for the week, we have to bid on our next week's work based on seniority. Yep, you guessed it, out of 26 drivers, I'm #22. My guess is they'll lose a few drivers over this. In addition, instead of the 4-day workweek we're currently running, it looks like it will be 5 days most of the time.
This is an experiment, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of changes shortly.