Driving Garbage Trucks

Hi, I have been away for awhile. I have finally started another job driving a garbage truck for Patriot Waste Service(a division of Titan Waste). So far the job has been pretty rough going. I work Monday-Saturday & the hours average about 14 hrs. a day. At my interview, my employer said that the company would offer health insurance in 3 months. I get paid 125 dollars a day with no overtime. I have been told to "roll with it" when I told my manager about 2 completely bald outside back tires 2 weeks ago. The other trucks at this company have similar safety problems & are pieces of ####. I have been there 5 weeks & already 3 drivers quit abruptly without notice. I am VERY seriously thinking about putting in my 2 week notice this week if the hours don't get better & if the trucks don't get safer. I don't even have 3 reflective triangles or a fire extinguisher inside the truck. The company mechanic said that DOT would shut me down immediately & he's right. Why haven't I quit you ask? Well, first of all I need the $$. Secondly, I have told 3 different people in charge about these problems & they keep telling me things will get better soon. I also enjoy doing route work, especially not having to get out of the truck hardly at all. I don't mean to sound like a crybaby. I would just appriciate some feedback from anyone who has done this type of work or knows anyone that has driven garbage trucks before. Am I getting paid fairly? Do the big companies(Allied Waste & Waste Management) have these horrible problems I am currently experiencing? Are the hours too long where I work? Any feedback would be appriciated. Also, if they treat you better at the big companies, this experience might help me get my foot in the door.

 

I quit driving for patriot waste a week ago. It got real old real fast working 85+ hrs. a week & not getting paid overtime & no benefits. In the 2 months I was there they would lose about 1 driver per week on average, and the drivers never gave any kind of notice, they just got fed up & quit. It's a shame because I really enjoy doing route work & I am good at doing it. I am considering applying at Alled Waste or Waste Management but I have been hearing the same thing notarps said on this thread about the LONG hours & shoddy equipment. I have always been leery of any employer who won't pay a person an hourly wage. It's usually an excuse to work them as long & hard as they can without any overtime. When you add up the time & work your putting in it's usually not worth whatever daily, weekly, or monthly salary they are paying you. Even OTR, if your starting out & look at what your making per hour, it'll make you wanna cry or go into a rage-or both. That's not even counting your detention/layover time in most cases. Can you say EXPLOITATION- I knew you could.

 

Thanks Mack for the info, it was very helpful. I have 1 question. You stated that legally, if your a local driver who starts & finishes their day at the same place, and you stay within 100 air miles of your shop, you are limited to 12 hours a day & 60 hours a week. Does that mean you legally can't work over 60 hours per week no matter how many hours you work per day during that week? That would equal 10 hours a day if this is true since trash companies work 6 days a week. Or does it mean that you can legally drive up to 72 hours in a week(12hrs. per day x6days). I would appreciate some feed back to this question since I have an interview at Waste Management on Friday. I have never been a snitch, but if any employer is going to work/exploit me beyond the legal amount of hours without any extra $$ for working over 40 hours a week, DOT just might get an anonymous call telling them whats going on.