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How Truck Driving Became One Of The Worst Jobs In The US - YouTube
Channel: Insider News
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Narrator: Truck drivers
from all over the US
[3]
are exhausted, underpaid, and frustrated.
[8]
Kris: Long durations, long
miles throughout the day
[10]
to get stuff where it needs to be.
[14]
Jim: The trucks are the
backbone of the country.
[15]
If we stop, everybody
knows this country stops.
[18]
Narrator: Hundreds
showed up for this convoy
[20]
protesting COVID-19
restrictions in February.
[23]
Kris: I wanted to be in the first wave,
[25]
make sure that we were
making a big statement.
[27]
Narrator: But much of
what plagues the industry
[29]
started long before the pandemic.
[32]
So why are drivers in
the US so frustrated,
[35]
and how did we get here?
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Truck driving used to be
[43]
one of the best blue-collar jobs around.
[46]
It was a golden ticket
to the middle class.
[49]
A strong union fought for high wages
[51]
and good working conditions.
But it didn't last.
[55]
The troubles that truck drivers have today
[57]
really began in 1980 with deregulation.
[61]
Narrator: That's when a new law
[62]
called the Motor Carrier Act
[64]
got rid of the fixed rates
truckers used to charge.
[67]
The trucking industry's probably changed
[69]
so much over the last 10, 15, 20 years.
[72]
It is something that
doesn't get recognized
[74]
as much as it should.
[76]
Narrator: Kris Barnes has worked
[77]
as an independent
contractor since May 2021.
[81]
International, you want
to sneak up in front?
[82]
Narrator: He was frustrated
with COVID restrictions
[85]
at the US-Canada border that
made his job much harder.
[88]
So he drove nearly 1,000
miles from Tacoma, Washington,
[93]
to join the convoy in
Adelanto, California.
[96]
The plan was to drive cross-country
and reach the capital.
[99]
He's traveling with his
daughter and his dog.
[102]
Kris: I think Taco's feeling it the most,
[103]
because, you know, small quarters,
[106]
and he's getting to the point
where he's letting me know
[109]
he doesn't like you getting in his area.
[112]
Narrator: Like most drivers,
he owns his big rig.
[114]
It cost him $23,000.
[117]
He also has to pay for gas and repairs.
[119]
Yeah, I've got an older
truck, but I'm a gearhead,
[122]
so it's something that I
keep moving down the road
[123]
till I get to the truck I want.
[127]
Narrator: Kris spends $8,000
[129]
on these expenses every month.
[131]
He has to drive at least
2,500 miles to break even.
[139]
That'll be one day, you know.
[141]
Narrator: That's part of
why critics of the industry
[143]
have taken to calling trucks like these
[146]
"sweatshops on wheels."
[148]
It's where drivers live for
up to 20 days at a time.
[151]
And they often work around the clock,
[154]
hours that match up to two full-time jobs.
[157]
Jim: We're not out here to get rich,
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just out here to make a
living and do what we can.
[161]
That's pretty much what we're here for.
[165]
Narrator: Kris even does
his laundry on the go.
[167]
Kris: Basically got a week's
worth of laundry to catch up on,
[169]
sheets and pillowcases and all that,
[172]
try to get ready for the day.
[174]
Narrator: The average
salary for the industry
[176]
is about $50,000 a year.
[178]
With their long hours,
that means many drivers
[181]
are working for less than minimum wage,
[184]
and for the last decade,
[185]
truck drivers' jobs
have gotten even harder.
[190]
That was built out over a long time.
[191]
And now it's so convenient for
somebody to order something,
[194]
get it out their doorstep.
[196]
Narrator: And so much
free or fast shipping
[198]
means a lot of traffic.
[199]
The shipping crisis has
created even bigger delays.
[203]
Ted: If we don't have
trucks, we don't have food.
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We don't have product.
[207]
If we can't move it, we can't sell it.
[209]
We can't sell it, we can't make money.
[211]
So it's very important that we got trucks.
[214]
Narrator: Lines stretch for 5 miles
[215]
outside a port in California last October
[218]
as drivers waited to get into terminals.
[221]
No one's paying for that lost time.
[223]
Two-thirds of the day,
[225]
that driver is out there waiting to work,
[227]
doing unpaid work,
living out of the truck.
[230]
I mean, it's an incredibly
inefficient system.
[234]
Kris: There's always
stories about somebody
[236]
that'll be sitting at a
place for five, six hours
[240]
just before they get even checked in.
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Narrator: The trucking industry
[248]
is dominated by a few big companies.
[250]
They will get drivers to sign a contract
[253]
that says, "We'll train you for free,
[256]
but you have to work for us for a year."
[258]
And once drivers are in that situation,
[260]
of course, they can't leave
the job for higher wages,
[263]
and so they end up accepting subpar wages.
[266]
Narrator: Viscelli says
most new drivers quit
[269]
after about six months,
[270]
although that often means
they'll pay tons of fees.
[274]
It's effectively a system of debt peonage.
[278]
Narrator: Even before the pandemic,
[279]
more than 90% of truck drivers
[282]
were leaving the industry each year.
[284]
But new workers take their spots.
[286]
Steve: It's just cheaper
to bring in a new driver
[289]
than it is to try to hire
[290]
and retain an experienced, safe driver.
[293]
Narrator: The truck drivers
[294]
who joined the Freedom Convoy
say they felt forgotten
[298]
even though they're
keeping America running.
[300]
Most people don't realize
how hardworking it is
[303]
and how big a job it is.
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I've done it from one end to the other.
[307]
Narrator: At the start of the pandemic,
[308]
US truck drivers were
celebrated as frontline workers,
[312]
but by the time they watched
Canadian truckers occupy Ottawa,
[315]
the same old frustrations were back.
[318]
Kris: A lot of recognition,
initially when COVID hit,
[321]
about how important trucks were,
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and now people are saying that trucks
[325]
aren't necessarily that important,
[327]
and that we're the problem.
[329]
Narrator: When a group from California
[330]
decided to organize an American
convoy, they led the charge
[334]
by railing against COVID-19 restrictions,
[337]
even though most of those
rules had already been lifted.
[341]
The protests still resonated
with folks across the country.
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Thank you!
(people cheering)
[347]
Thank you, yeah!
(vehicles honking)
[349]
Supporter: We're here to witness
and support the truckers,
[354]
the people who are in the convoy.
[357]
Love these people, really
do. They're my inspiration.
[361]
(vehicles honking)
[364]
Narrator: They gave out food
[365]
to the truckers at rest stops
[369]
and packed these rallies
to show their support.
[372]
It is time to remind the
governments around the world
[377]
that they work for ...
Crowd: Us!
[385]
Narrator: The line of trucks
[386]
stretched for miles at some points.
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Today, we decided that we're
going to go onto the Beltway.
[394]
Narrator: But when the convoy
got close to Washington, DC,
[397]
it didn't make the impact they wanted.
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The National Guard deployed 700 members
[402]
to control traffic in the capital,
[404]
and rally organizers told drivers
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to stay out to avoid arrests.
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It is very important that
we do not get off the exit
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that we're not supposed
to be getting off of.
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Rick: I'm good with not driving in.
[419]
I'd like to stay here
[420]
until we actually accomplish
something concrete.
[423]
Narrator: Truckers drove
around DC in circles instead,
[427]
but the movement fizzled
out in about a week.
[430]
Kris: This is a small portion.
[431]
I hope that we achieve
everything that we need to.
[435]
Narrator: Still, Kris says
[436]
he doesn't regret joining the protest,
[438]
even if it was ignored
[440]
like many of the issues
truck drivers face.
[444]
He says the support was about
[446]
much more than mask and vaccine mandates.
[449]
Kris: When people start
seeing trucks on the road,
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it's something that they can connect with.
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And brothers and sisters
[455]
that are actually running these trucks,
[456]
they know that they're
on the front line also.
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