Watching a 71 year old man who worked his whole life and cannot afford a house is the saddest thing I've ever seen.

There's never a worker shortage, only a pay shortage.

I've been trucking for 34 years, and I still get paid good, but I found a company that works for me and treats me like I'm someone and not a number

It's sad how difficult things have become in the present generation. I was wondering how to utilise some money I had. I used some of it for e-commerce business, but that sank. I'm thinking of how to use what's left to invest, but I don't really know which way to go.

It’s high time workers start getting their lives and incomes back. It used to be that Americans were proud of the middle class, now it’s greed or nothing…workers be damned.

She failed to mention DOT harassment and fines. Also failed to mention expense of living on the road and lack of parking.

"Trucking is short 80,000 drivers". You mean trucking is short 80,000 slaves for these below minimum wage job offers.

This is absolutely true. I knew an owner/operator of 15 years exactly like the old guy and even though on paper he was making $150k a year, in reality he was barely scraping by. Had to sell his truck and go into painting to make ends meet. The cost of fuel, insurance, maintenance, have all skyrocketed while their pay has barely risen. Sad sad world we live in

I was a truck driver years ago. I hauled steel coils up and down the East Coast. I would work 11-14 hour days and make about $400 a week. I finally came to my senses and got out and went back to school to become an engineer. All those years driving, I feel like I lost them. I was never home. I didn’t have any friends. I never saw my family. I couldn’t pursue any relationships. It was hell.

It gets worse every year. My uncle was a truck driver from 1953 to 1992. He had a nice house, a hunting camp, a nice gun collection, two old Indian motorcycles, bought a new car every 6 years, had 4 kids and my aunt was a housewife. There is no way that you could do that today. It’s really sad and I feel for the young people. 🙏

30 years as a trucker and homeless, sounds like several bad decisions

Trucking deregulated in 1980. Many important structures were deregulated in the 80s and the ever growing disparity and poverty we see today is a Direct result of deregulation.

As a diesel mechanic for 10+ yrs. I feel sorry for owner operators because a truck can cost more than a house yet they help feed the world. Everything came off a truck! God bless you truckers!❤ 🤜🤛

Interest rate is currently at 4.75%(8th rate hike since March last year) Inflation at 7% and mortgage rates is at over 7.5% but yet minimum wage remains the same and my retirement portfolio has suffered tremendously these past years, so my question is how do senior citizens retire and live off such unstable economy. The long term game is obviously not for me at this point.

Amazing presentation. As someone who drive trucks for more then three years, this video is accurate. Trucking is one of the hardest jobs you can do,. One of the most underpaid jobs. You will work long long long hours, you will never sleep 8 hours, ans you will never be "safe". Trucking is hell because youre working for a minimum wage. Something needs to change.

That's probably the first time I've seen a good video on truckin! Keep up the good work

Pays minimum wage “We have a worker shortage” Yeah I wonder why…

One of the worst lies in this country was that being an independent contractor trucker was a better option than being a union trucker

"The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it." - George Carlin

Gave up my CDL after 7 years. The last company I drove for was JB Hunt. I had to call in at 8am every morning and wait up till 2 or 3 in the afternoon to get a load, not on the clock. Then I'd get a load to run 10 to 12 hours after already being awake for 5 or 6 hours. Then I'd be required to call in at 8am the next morning and they'd look at my e-logs and say well you're eligible at 10am and give me another 10 to 12 hour run on 5 or 6 hours sleep.

Most homeless people I have met in Florida actually have jobs. Their job does not pay enough to rent the crappiest apartment in the city where they work. Their employers paid off their congressman to do this to them. Apparently forming a union and striking is the only way to earn enough money to survive in capitalist America.

Postal Worker Strike + Rail Road + Trucker all at once would bring US to the knees. Power to the people and workers. Bring Unions back!

My husband was an owner op. He read the tea leaves and pivoted to getting an accounting degree. Sometimes an industry is bigger than you; you have to make the choice to learn a new skill or trade and take control of your future. Best of luck to both of these men.

Very true and very well done. Thanks!

In 1998 an old trucker warned me not to become a trucker, because he said the trucking industry wasn't what it use to be. Thank you, sir. Update: People it was 30yrs ago. I'm talking about my personal experience. That old Trucker did me a solid. I went on to a greater career. Geez

I’m one of those homeless truckers. It just don’t make sense to pay over $1000 for a home and only be there 4 days a month.

Thanks for these information. Thank you guys for this. 🙏🙏🙏

Excellent video - Thanks!

Both of my roommates are truckers. People love to tell me stuff like "wow, it must be so great having the house to yourself all the time," but the truth is that i miss my friends, and when they come home after weeks or months of living in a box on wheels I can see the toll it takes on them. On top of that the drivers are constantly getting screwed on pay, time off, load scheduling, etc and yet the companies constantly complain about the lack of truckers. It's not a mystery. Trucking has to change.

Truck driving is easily one of the most under appreciated and under paid professions out there. Half of these companies still think drivers can get by on $800 a week…son it’s hardly a surprise the industry has a near 99% turnover rate. It’s difficult to find people willing to forfeit their family, friends, and hobbies to go out on the road for weeks at a time and get treated like a second class citizens.

I drove from 2005-2014. Even at the end of that timeframe it was junk. I quit driving and now run a semi trailer repair shop. I make just shy of 6 figures, I’m home every night, weekends and holidays off, no idiots cutting me off, and I’m not responsible for a multi million dollar load for peanuts. Been here for 10 years now and it’s great.

I've been a trucker for 25yrs. I knew I couldn't afford a house, etc. so while living in my truck I squirreled away enough to pay cash for an older 23ft motorhome. My car is 22yrs old. I'm now saving up to put solar in my rv. I'm almost 67 and hope to retire soon. I won't be able to afford rv parks or fuel to travel much but I do have a few friends that will let me park on their rural property. Not what I had in mind for my golden years but much better than nothing. 😊

Your assessment of trucking tiday is DEAD ON 100%❤! MY THANKS for it sirs and madam!!!

I’m sorry brother, I have so much respect for our truckers, same level of respect I have for first responders, I hope things get easier for you.

At this point anyone who comments 'get a better job' or 'some people don't want to work' is either cruel, a bot, a CEO, or just completely unaware.

If you ever want a fun time, go into Google Maps and click around on businesses that have truck docks. A lot of truckers actually review the receiving office and it's amazing how long they have to wait around to unload. There's a grocery warehouse near me that backs up so badly, the trucks are literally parked in the middle lane of the road leading in, which causes some pretty wild traffic issues with people trying to get around the snarl. (that particular warehouse is an OSHA horror, a man died last year when a badly maintained rollup dock door crushed him) You also find out about how the truckers actually have to pay "lumpers" to unload their trucks because the warehouse doesn't employ anyone directly. It's wild.

More and more people might face a tough time in retirement. Low-paying jobs, inflation, and high rents make it hard to save. Now, middle-class Americans find it tough to own a home too, leaving them without a place to retire.

This was very eye opening

"If we give people raises, we have to charge more for goods/services." Reality: everyone makes way less money and every thing costs way more, also.

This is actually pathetic. Not the man, but society. Our society is absolutely pathetic.

I've been a driver for just about 25 years and owned a truck for 17 of those years. We sold our truck in early 19 not knowing what was coming in 20. Wow!! What a blessing in disguise. Now I'm a company guy and there are a couple outfits where you can do really well. I left the best outfit I've ever worked for to go back to open deck trailers and I sure do miss where I was at. But at the same time, I'm on my way out of the industry. The regs and political stuff aren't the only thing affecting the industry nowadays. The selfish society that we live in happened to get in and the drivers don't even talk to each other much. And I won't start on how some of the drivers actually drive the truck itself. 😮😮 And then the self driving ones are coming!! I used to love it, which some parts of it I will always hold in my heart. I've met some really good people and seen a lot. It's time for something different.

good stuff. Great piece

That's why I left the industry in 2019, after 20 years of trucking! Now I'm making the same money with less stress and being home every evening!

This is happening to all normal jobs, even in EU. 30y ago a man could work in a factory and have a family with house. Now normal people doing normal jobs cant afford 1 room flat. And all rich people will tell you,get a better job, but who will clean the streets,paint your house,cut the grass etc? I asked politicians many times who decides what minimum wage is and how people should live on that and nobody can answer that. All data show that middle class is getting lower and lower so now we have majority of people in lower class and small group of rich people and you can see it every day everywhere, look at restaurants where we have to tip the servise because boss pays the minimum wage to everyone so HE can have a new bugatti version. Or when a boss gets a contract on reconstruction and he pays the minimum wage,buys cheapest materials and gets maximum profit. And rich people will tell you to work harder and invest there and there and buy houses etc but from what if you get paid minimum wage since school? They will also tell you that everybody can be rich which is ultimate biggest lie and scam because if everybody is rich who will do the work? Look at Detroit etc. where big companies moved factories to China to make maximum profit and still act like an American firm,what a joke we live in right now,its sick.

If you made 100k 30 years ago, you may have spent some money wrong my guy

Hats off to those guys. Tough tough line of work.

Another sad reminder that everyone needs to wake up and realize that change needs to be fought for. My heart goes out to those truckers and I hope that they can unionize or something. Please try to find local politicians to support that are pro union, and in this case, pro trucker.

My mom's been a trucker for nearly 25 years. She's sacrificed a lot, mostly time with her kids. It's an injustice she barely gets by.

about to start trucking school, and i know how God will provide like a good good father

I began Truckin in 2019 at 52. For the last 5 years, I've been enjoying the best years of my life. In the road 3...sometimes 4 months, then I stay in Brazil for a month and live in Paradise (nowadays the U.S.$ has 5X the buying power there). The dry van/reefer rates have gotten ridiculously low, so I just recently switched to hazmat for better pay. Now I have a plan. Do the same (3 months on, 1 month in Brazil), but now I plan on investing my $ on land in Brazil. I definitely don't want to be a 70 yr old broke Trucker. Stories like this motivate me to stick to my plan.

My father was an owner operator for nearly 10 years. He could be on the road for 3 weeks and back home for 1, sometimes he was gone longer and sometimes he'd stay home longer. It was a sacrifice but he didn't know another way to earn the kind of money he made trucking. I've got respect for anyone doing this kind of work because of him. RIP dad.

This is America, we work to give the billionaires and ultra-millionaires the life they deserve 😅😂

Truckers deserve excellent pay, excellent benefits, and excellent working conditions. They are unsung heroes. Because without truckers this country comes to a GRINDING HALT. They perform an absolutely vital service.

Elogs were the next to final blow for many truckers, now it's driver facing cameras, and don't forget the fuel companies price gouging,

I was in the trucking industry for 30 years and got out I've seen nothing but a steady decline in industry in this country in the last 30 years

I got my truck driver's license I drove for 2 months I went back to being mechanic it was so ridiculous I don't know how anyone can do it. They are being robbed blind I have so much respect for truckers everybody needs to have respect for them for how hard they work being away from their families

Sounds like millions of us. 31 years doing roofing siding and rough framing and am physically broke and literally broke.

That's f'n insane. One of my buds here in the U.K. started trucking and was able to live comfortably working 2-3 days per week, it's one of my dream jobs but since he passed his HGV test the hours have risen by 20% and the wage has dropped by 30%+. Now there's "a massive shortage of drivers". Costs have risen but not enough to justify that, and I can say that confidently because another one of my mates owns a trucking company and he can still drive his Bentley to the pub and back to his mansion in Hampshire 7 days a week. Way to screw a perfectly good trade.

I like how if you get paid slightly above minimum wage, no college degree, they work you to death and act like they are paying you 1 million dollars a year. Pretty annoying to see the offices workers leaving at 5 and you staying till 8 (especially when your body is at its limit).

The most needed workers in this country are also the lowest paid. That spells trouble.

Go get em Billy!!! Let us know how we can help!!!

I regret ever becoming a truck driver. My last check was 496$ for a full week.

I have been a truck driver and owner operator since 2010. It breaks my heart to see Bill working very hard at his 71 years birthday and showing the real life that we have as truck drivers. I am thinking seriously about leaving the industry. We have to deal with many things to make our job correctly. We have to follow rules that don't go according to reality of our job. ELD doesn't care if you're tired. You need to go. As time goes by, our bodies don't behave the same way they did 15 years ago. ELD doesn't care about our age. I am 52 years old and I have been driving since 2010. My eyes are tired. ELDs are very strict, and we have to drive when ELD allows us. Even though we are a very regulated industry, shippers and receivers imposed fines $$ if we arrive late to our appointments. I agree with Billy. The only way to be heard by the people who rule the American government is by getting organized in the best way possible. Everyone who wants to be a truck driver or owner operator needs to be organized. The government doesn't understand our necessities as an important industry. ELDs had created an urgency in the drivers mind. (trying to beat the clock) That is the reason you will see truck drivers driving at the highest speed limit even though the weather conditions and the road conditions are not recommended. It is not only ELDs. We have many issues in our industry, but ELDs came to add another headache. Billy, I am with you 100%

71 years old and that man still got what it takes. The "scars" on his face represent all the years of his hard work and dedication to service. These great men today are suffering and this is so shameful. My respect to you Billy.

I see a lot of people are berating the old fellow for making bad choices in life, while that may be true, that doesn't mean his complaint about things getting worse is unfounded, he at least is acting to make things better for himself and others with the same occupation and by extension, everyone. That alone makes him better than most men, so I take my hat off for him.

Not getting paid overtime when you work overtime every day is insane

My old man used to make $270,000 a year… I’m not open to say how easy it was. But if you made connections with private companies you can reel in with the tough hauls that others are afraid of doing & make a good business. It all died when inflation hit everyone, basically 9/11.

Blame corporations and their corrupt politicians.

I’d love to see them strike, I hope they get workers protections, overtime, a livable wage and for them to know when they will be home.

The hotshot and owner operator spike we saw in post 2020 is part of the problem. How are individuals going to unionize? They can't. Not effectively at least, and if they managed to, there would still be a non union hotshot or o/o willing to take a shipment for cheaper. They are driving the pay down.

one thing forget to mention is HOW HARD IS TO DRIVE A DAMN TRUCK. I rented a trailer twice from Uhaul to attach to my car. Couldn't back up even my life depended on it both times. Instant appreciate on the skills these trucker have in order to drive them big'o trucks.

I am a homeless owner operator. I've made less than $100,000 in eleven years. I've spent close to a million dollars in repairs, fuel, insurance. Don't EVER buy your own truck

She forgot to mention that brokers are the reason why many Owners Op Leave the industry! They want to keep all the money for themselves!

She missed one of the biggest issues killing costs in trucking and transport. People, both companies and individuals, go to the online third party shipping platforms and marketplaces where they let any unlicensed Chuck with a truck bid on any type of load and the vast majority of them are inexperienced with no DOT number or insurance and people let them take the loads because it's cheap. Basically thousands of people taking loads for little more than gas money. Need to get rid of the platforms or at least have only regulated ones where these gypsie haulers can't work. It's killed the business for the legal transporters.

He made bad decisions. I make $100,000 a year as a truck driver and I have three paid off houses in three different countries.

I watched my boyfriend getting a speeding ticket due to rushing to get to another location because his previous client took forever to load. The system sets the truckers to fail under stuff that’s not under their control.

My Dad was a trucker in the 50s and 60s. Four kids, two cars, 5 bedroom house, ski boat, camper, vacation every year, and my Mom was a housewife. Impossible scenario now for most. Why?

I switched from truck driving to supermarket refrigeration . good package . pension plan. home every day . Make somewhat good money well over 100k but I can't afford a house . WA resident here.

You need to do one out here about the oilfield

My husband is a driver and it's really hard to compete with foreign drivers that will work for next to nothing. It drives down the wages for all of the other drivers.

I have been an owner operator for almost 3 decades and most people don't know how brutal being a trucker really is. I used to be a Canadian and Alaska hauler and we were required to drive 5000 miles a week solo. My entire career has been like that and like 25% of the work I've done, I've never been paid for. During covid I went hungry every day and washed myself in rivers because the restrooms were closed. I have been robbed and beaten, I've almost froze to death from hypothermia. I have been shot at from road rage and I can't even remember all of the times I've been hurt by horrible people. And most trucker's get treated this way, so people can eat. America is built on taking advantage of innocent people

The industry has knowingly not kept pace with inflation. But it’s a problem across the board. Too much 7 digit bonuses and golden parachute policies polluting the system.

All that Hope and Change making America Great Again 👍

I was in trucking for a dozen years after 25 years of tech and 3 years in the oilfield. I liked it and made it work for me. I made a plan to retire oversees 10 years prior to getting out. I saved and spent nothing while trucking. Fortunately for me I broke my collarbone at work so I got a 1 year sabbatical on workman's comp with my family. I'm now in the Philippines debt free with no housing cost beyond normal living expenses. That being said, trucking has become very exploitative and restrictive as this video illustrated. Truckers must unite to force change like the farmers did in the Netherlands or it's going to keep getting worse. Nobody else cares about truckers beyond other truckers.

If a trucker cant even affird a home, where tf is the hope for me? 😞

Another technical aspect for company paid drivers is they get paid "by the mile" but some miles may not count. For example, I think they only get paid to the city limits / county line when in fact they have to make their way through the city to pick up point!

The truck driver union in my country, is one to be afraid of. You don't mess with truck drivers.

Where are those "cheaper prices" now? They must have went out for milk and haven't returned for 40 years.

I'm in my 60s and I've lived below the poverty line all my life. Even when working two jobs I was still poor. Now they're trying to criminalize poverty. Damn shame.

Last trucking job I was working, they started paying $50 layover per day on a third day after delivery day while waiting for pickup. And of course you didn't get paid for that third day if a pickup came at 11 pm that day. So If you delivered Monday, you did not start getting paid layover until Thursday.

Long haul Hardly home Divorce Single income Lose home Disorganized finances Must keep working That about sum it up?

Kia Ora & Good Evening from Caribbean Drive, Unsworth Heights, North Shore, Auckland, New Zealand ...Another Great Video Bro.

My husband and I realized in the 80's that being an owner operator was profitless. My husband sub hauled for construction company. With 20% fee for renting the trailer, 5% for finders fee, truck insurance, fuel expenses, tires, miscellaneous repairs, PUC dues, quarterly Federal and state taxes...etc,etc...as well as trying to maintain healthcare insurance for our family of four, which during the Reagan administration we could no longer write the health insurance off on the business end of the taxes. That was an additional major hardship. Recognizing that trying to run a business as an owner operator was relentlessly fruitless and leaving the industry what's the best decision we had made. That was approximately 30 years ago. Good luck to you. 🍀🍀🍀🍀

Other countries have had tachographs and regulation for years however cheap European labour started a race to the bottom here in the UK. The pandemic changed a lot of that as many people decided to retire early and there is now a massive shortage. Wages are increasing but people don't want to do these jobs if you can earn similar money with no night away.

I work in the trades we have so many former truckers who couldn't make ends meet and changed careers.

A massive trucker strike just has to be done. It will suck so much and that’s because these folks are so important.

Almost every facet of American life got worse with deregulation and Reganomics

Yup. I got my commercial drivers licence back in the 90's when it paid well. There are a few good paying driving jobs still, but most are barely better than working at a burger joint...plus no free food.

Let’s follow the money trail. Success leaves clues, so does failure.

All absolutely true!! I am Canadian.. used to live in a truck doing long haul. Now, I haul aggregate local. Paid $34/hr for all hours worked. No log book, and in 14 years of that.. own a house and two nice vehicles. Also take time away from work for hobbies. Because I can afford to. I will never go back to freight hauling, there is no money in it.