A female truck driver delivers food to a supermarket
In a blog post from Walmart Company, Fernando Curtis, Senior Vice President, Transportation and Carissa Spragg, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain People wrote, “Walmart drivers can now earn up to $ 110,000 in their first year with the company. And that’s just the beginning – drivers who have been with Walmart for a long time will be able to earn even more based on factors such as duration and location. “
We are seeing a resurgence of blue-collar and frontline workers. In many places, Starbucks and Amazon workers have voted to form a union. At several companies, employees have gone on strike and called strikes. Frontline and blue-collar workers are demanding better pay and benefits, as well as being treated with dignity and respect by bosses at work.
Compensation over $ 100,000 may seem strange to many at first. White-collar college graduates can be incredible about the salary of a person who does not have a university degree. From supermarkets to their supply chain and geopolitical events, education may be required. If you go shopping yourself or outsource the work to an Instacart gig-worker, you will either see empty shelves or get text from the gig contractor that they can’t find about sixty percent of the requested items.
Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has disrupted supply chains. The contribution of these two countries is about thirty percent of wheat and allied agricultural products. Due to the war farmers could not lean towards their crops or market their produce safely.
Several months ago, President Joe Biden forced labor leaders at port to work around the clock to unpack containers, unload them from docks, and send goods, food, and supplies to the American public. It has helped, but there is a big problem that needs to be solved. We can accept all products from China and other countries of the world, however, if the store does not have enough truckers to deliver, the supermarket shelves will be empty.
To add to the problem, disruption of the supply chain has already stoked record-setting rates of inflation, drastically increasing the cost of everything from food to petrol and computer shipping.
Truckers are often ignored because of working class bias. The reality is that truck drivers are the lifeblood of the trade, transporting 60% of the U.S. economy across the country. The current challenge is the massive shortage of trucks. The industry has lost 6% of its workers since the epidemic began and some companies have seen trucker attrition rates rise to 150%. During the outbreak of the virus, it was difficult to find new recruits to train and learn how to operate these large and sophisticated vehicles.
The trucking industry desperately needs at least 80,000 new truckers, says US Express, one of the largest truckload carriers in the country. The American Trucking Association reports that the sector will face a shortage of 160,000 drivers by 2030 and will need one million new drivers over the next 10 years.
Driving a truck is a difficult way to make a living. You are on the road for most of your life. If you have a family, you may not see them for several months at a time. Stopping at small rest stations, local dinners, and substandard motels makes the driver sensitive to the Covid-19. Many truck drivers also bear the burden of gas, insurance and maintenance costs, which reduces the cost of taking them home.
It’s a hot job with about 11 million opportunities available. With a lot of jobs, many truckers have decided to leave the industry and do something new. They have gone into construction because the real estate market is heating up, manufacturing, warehousing and perfection centers or taking on a new trade. If nothing is done to increase the number of trucks, no matter how many goods are imported, they will not be able to be delivered quickly and prices and inflation will continue to rise uncontrollably.
Walmart understands this dilemma and takes action. The retail giant has launched its inaugural Walmart Private Fleet Development Program. Throughout a 12-week program, supply chain partners in Dallas, Texas and Dover, Delaware have earned their Commercial Driving License (CDL) and become fully private fleet Walmart drivers.
To give growth opportunities, Big Box Chain also offers trackers access to the Live Better U program, where Walmart covers tuition and book costs for college degrees, and our nationwide Walmart Academy network.
Established in private fleets, experienced drivers act as certified driver trainers, educating the next generation. The process takes months of real-world experience under trained instructors, and a dedicated mentor to help them smoothly transform into new roles. After completing both classroom training and real-world experience, the student will graduate, and be ready to start driving a truck.
With more such programs, the full deployment of truckers will create new jobs, help reduce supply chain disruptions and reduce uncontrolled inflation.
