United Road Expands Guaranteed Pay Benefit

Transport logistics provider United Road has expanded its guaranteed pay benefit to all company drivers so that first year, tenured and rehired drivers can all expect a level of financial assurance and can count on a consistent level of pay each pay cycle.

The benefit is a key element in United Road's strategy to attract, train and retain professional car haulers in particular in their first year of driving, United Road officials said in a press release.

For drivers in their first year guaranteed pay is $2,300 per pay period, which over the course of a year equates to a pay of at least $60,000. Tenured drivers, those with one year-plus of employment, will earn a minimum of $2,500 per pay period, at least $65,000 annually.

Typically, United Road company drivers earn well-above these thresholds with the top quartile of tenured drivers earning an average of over $100,000 annually, company officials said in press release.

"Our drivers haul in all kinds of weather including through and around hurricanes, construction zones, under challenging circumstances — from the pandemic to the chip shortage," Mark Anderson, United Road president and CEO, wrote in a letter this week to company drivers. "We recognize that many elements of carhauling are out of a driver's control including the variability of earnings. Guaranteed Pay is a mind-easing benefit, a safety net that can help mitigate the downswings of pay volatility."

To qualify for guaranteed pay a driver must be an active employee and operate a seven-car hauler or larger truck; be available to accept all assigned work within a current two-week pay period; and work a minimum of 100 hours during a pay period.

"We piloted the benefit earlier this year with first year drivers and saw a dramatic increase in driver satisfaction and retention," Anderson said. "It was a natural to take this pay stabilization benefit company-wide with our tenured and returning drivers. Our goal is to be the employer of choice for professional drivers.”

United Road employs approximately 900 professional drivers and has a network of nearly 1,000 independent contractors and 5,000 third party carriers.