Levinson and Stefani

As America’s truck drivers are working through one of the busiest times in their industry, many truckers are becoming fearful of an inability to get home easily if they are exposed to the coronavirus.

With almost two million long-haul truckers in the nation’s trucking industry, many of these drivers are part of a population likely to have diabetes, obesity, and a lack of health insurance. These complications make them particularly vulnerable to effects and complications from COVID-19.

“There are many concerns being 3,000 miles from home.” said Todd Hogan, a driver for a food trucking company. “What happens if I get sick from COVID-19? Will I ever see my family again?”

Still, our truckers must continue on, as without them, our hospitals, gas stations, and grocery stores would not be stocked. Truckers are a vital aspect of “final mile deliveries,” and, if truckers stopped working, it is currently estimated that grocery stores would be empty within a couple of days.

“We’ve worked really hard on this for the last several weeks,” said Ryder Supply Chain Solutions vice president of dedicated transportation solutions, Tom Regan. “With our procurement team, we thankfully got ahead of this on a supply front. That has been critical for us to keep all of our associates safe.”

Right now, Ryder has at least two months’ worth of critical supplies on hand, and Regan says that stockpile has been made possible due to the company being part of a supply chain. All employees share the responsibility of keeping surfaces and materials cleaned, along with a third-party cleaning service that comes regularly.

“We established metrics in terms of how much we think our drivers need,” said Regan. “Every driver gets a 16-ounce bottle of hand sanitizer every week. Until they say ‘stop,’ we’re sending it out to them. [We do the] same thing with gloves, disinfectant spray, [and] two rolls of paper towels weekly. We don’t want any driver to say they don’t have what they need to remain safe in this environment.”

For Werner Enterprises, CEO Derek Leathers said the company is implementing various methods to keep drivers healthy.

“The first line of defense is continuously trying to distribute and make available to our drivers sanitization supplies, predominantly in the form of hand sanitizer and, where available, wipes and disinfectant sprays,” said Leathers.

According to Regan, Ryder Supply Chain also has an online portal and a toll-free phone number drivers can utilize to order additional supplies. The company also uses twice-daily conference calls to get supply updates from staff.

“‘Captain of the ship’ is a term we use at Ryder,” said Regan. “That [term] basically says that if you feel something you are being asked to do is unsafe, don’t do it.”

Both Ryder and Werner are giving drivers time off when requested–especially drivers with pre-existing conditions.

“We’re letting every driver know that if they have any indication of feeling under the weather, that they are to stop what they are doing and let us know, and let us assist them with getting connected with the proper authorities,” said Leathers.

Werner is also working on implementing further education and awareness through videos and written information regarding the virus and proper practices to avoid it.

“We set up a COVID-19 hotline and email address for our drivers to be able to communicate directly any concerns or support they need,” said Leathers. “We have a telehealth line set up so they can access medical advice more readily without driving all over the place looking for a clinic or any kind of facility.”

On the other hand, though, some drivers are worried about their companies’ lack of protocol on what drivers should do if they contract the virus while on the job.

When one driver for Marten Transport, a large company that moves freight for third-party customers, began coughing and feeling feverish, the driver (who desired to remain anonymous) sent an email to the company. Marten refused to pay the driver for the time it would have taken to return the truck to the yard where the driver had left his or her car. A human resource representative at Marten told the driver to quarantine inside the truck.

“If a driver is sick, many are just taking a few days in their [trucks] to assess their health and then return to work again, because it isn’t COVID-19 they are experiencing, but flu, colds, allergies, etc.” said the HR representative in an email response to the trucker.

Other large trucking industry companies in the for-hire segment have not commented on their sick-leave policies, including Schneider National, J.B. Hunt, and Old Dominion Freight Line. 

TFI International out of Montreal said it will make “additional financial assistance measures” available for its employees, and Landstar System said it would provide $1,000 for up to two weeks for its drivers testing positive for COVID-19.

Trucking industry powerhouses UPS, FedEx, and XPO Logistics have efficiently amended their sick-leave policies in regards to the pandemic. UPS and XPO will give 10 days of additional sick leave, and FedEx will give 14, for employees diagnosed or living with someone diagnosed with the virus.

“Typically, our focus on truck safety is geared toward hours-of-service and on-the-road driving issues,” commented Jay Stefani. “And while that certainly doesn’t go away — even in this time of crisis — it’s great to see motor carriers taking steps to protect their truck drivers’ health so they can continue to safely keep essential products in stores.”

While trucker drivers serve on our front lives during this pandemic, many motor carriers, trucking companies, and political leaders are working on devising plans to provide substantial bonuses for these workers.

“All of our employees have gone above and beyond the call to action during this crisis,” said president and CEO of J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., John Roberts. “And nearly all of our field-level, front-line employees, and certainly all of our drivers, are required in-person and have upheld the high standards of our company. They have kept pace with the evolving supply chain needs of our customers in the face of great uncertainty.”

J.B. Hunt, one of the country’s largest supply chain solutions providers, announced it would be giving bonus checks of $500 to each of its drivers, field operators, and customer service employees.

Roberts hopes these bonuses will show his and the rest of the company’s appreciation of these workers’ above-and-beyond efforts “during these unprecedented times.” The bonuses will be given to managers and field employees in terminals, maintenance shops, intermodal ramps, Dedicated Contract Service account locations, and Final Mile distribution centers.

Werner Enterprises will also be providing financial bonus packages to employees during these stressful circumstances.

“Our focus on our drivers has been to support them with a comprehensive COVID financial package,” said Werner CEO, Derek Leathers. “We have chosen to not do a fleetwide incentive, but rather focus money where the need arises.”

Leather said the company’s intention for these bonuses is to give drivers needed resources, such as substantial pay for those directly impacted by coronavirus, as well as employee relief funds.

“We set up a COVID fund that will continue drivers’ pay if they were to be quarantined for the two-week quarantine period,” said Leathers. “We pledged a million dollars to our employee relief fund to provide additional assistance above and beyond that to drivers that are in need.”

Roadmaster Group out of Phoenix has also been planning to recognize its drivers’ efforts during the pandemic with a bonus, according to the company’s CEO, John Wilbur.

“For our drivers, this is just a time where, if we can throw them a little bit of extra money to help them and their family, we just wanted to take the opportunity and do that,” Wilbur explained.

With that mindset, Roadmaster is giving drivers an extra 5 cents per mile. Owner-operators will get an additional 2% in revenue share.

“We just came up with a little bit of a boost to their pay while they are out there for this time period,” said Wilbur. “Right now, we’re doing it for the month of April, but we might extend it month-for-month as required.”

Tyson Foods has pledged $60 million in order to give its drivers and support staff–118,000 total workers–$500 bonuses as well.

“Our team members are leading the charge to continue providing food to the nation,” said Noel White, Tyson CEO. “The bonuses are another way we can say ‘thank you’ for their efforts. We’re proud of how our team members have stepped up during this challenging time to make sure we continue fulfilling our critical mission of feeding people across America.”

On top of these company-wide incentives, Democrats have announced a plan to give up to $25,000 in “hazard pay” bonuses to workers on the front lines of this pandemic in the next economic relief package, specifically for doctors, nurses, postal workers, grocery store employees, and truckers. The package would also raise hourly pay to $13 for these workers.

“It all goes to essential workers, not just those in the medical facilities and home care workers, but also truck drivers who deliver supplies, and grocery store clerks who keep food on the shelves, and transit workers,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The cost of the pay raise would be provided by big business, and the federal government would cover the funds for smaller companies.

Schumer also called this package a “heroes fund.”

“They deserve it,” said Schumer. “They are risking their lives, [and] they are going through unusual changes in their lives.”

These funds will become available to employees working “from the start of the public health emergency until the end of the year.”

Right now, Walmart Inc. is working to hire an additional 150,000 temporary workers while simultaneously preparing its stores’ parking lots to become coronavirus testing sites in the midst of the quickly-progressing pandemic.

“Everything is ready to go,” said executive vice president of corporate affairs, Dan Bartlett. “We have the tents. It should be up and running soon.”

The company has already begun testing around Chicago, with a priority of testing health care workers and emergency responders. These efforts are in collaboration with drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance and other medical officials.

Most of the new employees will work in stores, and many of them are expected to become permanent staff after the outbreak subsides. Walmart has been working with restaurant and hospitality companies to hire workers who may be experiencing furloughs and layoffs.

The hiring announcement was first released soon after Amazon said it would be hiring 100,000 delivery and warehouse workers in order to meet heavier online shopping demands.

Walmart has been experiencing traffic surges lately that it has only ever experienced during holiday peaks. The company is now working on ”catching its breath,” said Bartlett, while its grocery pickup requests have been “slammed.” Although the initial high demand that was emptying store shelves was for paper products and bottled water, the focus is now on food and groceries.

“We’re trying to find where the new normal is,” Bartlett explained. “We’re not sure we’ve hit it yet.” 

As U.S. unemployment benefit filings are expected to surge to new records (as high as 3 million, according to Bank of America), Walmart is not expecting any shortage of qualified applicants. The new hires will be divided across Walmart’s 4,750 American stores as well as throughout its 150 distribution centers.

In addition, Walmart, which employs 1.5 million people across the country, said it would pay cash bonuses totaling $550 million to its hour workers.The company plans to pay a $300 cash bonus to its full-time hourly workers and $150 to its part-timers. It will also be accelerating first-quarter bonuses.

Target Corp. is also boosting its wages, raising them by $2 an hour for its store and distribution center workers until May 2nd. Target will also be giving special bonuses to around 20,000 of its hourly managers and will provide paid leave of up to 30 days for its older and pregnant workers. According to Target, these efforts total about $300 million.

Bartlett says that at Walmart, most of the new workers will either staff the company’s distribution center or work at online fulfillment centers, not necessarily making up for in-store workers unable to appear at work. “It’s not so much about filling a gap, but there is just so much demand,” Bartlett said.

Walmart will give every American hourly worker employed by March 1st a special bonus, with payments expected by April 2nd.

“We felt this was a moment [in which] they needed to be provided some extra merit pay,” Bartlett said. “They are doing herculean work in our stores–serving our customers in, frankly, a tense environment.”

In regards to coronavirus testing, federal and state health officials are initially administering tests while Walmart staffers will observe. Soon, the company’s pharmacies will be able to carry out swab tests, but will not handle the data of patients.

“We don’t want people coming off the street and thinking they can get a test,” said Bartlett “It will be an orderly process.”

Walmart does not plan to shut down any of its U.S. stores, unlike many other department stores. According to Bartlett, Walmart’s leaders in the U.S. are looking to their counterparts overseas. Out of China’s 400 Walmart stores, “maybe two” had to be closed during the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Still, most reduced hours of operation.

The company’s efforts may be impressive, but some labor advocates are critical of the expectations of these workers.

“The expansion of Walmart’s workforce by hiring temporary employees is nothing to celebrate,” said Melissa Love, a Walmart employee and member of United for Respect, a labor advocacy group. “This is a slap in the face: In the midst of a crisis, while associates like me are going above and beyond the call of duty to serve our customers, Walmart is bringing in an army of new hires to do our jobs, and we can’t even get enough hours.”