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For the past 4.5 years I've been hauling parts for the automotive industry as a truck driver. Specifically I haul transmissions for GM. I thought that I was pretty much safe from the Bush economy because everybody needs transportation, right? Well at the beginning of this year the GM plant that I haul to cut back production. I thought that was pretty shitty, but then last week they announced that they were cutting back even more. So far I will have lost $9,000 off of my income by the end of the year and that could very well grow even higher. I know of one driver who was making $1100 a week last year who is now making $600.
I've been looking for another job, but there just isn't anything out there that pays enough unless I decide to drive over-the-road again. I currently get home every night and I really enjoy sleeping in a house and visiting family and friends when I want to. I also lead a healthier lifestyle being home all the time as opposed to being out on the road. The best offer I've had was for a company where I'd be making $3,000 more a year, but they are 50 miles away. Hardly worth the change. Four years ago it was easy to find a good paying job in the trucking industry if you had a couple of years experience, but now it seems like everybody is hurting. The jobs are still out there, but the pay is cheaper. I heard somebody want to label Republicans as "Cheap Labor Conservatives" because they are so anti-labor. It looks like that label is accurate.
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