Leverage
Leverage is a powerful thing. Use a simple leverage system of a board and a fulcrum and you can move an object that you could not move without it. The further that you slide the fulcrum the heavier the object that you can move with the same force. Leverage is also the ability to get things done. The fulcrum has moved to the point where rates need to rise.
Sandi Soendker wrote an interesting piece in the current Land Line magazine “Wage war?”. It was about leverage. The word never appears in the article. Even though, I think it is all about leverage. Much of the article was talking with OOIDA President Jim Johntson. Jim Johnston and I don't know each other. We agree maybe 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time, he's wrong. That is a bit of a joke. He is a smart man as has good reasons to believe what he does and I respect his accomplishments.
There were some interesting quotes from Johnston and others in the article. As a driver they made me stand up
and cheer. Johnston said “The most effective, long term fix is to pay good drivers what they are worth”. YES! Kenny Vieth from ACT research said “It's not a driver shortage. It's a driver pay shortage and always have been.” The article did miss some timeless quotes from future FMCSA Chief Clark. “Saying that there is a driver shortage is like walking into a Cadillac dealer and offering $30,000 for a new Escalade and then when the offer is turned down, shouting that there is an Escalade shortage.” Clark's follow up quote is 
“If you paid drivers $1,000,000 per year would you have enough drivers? If the answer is yes, then you don't have a driver shortage.”
Change is inevitable. This industry has been using a business model that could not last forever. The average driving career lasts about 3.2 years. The small sample size of my driving school class (12) mirrors that average. We had 11 drivers last an average of about a year. One of us lasted 26, so far.
I watched as my classmates struggled. Some of them quit even without other options. Others went back to doing whatever it was they were doing before they became truckers. Honestly, looking back on what I put up with my first year, I can't believe that I stayed either. As an experienced driver, and owner operator life has gotten pretty good. It has also given me perspective.
Honesty is good. Our problem is not that we do not attract enough people. Our problem is that we don't keep them. The business model of the disposable driver is not good for the industry. We need to take a good hard look at ourselves. Increasing the supply of drivers by lowering standards is not the answer. Mr. Johnston is right. “The most effective, long term fix is to pay good drivers what they are worth.” And I would add that we need to treat them as we would want to be treated.