Walmart Drivers Getting A Big Raise To Nearly $90,000
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Walmart is raising driver pay and it's nearly double the average salary in the Sacramento area. It's just one of the ways the company is looking to recruit and retain drivers.
"I'm not a people person. I like going out and doing my thing and going out and not having someone looking over my shoulder," said Vern Miroth.
Miroth has been driving a truck for 18 years. The job has served him well and now he wants to serve others. A couple months ago he started working as an instructor at Western Truck School in West Sacramento.
"It's cool. I like it. It's something new for me. It's stretching my boundaries that's for sure," said Miroth.
He's helping guys like Nichoulas Musselman earn their commercial drivers license.
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"I really haven't been able to lock in a skill, a career, since I got out of the military, so this is definitely going to do that for me," said Musselman.
The Army veteran was driving for Uber and Lyft when he decided to sign up for classes.
"I figured rather than rack up miles on my car, I might as well do it on someone else's vehicle and get paid more," said Musselman. "I went online and you see nursing, nursing. trucking, nursing, trucking. I didn't think I'd make a good nurse, so here I am."
He's paying $5000 out of pocket for the chance to earn top dollar in a high-demand industry. After years of long hours and low pay, the tables are turned in an online economy.
Companies are calling. Retail giant-Walmart is now offering drivers close to $90,000 a year. Last year Walmart put more than 1400 new truck drivers behind the wheel with hundreds more slated to join their fleet this year thanks to an expedited new hiring process.
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Walmart spokeswoman, Michelle Malashock, said: "Instead of waiting to bring you onboard after a road test, we actually bring you to two training centers and have you do a road test with a bunch of drivers in an application pool."
Walmart requires 30 months experience with a clean driving record. Musselman says it could be his final destination. He'll graduate in February and hit the open road.
"I'm going to be staking out places I might want to move to. I don't plan on living here much longer," he said.
Miroth is proud to see him go and knows big incentives mean big business.
"That will help the truck driving school for sure," said Miroth.
Walmart has 8,000 members in its fleet. The company says it teams veteran drivers with new applicants in their hiring process to set recruits up for success.
If you're interested in becoming a driver for Walmart, here's a link to a job currently posted in West Sacramento.
