Unskilled Labor? What's All These Switches and Stuff?

It's a slow start. After yesterdays mess up by the shop I was finally ready to roll at 1500. Being Monday, all of the freight that was available was already gone by then so I got to spend the night in the truck right there in GA, 70 miles from home. This morning I hear the sweet tone of two beeps meaning a load assignment. Now I'm moving. Well not exactly, moving. Sort of moved. It was 56 miles to Stone Mountain GA.

At least it's not raining and cold today. That's good because now that I'm at the customer I have to wait for one guy to empty 3 trailers before he gets to mine. He was working on that but it's gotten quiet right now. He probably went to lunch so I can wait on that time to pass as well.

If your a driver you know about CSA 2010. If not I can tell you that it is an initiative by the Federal Motor Carriers Association to tighten up assessment, compliance and enforcement of regulations of the trucking industry. It's the Government and there here to help. I'm not going to try to explain all that this involves. You can read more about it if interested at OOIDA and elsewhere. Actually, I welcome a lot of their efforts. My point is that things are changing that should improve safety and professionalism in the industry.

I am interested to see if the effort will do anything to change the perception of the driving profession. Most people don't know that being a professional driver is considered unskilled labor. Drivers are therefor not protected by the labor laws that protect most workers. I worked for 23 years for an airline and some of my best friends are airline pilots. Consider these comparisons.

Pilot - must do a thorough inspection of their equipment before flying
Driver - must do a thorough inspection of their equipment before driving
Pilot - must comply with hours of service regulations and keep a log
Driver - must comply with hours of service regulations and keep a log
Pilot - must have flight plan and know the route, fuel and time requirements, and environmental conditions
Driver - must have a dispatch and plan and know the route, fuel and time requirements, and environmental conditions
Pilot - is responsible for the safety of numbers of passengers from a few to many
Driver - is responsible for the safety of numbers others on the road passing hundreds of cars, buses and pedestrians

This could go on but my point is, being a pilot is considered a very professional occupation though being an OTR driver is considered unskilled labor. These professions are not at all the same but are they that different?