Louisville Magazine

JUL 2013

Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.

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student isn't lucky enough to receive a grant from KentuckianaWorks, then Carter says they'll have to turn to the bank of "mom and dad." In the last few years, banks have curbed giving loans for short, vocational training. (Some trucking companies do ofer tuition reimbursement.) One morning while sitting at outdoor picnic tables with Chesser and other students, Carter, who speaks with a heavy Southern drawl, throws a manicured hand in the air, riled about the push towards college, unemployment numbers and the fact that seats sit empty at her school. "Everything you consume everyday is moved by a truck. Te cofee I'm drinking was moved by a truck," she says clutching a mug. "Te beer you drink on the weekends was moved by a truck." But just as with manufacturing and skilled trades, society's demoted trucking to low-class, gritty status. "I think every time they interview someone on TV they go fnd the toothless wonder at the truck stop and then people depict that that's what all truck drivers look like," Carter says. "Te average truck driver is a professional person making a decent income, supporting their family." Chesser approaches a Bullitt County truck stop and Stephens, a 42-year trucking veteran, directs him to pull of for a bathroom break. A plaid shirt tucked neatly into belted khakis, Stephens fghts the stereotype. Having worked mostly for union trucking companies, the Prospect resident says he retired with a $100,000 salary. "Te longest streak I was ever out of work was three weeks," he says. Te economy can slow trucking's vitality. But the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers will grow by 21 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than average for all occupations. As the students disappear into the truck stop's maze of sodas and snacks, other drivers milling about show a lack of youth. In a parked red truck, a professorial-looking bald man peers over reading glasses, glancing up from a book he's reading. Heads of gray along with soft, middle-aged midsections mount and dismount from their bulky, steel chariots, like kids on a carousel. Many longtime drivers face retirement. Carter says that's one reason companies are "screaming" for drivers. Experience no longer needed. "Because there is a driver shortage," she says, "they're taking them right out my backdoor." Requirements are minimal: 21 years old, no criminal record, pass a test that shows you have eighth grade math and reading skills. Still, it's a challenge to recruit drivers. Not even an endorsement from the mayor helps. Tis past October, Mayor Fischer and KentuckianaWorks announced the Registered American Moving Professionals program (RAMP). If drivers qualifed (background checks, GED or diploma, drug tests, etc.) a federal grant paid for two months of training that would result in a promised job as a moving professional. Te wage guaranteed? Around $40,000 with benefts. At a press conference, Gritton felt comfortable assuring the media that by the end of May, 100 graduates from the Louisville region would be on the road hauling families' furniture. Te program will graduate 15, only four younger than 30. Gritton thought he'd get thousands of applications. Only a few hundred applied, this despite radio ads and social media campaigns. Trucking isn't easy. Tires pop. Mechanical systems fail. If you drive a fat bed, you have to secure your own load with chains and straps. Most beginning drivers will spend six months on the road. "It isn't just about pay when it comes to jobs," Gritton refects. Chesser knows all of this. But he's single and adventurous. And he loves trucks. Te screen saver on his iPhone is a Peterbilt 359 that he'd like to drive someday. When showing it to a fellow student, he brags that at night "it lights up like a Christmas tree." With Schrader now at the wheel, Chesser sits in the back sipping a Coke and scrolling through his phone. He's on Maverick Transportation's website, the company that he hopes to work for in a few weeks. "Depending on division, you will start out earning between 33 cents and 40 cents per mile," he reads. "Six cent per mile raise after six months." He smiles. Chesser's ready to make some money. J.D. Chesser (also pictured left) gets comfortable in the driver's seat of a semi. O n a muggy June morning, Salinas makes her way to Broadbent Arena at the fairgrounds. Her brown hair with blond highlights cascades down her back. Turquoise and gold earrings dangle near the tassel that hangs from her white graduation cap. Work boots at home, she walks in elegant, open-toe black heels, turquoise toenails peeking out. She heads to the seventh of eight rows of folding chairs located underneath harsh fuorescent lights. Hundreds of proud parents, some teary eyed, fll the arena's red and blue seats to watch as the Jefersontown High School class of 2013 graduates. Speakers applaud the record number of students receiving industry credentials, as well as the seniors who participated in the nth/works apprenticeship. Te district is hoping three more manufacturing companies will soon ofer similar apprenticeships. Salinas plans on continuing her work with nth/works post-graduation. No more four-hour days, though. She'll punch in at 5:30 am. Lunch will last 30 minutes. Eventually, she may enter a union apprenticeship with the goal of getting her journeyman's card. Her welding teacher has told her that big construction projects must hire 13 percent minority and female workers. "I'm marketable to everyone," she says pragmatically. At 10:05 her name echoes — Escarlett Jocelyn Salinas. She walks across the stage, shakes hands with the principal, grabs the leather folder that will hold her diploma. As the ceremony draws to a close, tassels shift from left to right. Caps fy into the air. All around Salinas, cheers erupt. Adulthood has arrived, an intoxicating blend of freedom and unknowns. But for Salinas, the future is clear. After a week of graduation parties, it's back to work. 7.13 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 65

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