Yeah, Oldschool, I don't come in here much any more. I kind of miss some of the interaction, but I usually leave pretty black and blue from the beatings.
I think DirecTV would like to see as many (if not all) of their techs running aroung in those pretty white vans. They seem to like the image that they present and I'm sure they like the free advertizing that is paid for by the HSPs. I hear they required the HSPs to have at least 80% (ramping up to 100% over time) of the HSP employees in "company" vehicles. They (HSPs) can use up to 20% contract labor for peaks and valleys of workload.
So, I think you are right. I think in the future you will see most (if not all) of the HSP employee techs in company vans doing most of the work with a small percentage of work going to approved contracting companies.
I also think uboat is correct. I think the POV position will probably dwindle over time. When you really thing about it, a POV is an employee that just happens to be using his own truck instead of one of the HSP/DirecTV vans. He certainly should be compensated for the expense he incurrs for using his truck, but beyond that, he should be treated like any other employee (in my opinion). He should be required to work the same hours, get the same pay for the same work.
Whether the hourly pay is enough for what a tech does, can and I suspect, will always be debated, but I think the days of having different pay scales for "POVs" and "COVs" are about gone. Some companies will decide to pay all its techs by the "piece" and others will decied to pay "hourly", but I think very few if any companies will pay both.
In the end it is all going to be about productivy. Even if a tech is working hourly, he is going to have to meet minimum production requirements during those eight hours to keeps his position. No one ultimately survives if a tech is running around in a company van (or his own vehicle, for that matter), doing one or two jobs a day and getting paid for eight hours work. Of course, this is just one mans opinion.
Oldschool, see you in a year of so. I suspect someone needs to send the parameds toward ubouts place. He will probably have stroke or heart attack when he reads this. Bruister must have really done a job on him. I hope he has found someone who is treating him much better now or by now maybe he has formed his own company and is realizing the risks and rewards of being his own boss. If he has formed his own company, I assume that it is fully unionized by now and all of his employees are happy campers.
Re: One last blow to POV techs
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