Drivers tend to be independent and generally take pride in their work.
Current management has stripped our independence and many have lost pride in their job.
Many drivers are starting to view working for Con-way as an embarrassment.
Your first statement appears to be dead on. From 1968 - 1971, I drove for CF out of its Martinez, CA terminal. This terminal was principally for tankers and the Clark Farnsworth division (flats and heavy haul). I don't think Con-Way, which I understand is some sort of successor to CF, was around then. On the tankers I ran a lot of sleeper on the I5 corridor. Because one had to consider his partner (in those days one could choose his partner -- no Title 7 crap) one tended to be constrained about routes and how driving chores were split. Briefly, members of sleeper teams were considerate of each other. But no matter what, the guy who was driving was the boss.
In a couple of years, tankers (CF Bulk Commodities) got slow so I transferred to Clark Farnsworth (our trucks were the standard old green Freightliners), the only variation was that they were long wheelbase tractors as they had been used in Alaska and for that use, droms had been mounted. They were fair old rigs -- not too many breakdowns as we had top-notch mechanics who were fairly tolerant of us drivers. With few exceptions, at Clark Farnsworth (terminals in Long Beach, Martinez, Medford, Portland, and Seattle) we ran roll and rest. That was fine with me. At that job, one could pick his time and routes. It was not unusual for a driver to take a slightly different route to a delivery point or terminal and because of such little things like that bad roads or other problems could be avoided. In addition variety made the job more interesting. (By contrast last year and a couple of years prior to that, I ran back and forth to or towards Fairbanks from Anchorage -- no alternate roads -- boring.) Briefly, it seems that drivers should be treated like men who want to get the job done and a part of that is that they have prepared themselves to adapt to changing conditions.
From what I read here and elsewhere, it appears that the management of LTL lashups want complete control. To the extent that they have to service customers with prompt pickups and deliveries, managers should have a fair degree of time control. Beyond that, companies ought to leave drivers alone. It seems to me that humans like routine interspersed with variety. The problem is and probably has been how to establish a sufficient level of trust between management and drivers so that freight can get from here to there effectively first and then efficiently.
Were managers members of this or like fora, maybe some trust could be developed. Back in 1965 when I was starting out, an old tanker skinner, Bob Lawrence, once told me that trucking and women have something in common. Good looks and pay will get you there; but human relationships and conditions will keep you there.