TRUCKING RECRUITING SCAM - Shortage Caused By Slavery Employment Conditions & Abuse

From the outside looking in, to the inside looking out.

The scope and weight is enormous.

Drivers have no idea what goes on inside operations. Its a meticulous pace of price, data, volumes, weight, time and money coming in and going out on a flow sheet of numbers.

I think most problems with a driver comes from training. They fail to be up front in training to what your getting into.

Truck driving is a job like any other job with bosses telling you what to do. You have a false expectation as to what driving is about and you become angry and feel cheated and used. When I started, I had no idea I was to sleep in the back of the truck. I thought I was going to sleep in a hotel every night. Hahahaha silly me.

I adapted, I learned, listened, talked had a desire and a dream and I knew what I wanted to do and I did what was expected of me without bitching to much. Most of all, I seen this as a time of adventure and by the gods it was without doubt all that and more.

While dispatching drivers I heard some pathetic excuses and childish egos as to why they can't pickup or deliver on time or any host of lazy excuses why the truck is sitting in the yard when its suppose to be a couple hundred miles down the road.

And, I heard how drivers were bullied into doing loads they could not possibly do legally and it was up to me to fix that.

Let me just tell you the call volume to my phone was so immense, I could not answer satellite messages fast enough to drivers dispatched wanting directions to delivery destinations and because I was on the never stop ringing phone, drivers would call in for the information rather than wait for the sat message to be filled.

The system was stream lined but drivers had this demanding urge to call in when they were told to wait for the answer on the trucks sat communications.

Which meant the driver was in a truck stop for coffee on break and wanted to call in and ask for their next load information before they even got near the delivery which was 12 or more hours out.

I was part of the hammered cutting crew which handled after hours demand. What they failed to accomplish during the day I and 2 others assisted by a customer service rep performed as 10 dispatchers, all of planning and top level manager decision makers. I was unsupervised and made it all go like I had when I ran my game before.

I was so good at this they gave me raise after raise to where I was making what the top dispatchers pulled down on the day boards. My start pay was 22k a year and by 6 months I was at 25k topping 28k. I was a fucking god amongst children, I shit you not.

2 and a half years I gave myself and mentored the challenged, talked to the lost, directed the oops from day operations into a win situation next morning.

I tried to slip away to training because I found they were faltering there and drivers were quitting sometime 5 a day. The president of the company who had absolutely no idea what he was doing blocked me. I guess thats the cost of doing business when a boss feels threatened by some body who knows the business.

Let me point out that I dont hire for werner. Nor do I care where someone starts out. Again, Im just telling people from a resume standpoint and future job standpoint which is better for a newbie. A big company like Werner or Swift, or a small "mom and pop" company. The answer will always be the big company.
If I get a good paying local job thrown on my desk tomorrow and the requirements are 1 year recent OTR experience and a clean driving record. If I send them two drivers. 1 who spent a year at Werner, in their crappy trucks, and another driver that spent a year at "Bobs Trucking", 9 times out of 10, the Werner driver will get that good job.
I see it all the time. A driver who has been working for a small mom and pop company for two years, that company goes out of business. The driver calls me, says he has two years experience, but the company is out of business. Smaller companies are much harder to verify, and out of business companies can be impossible to verify. Guess what? An unverifiable job for two years, might as well be unemployment. It just wont count as experience. If I need to fill a position, that means the company has an empty truck and that truck needs to be filled quickly. The longer it takes to verify employment, the less chance a driver has of getting that job. So for these reasons, and insurance reason (insurance companies just like drivers who have driven for and been trained by major carriers), large companies will always be the best choice for newbie drivers.

As far as your "friend" being fired for that accident. Just the nature of the industry. A company that hires newbies like werner, has to pay a shitload in insurance cost. And because their insurance allows them to hire newbies, they will have strict guidelines. The Insurance company most likely told werner, we can no longer insure that driver because of the wreck. So Werner had no choice but to fire them. Sometimes drivers get fired for accidents that werent the drivers fault. I have a driver Im trying to find a job for right now who had never had an at fault accident in his life. But a year ago, he was hit by a drunk driver, and that drunk driver was killed. Im having the hardest time placing that driver in a job. Insurance companies just dont want to insure ANY DRIVER who was involved in a fatality accident, even if it wasnt his fault. Is it fair? Nope. But it is what it is. We dont make the rules, the insurance companies do. We choose to work in this industry and we have to live by those rules.

you think is funny

and I know way

Before going Independent and working for myself, I worked the Corporate office of one of the nations largest trucking companies. I know exactly what you mean. I honestly believe a lot of problems could be solved if corporate would bring drivers into the office as part of their training and show them what goes on with dispatching and operations. I honestly believe a lot of drivers think those doing the dispatching are just sitting around, laughing and thinking of ways to make the drivers lives hell. Seeing all sides of the industry and working in it for so long, I can honestly answer the question. Who has the toughest job, Drivers or Dispatchers? By far the answer would be Dispatchers. And they are usually paid a lot less than the drivers. Ive worked in Safety, Recruiting and as a freight broker....I would never want to be a dispatcher. The stress they work under every day is scary. Now I got the best job in the world in Transportation. I just sit in my man cave everyday, take phone calls, do applications and get paid. Easy and no more stress...lol

After my 6 weeks of truck driver training the company had a big oreintation back at the home 20 from all over the united states for all the new drivers who passed the training.

The boss who owned the company welcomed us and told us during the oreintation that if we have a wreck, its cheaper to kill all involved. I was like what. I couldn't believe he said that but from an insurance stand point, its the cheapest way to pay out in litigation.

Insurance carriers for commercial vehicles do dictate who drives those big rigs and their not going to let just anybody roll an 80 thousand pound machine down a highway with crazy four wheelers buzzing around the truck.

I can't begin to tell you how many four wheelers I saved from instant death because they had no idea what I was in control of.

Now days, I can only imagine what its like to be on the roads driving 80 thousand pounds of death with nutty people clueless and in a hurry riding along side a big rig and suddenly go all zombie as they maneuver into the right lane without signals or looking as the trucker jamms on the air brakes avoiding stupidity of ignorance behind the wheel of that car.

One time I was on my harley riding along when a car passed me and came up along side a semi and the driver of the car began to pass the truck on the right as it did, the driver of the car turned the steering wheel to the left and went sideways in front of the cab over truck as the truck pushed th car down the road sideways.

I raced by on my bike and looked over at the driver of the car being pushed sideways down the freeway and it was a woman with a kid behind her. Both their eyes were as large as saucers with the kid looking out the side window at the grill of the truck and the women staring stright ahead with eyes popped out as the truck locked the brakes and was skidding.

When I worked in Corporate, we had a year where our drivers only killed 3 people. It was considered a great year. Strange working in an industry where there is an acceptable number of fatalities.

I dreaded calls at night for accidents. We had some killer wrecks that killed four wheelers and drivers. I handled them and we had to follow the federal rules and guidlines as drivers had to be drug tested if anything happened.

I had a driver call in on his way home in georgia. He was all giddy about it as I asked him what happend and he said he drove off the road into the median its no problem and he wanted to get home asap.

I go hold on, set up a drug test asap and go back on the phone, sorry ron, you have to go get drug tested right now. I of course had a list of drug test locations nationwide and set a drug test up for him immediately.

He was all fuck you and I said listen, you have to. Its federal law.

I had mecedes benz call cause they was repoing trucks and had drivers at fuel stops with dead fuel cards and I would have to authorize 25k into the fuel account for trucks to get fuel and make deliveries.

The company was in its death throws and was falling down. It was a mess. I felt I could turn it around if they would have let me in the training department. Drivers were quitting in record numbers it was so bad.

The company finally was bought out just in time. the whole operation was moved to georgia. Office personel were offered a move or let go.

As a former driver, like most, miss the road a lot, in spite of the grief.

Big thanks to AC 23829721 and AC 18237036. You have both paid your dues.

I can never get enough of these real stories. The drivers' forums accounts are rarely well written...

But there was a classic thread for a few years on truckersreport.com.

i think it was entitled: A Werner Driver Craps Himself

If you haven't seen it, you owe yourself a big laugh (or more than one). Maybe I can find it and put up the link.

Hey - Obama wants to raise the minimum wage to $9.00.

That will not help truckers, who get paid by the mile.

They actually average $8.00 an hour to start.

When I was a trucking at 17 cent a mile I think I made like 232.00 bucks for all week on the road.

When I bought my own big rig and trailer I made 100k one year.

It was a none stop adventure with sight seeing as my pleasure.

Only an idiot would do that over the road BS.

You know it well.

Interesting thread OP. I am on the customer service side and always hear shit from people about damaged products, rude drivers, etc. My company funnily enough chooses to use some of the "big" trucking companies. It makes sense that these guys are just like "take this fucking shit and let me be on my way." Newbs. Everytime a customer has a bad experience, I remind them that they are the freight carriers customer too. It's their job to deliver a non damaged product, and they are required by our contracts to get a signature as well as inside delivery. I get calls all the time where tard drivers try and weasel out of inside delivery or try to rush a customer with a damaged product or they just outright lie and leave. It all makes sense now. Fucking money.

A new requirement in the industry these days . If you haven't had a driving job in the past two years you are not employable as an experienced driver.

Also you need a valid medical card to get your license renewed and you must do it before the date of expiration , or you revert back to a class c.

Don't forget to get your license renewed before the date.Just one day will f'k you.

If you go back to a class c then you must take all the test over again + the driving test + have a medical card.

So you either will have to be in a train school , or have a job already basically.

Last Edited by <x> on 02/13/2013 10:01 PM

There are many truckers that make 200k a year. Back out gas, upkeep, tolls, taxes, etc......you end up making under 40k a year.

It's a racquet and you give up your life. I feel for those that drive. Without them, we don't have the necessities in life to get by.

They are our life line and hugely under appreciated.

If a doctor finds you have a medical condition under obamacare they will be required to send it to the federal transportation authority thus terminating your cdl.

Also being on some medications under obamacare will cause a driver to have a cdl cancellation.

A shit load of older drivers are about to be out of a job.

Last Edited by <x> on 02/13/2013 09:58 PM

Best thread ever.

If anybody here knows about the CRST sexual harassment class action suit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission back in 2007 --

News February 12, 2013 - 6 years later, but original case happened in 2005.

Well, a settlement was reached after the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals sent it back to U.S. District Judge Linda Reade.

Out of 270 women who wanted to participate, Judge Reade cut it down to just one claimant, the original one - Monika Starke, who will get the grand award, after 8 years, of $50,000 (minus her own attorney fees).

Furthermore, CRST will now sue the EEOC for their own lawyers' costs, estimated by the CEO at $12 million.

[link to www.omaha.com]

When i drove i made around 900-1200 every two weeks working 140 hrs. The money spent on the road trying to eat and somewhat entertain was ridiculous. I drove for celadon which was based ojt of indy..they had great runs to laredo from kitchener ontario all the time but once i agitated my dispatcher over a shitty run things just spiraled oit of control.. I was getting runs from toronto to detroit all week long having to deal with excessive border wait times i told them to pound it up their ass.. If i had to go back to it id probably goto them but the lifestyle is depressing..

I think the whole just in time system is garbage. They should set it up so you just drive within 500 miles and drop in yards on the out skirts of cities then have city drivers deliver the stuff. And more driver would get home. The whole industry is just not run efficient enough to make it a viable career for anyone anymore and the ones getting into it now are just ignorant desperate suckers. If the drivers unionized and had people fight for better working conditions and better pay, the industry might be worth it but as it is now id rather sit on welfare than do that job. Im not on welfare.. Just saying if i had no options thats what i would do thats how shitty that job is.

If anyone is thinking of doing this job.. Go back to school and take a trade. Unless you wanna live in a truck and spend all day driving for shit pay.. Owner ops might make 100k a year but their expenses are half that atleast.. Its all a scam and i laugh when i hear of someone taking the training.. Biggest waste of money ever.. And i did it for 2 years.. So its not like im some noob who did it for two weeks. Canadians jad it worse.by dealing with fucking dumbass redneck americans at the border every other day and in a post 911 world lol what a fkn joke.. I had one u.s custom agent convinced somehow i was a gun carrying criminal.. Im like listen moron... We cant even get an interview to drive one of these trucks without a criminal record check. So deny me entry or let me go cause im not dealing with your 80 i.q dumbass today.. He pulls me in tells me to back up to the dock so they can search my load.. Im like ok whatever. Back it up.. He takes 60 mins to come to the dock area then demands me to grab the pallet jack and offload 20 skids... I said.. I m not doing your job. You wanna check that trailer get your ass in there and unload it yourself lol.. I shit you not.. He couldnt force me to do it.. He was too lazy to do it himself and cut me loose. All this is happening and some other canadian brown skinned driver was putting his pallets back in heard everything lol... Hes like u got some balls.. Im like nah i just wasnt doing his job for him.. I crossed the border lots and wasnt doing any manual labour other the walking,talkin or driving. That was my job.. His was access control and warrantless searches lol.

I met ex doctors, cops, military high ranking types and every other profession behind a big rigs wheel. Idiots they were not as is most of those who drive for a living then and now.

Yes, those kinds of professionals got into trucking fifteen years ago. They are no longer driving.

They made some money when times were good, and then left.

Can you buy a truck and be independent right out of school if you saved enough money?

Before anything, you have to have a hauling contract or a contract with a trucking company to haul. You can get your own authority to haul you own freight from your own shipper client.

Yes you can buy a truck and trailer and get the required insurance and run the roads. You better know how to back a big rig up like an expert cause running out there in the real world of truckering can be a like tricky.

Long distance trucking set to be drastically cut.

You do not see 18 wheelers all over Europe as you do in the US. They have no need of them. In the US in order to build roads, sell cars and trucks, we limited the cabotage laws to 2 ports, Elizabeth City and Long Beach. If you take an import from one US port to another you double the port tax, a whooping 12 % jumps to a giant 24%. This is from the Jones Act.
This is about to change and change quickly. We are going from 2 to 40 ports with many ‘rollies’, roll-on-roll-off traieors. (Being Built by Carsyle Group).

you talking about guys that know somebody and get a contract. buy their own rig and haul. It hard to do unless you just have shit loads of money to start.Its not as grand as you make it out.

well at least you in canada, have to be there or mexico to drive the loads now.

doesn't look too bad to me..

Not true at all. Determination is all one needs to succeed.

Here's a truckers secret.

Buy a truck and have payments under 1200 a month and you work the truck. Payments over 1200 a month and the truck works you.

You obviously don't posses the entrepreneurial spirit to see the rewards.

Mexican truckers according to U.S. law can now drive all over the USA, and their truck inspections and driver training requirements are far below American standards, even though the U.S. government, to placate American trucking firms who now have Mexican subsidiaries for these contracts - paying Mexican drivers less than their American counterparts - pretends otherwise.

American highways are now far more dangerous, and the lives of Americans are at risk.

According to the Department of Homeland Security:

Drivers from Mexico (or Canada) can deliver a shipment to one or more U.S. locations, and pick up a return shipment or shipments from one or more locations in the USA. This includes deadhead runs, dropping trailers in one location, picking up in another -- everything only an American driver was allowed to do, once upon a time.

These rules have been relaxed considerably over the past few years, with NAFTA as the excuse.

[link to www.dhs.gov]

Thought you might be interested, from your comment.