Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Where can I read your original Student Trucker Story?
A. You can my Student Trucker Horror Story by clicking here: A Day in the Life of a Lady Trucker which is located on Allen Smith’s (www.askthetrucker.com) website .
Q. Can you add a link to …?
A. If your site or project relates to trucking, energy policy, or travel please contact me to request a link exchange I am about SHARING information to truth seeking souls. I do review what you are selling though.
Q. Are you looking for more writers?
A. No but I’ll be posting guest articles from time to time.
Q. Why wasn’t my comment published?
A. Actually, I have never not published a comment but there is an automatic spam catcher that has caught some.
Q. Why is your website so disorganized?
A. I asked myself this question because, honestly it bothers me but I just don’t have the time for a website at all but I was being asked to write more and this was made for me by a sweet guy name Brenden from “Rented Mule Studios” but he just set it up. I’ve been trying to learn it and write and drive my shifts so I have been unable to make it perfect.
Q. I have more questions I’d like you to answer, will you do that?
A. Yes, but be prepared for the truth, I am not known for sugar coating candy covered opinions but I try to be diplomatic unless I sense I am being bullied or anyone else around is, it’s in my nature to challenge bullies with their own tactics.
Thanks Desiree for what you do. The world needs more people who recognize injustice and make a dilligent effort to address it.
I live in Cedar Rapids, the home of CRST. Their VP on human resources, Ron Corbett, is running for mayor. I think he is a sleeze. If you could direct anyone that has been abused by CRST to me, we could possibly stop him and get a great female for mayor. Can you help?
Thanks for posting Tom. The CRST Scandalous Sexual Harrasment Cast has inspired a “Blog Talk Radio” show on “Ask the Trucker” called “Hostile Training Environment”.
CRST is just the tip of the iceburg but the unethical practices are well known in the trucking community & you can find many trucking websites where actual drivers & former students tell all.
The political affiliations involved send all sorts of alarm bells off.
You don’t need to be a scholar to see that.
You are welcome to call into the show.
Thanks,
Desiree
Here are the link to 2 “Blog Talk Radio” Shows done regarding Harrassment in the Workplace.
As with everything we have discovered, there are lots of back room shennanigans that occured in preventing these shows from occuring.
I am not in a position to revela the details at this particular time but please stay tuned.
There are some big names wanting this story to go away inside this industry.
Part 1
http://www.askthetrucker.com/trucking-advocates-discuss-workplace-harassment/
Part 2
http://www.askthetrucker.com/how-to-report-workplace-harassment/
I use the word “Harrassment” because this sort of thing is happening to Men and Women in all fields of work.
Reporting Harrassment often makes you a target, and being a Women gets you “Labeled” Sexual Harrassment and makes you the target of attack often from other Women.
This is workplace bullying gone rampant which has let a few bad apples run rampant and take control where no control exists.
A recent Female I spoke to this weekend told me she had to have 2 Trainers and stay out for over 2 Months learning to drive the truck.
I asked why she got off her first trainers trucks and she said ” because all he kept asking me was if I ever had my titty sucked by (a man like him).
I asked her if she reported it and she said “No, I just said I couldn’t understand what he was saying”
In trucking that means she is now labeled as difficult, but also that guy will just go pick up another female student.
If she reported she would have been attacked from other women most likely for reporting him.
That’s the truth of the matter in trucking right now.
I want that changed
Hi, Desiree,
I’m a writer from Baltimore, and have been told that one of my blog posts about truck drivers and 2nd graders is a real gem – sort of a love letter to truck drivers. Here’s a link – wondering if it’s okay to post it on your site, and how to go about it? It’s about something that really brightened my day…
http://worthingtonpost.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/second-graders-and-truck-drivers/
I tried to figure out from your site how to contact you via e-mail, so you could decide whether or not to post this, but I had trouble, so I’ll just wrote it in the comment section.
Thanks in advance – hope you like it!
Thank You Aliza for the comment. I am going to post your blog link to our page called “Real Women Truckers” which goes into our twitterfeed. I really enjoyed your post and made a comment on your blog as well.
Take Care..
Twonk! Twonk!
Trucker Desiree
Have you ever considered that the industry does this not just for cheap labor, but to control the work force; to keep it from being able to organize. To keep it down? As in suppressing union efforts like the teamsters?
The same was done to slaves long ago. Demoralize them and they should put up little fight.
Thanks
Yes, I have… If you can’t have a happy slave, have a fearful one….. the latter seems to be the corporate method in numerous industries, it is not unique to trucking but due to the highway safety and personal safety issues I was compelled to write about this industry.
The same is happening in te regular labor force with the use of temporaries. If not supported by legislation, industry could never get away with what they do to temporary workers.
Corporate Fascism is one term Ive heard used.
They are buying elections and therefore the laws as well.
ps
Can you recommend to me a company to train with AFTER cdl school? Im scheduled to start May 29th, so the sooner the feedback the better.
Thanks.
I can only say that training carriers with a better reputation are Schneider National, ROEHL and I have had few complaints about Stevens Transport, Crete, US Xpress … the most frequent complaints I get are CRST, Prime Inc, CR England, and Covenant Transport. the other big training carriers are Werner and Swift. Pretty much all will be low pay but what you need to be most wary of is “team Driving” as part of your training, Any sort of lease owner operator program being offered in training. This is a sign that the carrier is trying to use you to run cheap & pay them back about every dime you make. You are chained to the carrier and even if you do not succumb to their lease program or team driving pressures, these are sign of an unethical trucking carrier who plays “Bait and Switch” as a matter of practice. Skimming your miles, Skimming your payroll , charging you to idle but not providing an alternative for comfortable safe sleep etc. things you don’t learn about until it is too late and you are committed
Werner and swift are the two I was looking at, but Im unclear what youve said here about them. Have you heard good about them or bad?
Also, and very important; is there a recommended strartegy for survival I can adhere to once in starve out mode? Ive been in a loop of temp jobs where the suprs fire people for God knows why, and I am somewhat emotionally devastated about it at this point. I DO NOT want to end up fired again.
What should I do If I end up in that starveout trap to weather it thru?
Will they get tired of it and just treat me better at some point, or must I try to look for another job, as they will never relent with treatig me like shit at that point?
Thanks.
Werner and Swift are considered assembly line truck driver training carriers who are trying to move cheap freight with labor that is of the lowest paid caliber. Being fired is not the problem in truck driver training. Few people are ever fired because if they were, they could get unemployment and the mission of these carriers is to burn you out and make you leave on your own first. That is how “Starve Out” occurs, which is to let you sit with no miles until you cannot make it any longer. You can sit around on your couch at home and not get paid. SO the trick to surviving is to keep your expeditures to bare minimum. Put your stuff in storage, don’t maintain a residence, car payment or insurance and only have a good cell phone/smartphone and be prepared to have to eat sandwiches 3 meals a day for the first year. The money is inconsistent so you have to hope for the best and expect the worst.. Werner and Swift will have you working your butt off but you will make very little. You need to be prepared to handle that and this will help you survive through training.
Is there a website to get reviews from newby drivers on these training carriers?
Check out the truckers report forum section and look up the good and bad carriers posts by other truck drivers and ignore the ads
On keeping down the expenses:
Ive got $305 mo in child support, $525 rent $100 utilities. $40 phone
I was debating hard to try and keep my apartment for my sons if they need a place. Do these numbers still seem risky ones on a first year student salary to you?
If you have all those expeditures you will be eating a lot of sandwiches the first year. Good Luck!
Im getting the cdl school paid for to so there wont be anything coming out of my check that way. (I guess Im one of the voucher lo lifes you mentioned in your interviews and articles Ive read :-} sorry)
So Schneider National, ROEHL Crete, & US Xpress (a buddy of mine ran screaming from Stevens after 10 mo, but did find another job here locally. said 1st mo no pay, later no loads, etc. much like you decribe the driver mills)
Also, on Werner & Swift working my butt off, w no pay, & no miles; how does that work? lumper work all day? I mean what kind of work can you do without SOME miles involved? Recovering vehicles? Short 2hr trips or what?
(Sorry to be a pest. I like to know shit before I get caught up in it if I can, and you seem like a real decent human being, someone who cares; I appreciate that.)
They are all the same…. you get miles in the beginning and then you sit…so you will quit…just like your friend did in 10 months… thats how they get rid of you to make room for more students…make you want to leave screaming
I have another friend who was fired at 9 mo from swift for two safety violations, one was damage to a rim on the curb. (Matches the time frame above).
Just an internal policy issue. Those are easy to come up with, then you break one, then your fired for cause/performance. no ui claim for you. or the company. Quite Strategic.
Ive heard that swift now forbids use of cell phones behind the wheel on a safety basis, yet require the driver to respond to qualcom msgs while driving or get disciplined. Feel the Love? Lol!
Thats probably a good idea tho, just annoying.
You like it or you wouldnt be doing it I guess.
Mind if I ask about how much you made your second year? (I think you are on your second year now right?)
Or maybe better; how much can THE AVG DRIVER make in the second year?
And where does the pay top out on a yearly basis?
I saw one comment about claims of $100,00yr were for owner operator was actually BEFORE TAXES AND EXPENSES, which amounted to about half the 100k. Sound about righ?
One more important question about starve out; How long does it last? Do they stop at 1yr exp? 1yr 3mo? You weathered it thru, what was your experience?