Women in Trucking
Where has the Non-Profit Organization, “Women in Trucking” been in all of this? Well, that will be my next cronicle if I can ever finish my student trucker story. I joined “Women in Trucking” as soon as I had chance to get to a computer in 2008. I was under the impression that the Mission Statement on the front page of the website was accurate.
I observed the climate for a period of time before I ever posted. It most certainly did not seem very friendly but the immediate positive response from other truckers on Allen Smith’s “Ask the Trucker” who were both male and female persuaded me to reach out to Char Pingel and tell her about what had been happening to me AFTER I went through the chain of command and into the arms of the HR Lady in my story.
Char told me to post on the “Women in Trucking” forum and I did. I started a thread called “My NEW experience might help you.
This thread has the most reads of any thread on the WIT Forum which at last count was over 3000! From day 1 I was attacked publically on the WIT forum by Sandy Long aka Lady Godiva . In a series of private emails I was further dismissed and basically told that they run people off like me who want to publically discuss what I was seeing with my own two eyes happen to Women who were entering the trucking industry for the first time.
Remember, I entered as a single Woman, not with a Husband or Boyfriend. I do not come from a trucking family. I was totally reliant on my CDL School Training, My Company Support System and My Trainer to provide me the tools to be successful. So far, none of them had come through for me but I wasn’t going to quit.
I first called Char Pingel and told her that a public cat fight is detrimental to ALL Women and she agreed but nothing was done. Later, I began emailing Ellen Voie about the fact that her forum seemed to be commandeered by Lady Godiva who actually has shown time and again that she does not like other Women. I was called names that were meant to label me and be derogatory but all the names were in fact, all different types of Women! It made me wonder, “What kind of Women are allowed to be supported in “Women in Trucking”?
After many calls and emails to Ellen Voie and watching her tweet about getting her CDL but never actually operating a Big Rig herself, I saw that she had an aversion to the hard questions that are of the upmost importance for new females entering trucking. Is she an Advocate? or a Carpetbagger?
Here are a sampling of screen shots made from Ellen’s Twitter tag @WomeninTrucking (Caution: Ellen Deletes stuff after I publish it but I have the screen shots on my hard drive) *** Note: These are in reverse order as they are Twitter Stream Tweets
89. I am traveling out west with my boyfriend, and I am
so happy that I can handle a 38 foot 5th wheel trailer!
3:33 PM Jan 22nd from web
90. The Trucker ran a story about my getting my CDL
http://www.thetrucker.com 9:55 AM Jan 18th from web
91. I did not have to take a written or practical test to
transfer my Ohio CDL to Wisconsin. 4:25 PM Jan
15th from web
92. I completed the driving test in Ohio, then came back
to Wisconsin and transferred my license. I am now a
CLD holder! 4:24 PM Jan 15th from web
93. I passed!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got my CDL today. 8:22 AM Jan
9th from txt
94. This week I will be returning to Canton Ohio to take
my driving test over. I’m scheduled for 8 am
Thursday. Wish me luck! 2:42 PM Jan 6th from web
95. I made a left turn and the light down the road turned
green in my turn, so he claims that I made them slow
down. Darn! I’ll be back! 9:49 AM Dec 22nd, 2008
from web
96. So, the bad news is that the examiner did not pass me
on the driving test. He said that I impeded traffic. 9:48
AM Dec 22nd, 2008 from web
97. I took my CDL test on Saturday. I passed the pre-trip
with an 89 out of 90. I passed the skills test also
(parallel parking was not fun!) 9:47 AM Dec 22nd,
2008 from web
98. Today is the day. I am up early, after spending the
night in Canton. My test is at 8 am. Next time I log in
I hope to have my CDL! 4:08 AM Dec 20th, 2008
from web
99. This afternoon I was able to get my last hour of
driving time in to complete my 10 hours of driving. It
was slushy outside. 5:20 PM Dec 19th, 2008 from web
100. The freezing rain caused us to stay in the classroom
all morning. We watched videos and practiced our
pretrip inspection by memory. 10:26 AM Dec 19th,
I spent my own meager salary on two occasions to attend trucking conventions to meet Ellen Voie in person to see for myself. Is she only trying to collect a paycheck from a non-profit organization off the backs of Real Women Truckers or what?
On a number of occasions she had told me that “WE” cannot say anything disparaging about certain companies because “they might be our sponsers”. That’s pretty sick when you consider that CRST is one of them.
When time permits I will chronicle all the emails, all the bullying, all reasons that the idea of a Women’s Trucking Organization is wonderful but in order to be responsible it is imperative to be clear that you WILL NOT help those entering Trucking if they get raped, beaten or harrassed. It is esspecially important because of the frequent radio appearences made by Ellen Voie that encourage Women to use her book as a guide to help them through CDL Training.
That is not radical feminism, it just being clear that you represent the industry, not the Women who drive the actual Truck.
Allen Smith did two shows on the topic of “Bullying in the Workplace” both of those links for the archived shows are in my FAQ section. The topic was in part inspired by the CRST Sexual Harrassment Case which was occuring at the same time the situation on the WIT forum was going on. Remarks putting down other Women and making Judgements on Women were frequent. One particular thread commented on was about how a crocheted valance had been seen on a big rig and this was looked down upon, as that female was just advertising her presence. This was sort of funny because at the same time a female crocheting trucker on Twitter seemed like she could handle herself pretty well if someone came to give her any shit about her hobby.
I delibrately persisted on the WIT forum. I wanted to see for myself and for the other Women who had been contacting me what sort of support WIT truly could offer to overcome obstacles in their trucking carreer.
Ellen Voie was invited to participate in these radio programs. She even had us rearrange the schedule to accomadate her schedule, which we did. Unfortunately, she later declined citing her lawyer advised her against it, but she would love to do a follow-up show.
In Las Vegas, the general consensus from Women Truckers I met is that Ellen Voie is not doing anything for Women Truckers. She did manage to land a reality TV Producer though, but that’s actually not too hard if you have ever been to Vegas or anywhere in California. You just have to be willing to make an ass of yourself on TV. Selling the idea of Women Truckers very easy but the image Ellen & the ATA are trying to sell the general public may not be helping Real Women Truckers at all.
In Dallas, Ellen Voie took credit for something she had absolutely nothing to do with and in fact wanted no part in asking for a company to address the subject matter. I had seen her do this with articles as well. I was beginning to get the picture.
As I get time I will chronicle all of this because what she is doing is actually detrimental to Women. There is a problem in the trucking industry for female students and Ellen is recruting them with her book and radio appearences, therefore she needs to clarify to these women that should they be harmed, she is not the person to go to.
Please watch this Video Clip in Ellen’s own words for and upcoming documentry on Bullying in the Workplace by filmaker Beverly Peterson.
Like I told Ellen Voie in a recent email, “I support Women in Trucking but I do not Support a Women who has never driven a truck making money off the backs of those who do, there in a name for that you know!”
Also, I am including this post I made about the CRST Sexual Harrassment Case which is Ellen Voie’s Sponser. It is from this post I came to know Tracey Tuttle-Hamm and “OKCSafety” who is “Tom” in the Dan Rather Segment called “Queen of the Road” read it HERE
I think for Ellen Voie to have any street cred she needs to be trained by Lady Godiva aka Sandy Long & then drive at least 1 year team with Char Pingel & maybe a couple creepy dudes that stink & haven’t seen a woman for awhile so she can fully appreciate Women in Trucking & Salute them proper
Dear Betty and Desiree,
I agree on all of the issues posted here. I would rather see someone at the helm of Women in Trucking that has years of trucking experience behind the wheel, dealing with the dark and scary side of trucking.
Yes, trucking itself is a wonderful and fulfilling occupation, and it is a ‘way of life’.
But, the dark and dirty side needs to be addressed as has happened in other industries.
I want to thank the supportive and strong women in the trucking industry that are coming forward and standing strong to help change the trucking industry for the better.
Lady Trucker
sheeat!
Don’t anyone know how hard it is to keep your bitches in line.
They best way I do it is to keep one girl as my lead girl & treat her real good.
Then when the rest get out of line I have her smack the rest down so no one thinks I’m OJ.
My lead girl is my best recruiter to get more girls out there workking to keep me living in the way I have become accustomed to.
Ellen might be the lead girl for them big roosters but she aint got no game.
PimpDaddy,
This comment is off the charts!!
What an Analogy!
Want to know my opinion?
I could be wrong, but I think Ellen meant well when she got into Women In Trucking, but started to get beat too badly by the “Roosters, and now….well, we all know the Now.
Someone should go in and rescue her. I think Lady G would love to take her spot.I think she likes beating up the ladies
Right on ladies, power to the estrogenated!
These 2 video clips show such a diverse opinion from what people who work in the
trenches know to be true & the complete disconnected denial from Ellen Voie.
Its like the management structure of industry wanders about in la la land.
The sheer volume of recurring complaints with the same thread in the story should
make someone in “Stepford” wake up & see this is a pattern of abuse & its fueled by
the trucking industry leaders who live in denial.
Did you just do that? omg lol I’m in shock I don’t even know what the heck to say…
Ms. Wood
You raise some valid points about Ellen’s inexperience from a truck driving viewpoint. She started Women In Trucking to raise awareness in the trucking industry of women’s concerns and to raise the level of safety and become an advocate for women’s needs in truck stops.
She has experience networking with trucking companies and she knows what it takes to bring about positive changes for women in all aspects of the trucking industry.
I believe you have had some bad experiences in your educational training, from Dan Rather’s interview with you. You have a large following on your site and I would hope that you would work in a cooperative way with Ellen to bring about these changes for women.
Respectfully,
Ellen’s brother, Jerry
Dear Jerry:
I actually do not have time to write this morning because I have to drive another 5 hours through the Virginia Mountains on dark slippery roads to get my load delivered and get to another pick up in South Carolina for another pick up by Noon.
I have not had a shower for three days, I have a sore throat and have been taking airborne every three hours to fight off a bug that is trying to catch a hold of me.
Yesterday, I drove 10 hours and could not find a place to stop to use the bathroom and almost messed my pants, last night I urinated in a big gulp cup and this morning, I poured it in the grass. I am awake to drive here at 3am. That is a Truckers Life.
As a Woman Trucker, I found not only was I in for a major lifestyle change, I was put in an incredibly unsafe learning situation by my Big Christian Company and I went through every single solitary step through the chain of command in this company for assistance including the HR Department and Police BEFORE I joined “Women in Trucking”.
I was attacked for the moment I came onto the forum and your sister was well aware of it, in fact she posted early on in the thread “My New Experience Might Help You” Thanking the attacker!
As this drama publically unfolded, I grew concerned that Ellen Voie was simply too busy to realize her forum had been in fact commandeered and if her intention was to gain actual Women Truckers as Members they were being run off so I called not once , but on many occasions.
I also emailed your sister on many occasions and to say that she proved time and again to be more interested HERSELF rather than obstacles facing Women Truckers is an understatement.
This is why I took my time to travel and meet this Woman in person on 2 occasions. The general consensus by Women Truckers I have met since this endeavor and scuttlebutt in the conventions is that she has created this Organization strictly to gain a paycheck and is working on behalf of the very Industry that has failed to address this mistreatment of all drivers, Male and Female.
Women are difficult, Truckers are Difficult the Job itself is difficult so setting up an Organization such as ‘Women in Trucking” an implying your Mission to help Women overcome the Obstacles they face is quite a challenge.
Ellen Voie has her work cut out for her because since I became a Trucker the biggest obstacle I have faced is my HR Department, Poor Training Guidance, Lax Personal Safety Training, Denial, Arrogance, passing the buck, and commonplace retaliation should a Woman DARE to report that either her co-driver or trainer tried to intimidate, beat or rape her during her training.
Your sister may want to avert this epidemic issue for Real Women in Trucking and only attend Banquets where she speaks about things that in theory SHOULD be true but they are not.
She has also done something quite irresponsible by writing a book about getting a CDL when the truth is, that is the easy part.
Surviving AFTER you have gotten the CDL for 2 years is the hard part and she has failed to address that but is in effect painting a very “Pollyannish” picture when many Woman are indeed being Raped and Beaten and simply go home in shame during their Student Training Period.
I am well aware of your sister’s “networking” capabilities, I have seen her in action but I have seen no evidence that she does it on behalf of Women Truckers who need someone to be networking for THEM.
To the contrary, your sister has shown time and again she is beholden to her sponsors, one of which is CRST who is named in a case with an enormous number of Women reporting abuse.
I am also curious why she NEVER says she is an ATA partner on her forum? When I first spoke to Ellen Voie about her sponsor she seemed very much unconcerned and did not seem to know which division exactly the lawsuit stemmed from.
Upon the dismissal she was quick to take up CRST’s position that the charges were without merit without ever reading the public court documents herself.
Your sister’s eagerness to get on camera has been apparent but her postings and behavior, shopping “Women in Trucking” into reality shows with a total disregard that there is an epidemic occurring in this industry that begs attention, not a spot on “Wife Swap”.
Everything is posted publically of which I speak of except for a collection of emails.
I have told your sister time and again I would help her with my skills to promote her organization if she would PLEASE become more vocal of this pressing issue of abuse, she has many excuses and corporate trained double –speak and I have grown tired of waiting.
She is either FOR Supporting Women Truckers who face an Obstacle during their initial period of training or she is FOR the Industry who works overtime to cover it up.
I think 3 years of her 990 for her Non-Profit Organization is in order so we can be transparent about who Ellen Voie answers to.
If she want to celebrate the successes of “Women in Trucking” that is fine, Salute away but she should clarify her Mission Statement that she is NOT going to help them overcome obstacles especially if those obstacles are her paying sponsors. She should clarify also she is NOT an advocate for Women Truckers seeking assistance after they have been Raped, Beaten, Harassed, Intimidated during their training and/or Retaliated against for reporting to the HR Department.
The video speaks volumes about how disconnected with actual Women Truckers Ellen Voie is and I was there when she agreed to speak on camera, she was all too willing and knew very well what my Mission is, to talk about the TRUTH!!!!
I like I said earlier I offered to work with your sister in a cooperative effort since I joined “Women in Trucking” and she couldn’t be bothered with me given her ‘Connections” in the Trucking Industry.
At the Dallas Truck Show, I ran into your sister in the hallway and was astounded how she actually took credit for something she had NOTHING to do with, throwing her hands up in the air like a cheerleader. This was an item I had called her about that she totally dismissed me about but when it turned out to be a simple fix made by a public article, she took it and took credit for it. This is not the first time I have watched her do this.
The first step in making changes for Women is not throwing other Women under the bus. That is not Radical Feminisim, that is being Humane.
Communication is not just talking , it’s listening, learning and making appropriate changes.
Actions speak Louder than Words.
Ronald’s Video Speaks Volumes about how out of touch Ellen truly is.
Desiree
Here is a Comment made to the Filmaker Beverly Petersen on the “Bullying in the Workplace” Blog.
Ellen’s Brother Jerry Wrote there also and this has Beverly’s Response.
I learned in this experience that 70% of Bullying in the Workplace toward Woman actually occurs from other Women.
We have a long way to go ladies. The Men seem to work out their differences even if they can’t stand each other… Let’s get it together! It is NOT your place to JUDGE anyone! God does that, we are here to WORK!!!!!
http://bullyinworkplace.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/follow-up-on-women-in-trucking/
UPDATE: The Thread I referenced above has Suddenly Vanished from the WIT Forum Today. http://www.womenintrucking.org/forums/index.cfm?page=topic&topicID=373&start=lastpage
But that’s okay because I have most of it saved & even one Crazy Post that was deleted from the thread as it was happening.
Lots more Fun coming Soon Boys & Girls
I wonder if it would be possible for Ellen to put that CDL to use out here maybe CRST or any of the companies that sponsor on her web site could set her up with truck and trailer,I believe she should also know how to use each type of trailer she should work each type for 8 weeks back to back then maybe she could truly be an ADVOCATE of women in trucking.. Also I would like to know what the membership fee is used for? It seems to me that NON-PROFIT should mean that the membership fee should go into a fund for the legal defense of women who are ABUSED while in training.. I could be wrong or maybe I just did not look for the right link on the WIT web site but I did not see a statement of what the membership fees were for..
The membership fee is $10 for Students and $25 for Experienced. You can actually view the Forum Free and you used to be able to pose questions for free and be instantly brow beat by Lady Godiva 24/7. Ellen pop’s in every once in awhile to try to phish for marketing ideas for herself and sell stuff not many actual feamale drivers have any use for.
Since I threw the red herring topic of “Sexual Harrassment” and even tried to introduce a Female Trucker who had been Raped and wanted Support to the Forum it is “Paid Members Only” which was funny because one of the Women who was attacking me was never a memeber until this time and Ellen had no Idea I had been a paying member for many months prior…
Hey Turtle:
I see I did not fully understand your question. I had a breakdown with my Truck yesterday so my thoughts are discombobulated.
Yes …I would also like to see what the membership fees are going for over at ‘Women in Trucking” if Ellen Voie is NOT a Truck Driver Advocate, I see her flying around having Choclate Fountains in Vegas with ATA and there is mostly Industry Men in her Hospitality Room and few actual Women Truckers.
It seems like shes good at making people THINK she is doing something “Behind Closed Doors” but after seeing her at 2 conventions she seems primarily focused on HER image and selling her wares: Memberships, T-Shirts, Toy Trucks , Safety Strap (which is funny because while Lady Godiva was scolding Women in the WIT forum about the Crocheting Trucker advertising her presence, here comes Ellen with a bright Orange Safety Strap for the doors which screams “Theres a Petrified Woman in here ALONE!”)
I saw that Ellen trots her brocheres around the convention with a plastic table tent but when we asked her to display some brocheres for Hope Rivenburg the young Widow trying to pass “Jason’s Law” for Safe Trucker Parking US Bill HR 2156 and S971, she accepted them and them put then UNDER her table.
When asked about them later when she was with Char Pingel, they both looked at each other and Char said “I think they got under the table”… I did confront Ellen about this in an email and she wrote back that “…there was no room on the table” and she “…did hand out a few” but added that she did not have to explain to me.
Indeed, a former Truckers Wife who cannot be bothered to help out Hope Rivenburg with one of her plactic table tents for a few brocheres SPEAKS VOLUMES about Ellen Voie.
Here we have a Safe Trucker Parking Bill from a Highway Trust that is a Non-partisan No-brainer proposed by young widow who carted 5 month old twins and 2 year old and worked her ass off raising awareness for this bill, Ellen Voie is a gross sham.
Also, Ellen Voie entered CDL School as sort of a celebrity so her perception will never be true. This goes for having any credible experience to advise the very people she recruits with her book. She should have to experience what a Real Woman Trucker experiences but even if she did, it would be a controlled environment so any writing or advising she did on the subject would not be accurate.
This is dangerous because it is a dangerous job.
Many Trainers , Company Mangaement and Co-Driving Teams complain that Women entering have been hard to train and work with. Often trainers quit because they don’t want to train Women. Also, there are Women who come out with their Free Workforce Voucher and hope to meet a man so they won’t have to actually work. This has made for and environment where a serious Women are presumed “Guilty” until proven innocent by this Industry.
Ellen Voie using her book to recruit bears responsibilty for that. She needs to clarify what she is doing. She has a major conflict of interest and Rape, Abuse and Violence are what can occur from her trying to have a leg on each side of the fence.