My story

I always thought about getting into trucking, I have family that has been in the business for years so I knew that without the right support from home its not a career for everybody. So, finally I was in a position in my personal life where I was able to be away from home alot and not have to worry about what was going on behind my back if ya know what I mean.

I had what I thought was a decent job as a Loss Prevention Officer in the retail biz, when the economy tanked I got laid off so I thought its finally a good time to start trucking! I did some research and decided I didnt want to go to a company that offered free training and then be stuck there for a year so I decided to pay for a private school. I found out I really liked it and I was pretty good at it. I got 3 prehires from school, TMC, Stevens, and Werner. When it was time to set up an orientation date TMC was no longer hiring in Florida, Stevens didnt have any openings for a few months so I had no choice but to go to the evil Werner. So I figured I knew they were bad and I am probably gonna be treated like dirt but at the time they were my only choice.

I had talked to my Werner recruiter several times concerning an arrest on my background. In August of 2005 I was arrested on a felony Failure To Appear warrant for missing a Child Support hearing I had no knowledge of. She assured me because it was only for Child Support it would be no problem!

I went to orientation, got a trainer, went out on the road. Late one Sunday night as we were pulling into Denver we get a message on the Qualcomm for my trainer to drop me off at the terminal and I was told to see safety Monday morning.

The next morning I go to the terminal and the safety guy calls the Director of Compliance/Recruiting in Omaha, he tells me I am suspended till I can prove to him that the arrest was only for child support, and once I do that I can go back on the road. So after numerous phone calls I finally get somebody at the clerk of courts to fax the booking report to Omaha. Still cant get ahold of the SOB Director of Compliance after leaving many many voice mails. Wed night I am told to pack my stuff they are putting me on a bus back to Florida while they straighten this out.

I get back home and the SOB still wont answer my calls, I talk to the recruiter 5 times a day and get the run around from her. Finally after 2 weeks I finally get through to him and he tells me I am being disqualified due to the arrest! The DAC report clearly shows NO CONVICTION and he lied to my face about if I can prove its only child support I can get back on a truck!

So I call Stevens, I sent them a copy of the report showing NO CONVICTION. I am told they will not take me either.

In my short time on the road I learned that I REALLY like the job and I am willing to put up with alot to get the experience I need to get on with a good company but now I am left to wonder if I wasted $6,000 on a CDL I cant use!