My Fiance Started With This Company 5 Weeks Ago. The First Week Went Fine Then Downhill From There. The Woman Dispatcher Tells Him Everything Is Only 2 Hours Or Half The Miles Away. He Has Been Forced To Work Way Over His Work Hours Most Of The Time. In 5 Weeks Has Only Had 2 10 Hour Breaks. After One Trip And Going For Over 15 Hrs After Load Pickup He Told Her He Was Taking His 10 Hour Break. Needless To Say The Safety Manager Called Him Into A Meeting With The Dispatcher And Told Him He Needed To Modify His Records, As He Was Running Illegal, Was Told To Only Run Legal. Well Things Got Worse By Far The Dispatcher Then Was On A Real Roll, His Schedule Was One That Is Impossible Even Illegal Wont Make It. Deadheaded Over 146 Miles Which They Insist Is Only 66 And Told There Never Was A Load, Then Sent Another 250 Miles To Find They Closed At 3pm. Well She Yelled On That One Told Him He Is In Trouble. They Do Not Consider The Slower Driving States, Or The Trip From Hell Through The Chicago Loop These Days. On Last Weeks Trip He Drove Over 12 Hours Only To Be Stuck In 3 Hours Of All Lane Closures Due To A Nine Car Accident 1 Hour From Shipper Then Called In By The Vice President Who Stated Clearly That He Is At Fault For All Problems And Charging Him For 8 Late Loads At 250.00 Each And He Will Run Illegal. He Was Told The Contract He Signed With Them Is Not Valid No Vacation, No Holidays, And He Will Only Have 34 Hours Off Instead Of The 48 He Signed In Agreement To. I Have Seen This Man Up Vomiting All Night Then Out In The Truck The Next Day For More Of Their Abuse. The Night Of The Highway Shutdown He Was So Tired Slurring His Words, Walking Wobbly From Exhaustion And They Want More Out Of Him. I Got Him An Attorney And We Will See How Much They Take From His Check Due To The Crazy Dispatcher That Has No Business Not Knowing What She Is Doing. Or The Safety Director Who Told Him He Had To Falsify His Records. We Expect Him To Be Fired Tomorrow Of Course. The Woman Vice President Who Has Never Been In A Truck Let Alone Driven Through Chicago In Construction Told Him She Did Not Care About Laws He Was To Do What She Stated ,if He For Any Reason Is Late One Time Fired. This Man Has Driven For 24 Years Is Very Honest, Hard Working And Just Simply Wants To Make An Honest Living. The Company Has No Regard For His Life Or The Publics. Many Drivers This Past Week Have Left The Company, He Was At One Truck Stop When A Recruiter Hired Two Of His Fellow Drivers On The Spot. They Simply Called In And Quit. So I Know He Is Not The Only One, And Feel Sorry For The Families Other Than Me That Also Worry About Their Loved One. He Now Is Told He Also Has To Do All Breaks At The Shippers, No Truck Stops Interesting, A Company That Treats Drivers Right Would Not Have To Worry. How Can Any Driver Be Expected To Have No Bathroom Facilities, Food Etc On Their Time Off? Some Of The Shippers Are Not In Safe Areas At All. This All Gives Me A Whole New Respect And Understanding Of Those Out There And How Much We Public People Take For Granted.

"Your first lost is your best lost"! Start looking for a new company. You will not be able to fix this problem so I would move forward ASAP. It will only get worse. Leave before you start having bad thoughts about trucking in general. Remember no two companies are the same. When one door shuts another one to the future opens.................

I would suggest you contact the following:

Truckers Justice Center
900 W. 128th Street
Burnsville, MN 55337
Phone: 952-224-9166
Fax: 775-402-7561
Website: [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.

Ask for Paul Taylor(Opie)

You need a lawyer that is very well versed in trucking and this is all that Opie does.

You have taken the correct step in seeking legal advice.

What a nightmare! First you need to look for a new job as ladyz said, second quit this job now, today, even if there is nothing to go to right away. These people if I understand you correctly are putting your fiance in danger and anyone that is around him. This company is way over the line and you dont need to be risking anyones life or anything you own now or hope to own in the future for this place. He has to remember he drives that truck and not to let anyone force him to do illegal things. I realize you have an awful taste for "trucking" but there are good companies out there that do care for their drivers, keep looking until you find one. Look in the "good company" section on this forum to get some leads. Please keep us posted on how things are going and if he does indeed get out of there before its toooo late.

__________________
LuvMyHubby
PROUD Mom of an enlisted man currently in Iraq
"The Truckers Report..helping newbies avoid the shams and scams, providing support for driver families and just a GREAT place to hang out,laugh and learn!"

Dang, he has 24 years experience. He should've been out of there yesterday. With that much experience he should have no trouble getting a job with a real company!!

It looks like I was wrong about you. I had you pegged for one who thought he was somehow above drivers.

__________________
Z-Lady's devoted hubby.

Absolutely right, my dear. I wouldn't even bother anymore with those people. There are a lot better places to work.

__________________
Z-Lady's devoted hubby.

Yea he needs to get a lawyer involved, and next time he is called into a meeting with the boss I'd break a limb or two.

I am not following your message on here. You said, “The Woman Dispatcher Tells Him Everything Is Only 2 Hours Or Half The Miles Away” That doesn’t make sense because the computer tells you turn by turn directions and exactly where you are. If you cannot figure it out from that then pull out an atlas. How is the dispatcher supposed to know exactly where you are and tell you how far it is without an atlas in front of her? She is not psychic and that is not her job. Her job is to tell him a load is available and see if he can do it. You have also said, “He Has Been Forced To Work Way Over His Work Hours Most Of The Time” Sorry, I don’t buy that either. NOBODY can force you to run a load. That was HIS choice to run 5 Weeks with only two 10-hour breaks. It is HIS job to tell the dispatcher NO and that he does not have the hours available. That’s WHY "The Safety Manager Called Him Into A Meeting With The Dispatcher And Told Him He Needed To Modify His Records, As He Was Running Illegal, Was Told To Only Run Legal"

Dispatchers only suggest loads they cannot tell you what to do. If a load is sent to her computer from the load planners she will call and says “Hey, I have one going from ___ to ___”, and if you can’t make it and it will be illegal for you to run SAY NO! She will find another driver that can. DO NOT take it knowing that you cannot make it. Again, they do not know the exact miles there because they are sitting in an office. That is YOUR job to figure the miles out and if you have to, call her back when you figure out if you can make it. And when he was “Told There Never Was A Load”, why didn’t he call dispatch back right away to fix the discrepancy? Did she know there was no record of a load there, so she could call and make other arrangements? Instead, he took it upon himself and“Went Another 250 Miles To Find They Closed At 3pm” No wonder “She Yelled On That One Told Him He Is In Trouble” (Which she has no authority to punish him so that is just nonsense)
Every company, you will see “Do Not Consider The Slower Driving States, Or The Trip From Hell Through The Chicago Loop These Days” Because that is YOUR job to consider that before you take the trip. And, if you KNOW you will be late CALL THE SHIPPER then notify your dispatcher if you have to reschedule.
“I Have Seen This Man Up Vomiting All Night Then Out In The Truck The Next Day For More Of Their Abuse. The Night Of The Highway Shutdown He Was So Tired Slurring His Words, Walking Wobbly From Exhaustion And They Want More Out Of Him”… Again, that was HIS choice!!!
“I Got Him An Attorney And We Will See How Much They Take From His Check Due To The Crazy Dispatcher That Has No Business Not Knowing What She Is Doing” She knows her job, why does she have to do HIS too?
If he has “Driven For 24 Years” he should know how this job works…
“He Now Is Told He Also Has To Do All Breaks At The Shippers, No Truck Stops” That makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. Maybe it was a suggestion because he is always late, and if he got there the night before and stayed the night he would be on time for the morning pick up. My husband has done this quite often. He 'bumps the dock' the night before so they have him finished by the time he wakes up. He has ordered pizza with other drivers and had it delivered at shippers. You do not HAVE to stay at truck stops all the time. He has been with this place a long while and loves them.

First of all I do agree somewhat with WolfEyEz...if this man has 24 years experience then he should know how to handle a pushy dispatcher. Most dispatchers work on bonuses therefore, will push drivers to take loads that they can't log. I have been a broker and know all the ins and the outs of what trucking companies do to their drivers. My husband has been out there on the road since his was 20 in an old cabover. Secondly, some not most, trucking companies will use outdated milage software like the old household movers guide which will shave off miles so they don't have to pay their drivers as much. I have also planned LTL loads I know what it takes to make appointments work and what dispatchers do to get a load covered. Most dispatchers will have various loads that they need to cover for their specific area, they will look on their screen to see where their drivers are and who is the closest for pick up. IF the driver is communicating with their dispatcher, stating the hours they have left to drive on their logs, there should be no problem. Also, there is a lack of communication between brokers, shippers, planners and dispatchers. NO one wants to do their job correctly and no one cares what the other person has to go through to do it. As a driver, you have to be proactive in your approach as to pick up and delivery times, always get a phone number and call on the receiving hours as they vary per shipper/receiver. Not all planners will put in all infromation on the hours that places receive. Sometimes, there are loads that don't actually get booked, dispatchers will not follow up on whether it is a solid load or not because they are in turn doing a job of 2 people and are overwhelmed as well. I suggest if your fiance' is going to continue in this industry, he learns how to make the calls himself and to learn to speak up for himself asap. Otherwise, he will continue to be chewed up and spit out like so many others have.

Rosebud