Gypsum Express LLC - Aliquippa Terminal

The company itself isn't a bad company. They have short haul pay, layover, detention, NYC/NYC reload pay, mileage (loaded & empty), and rather newer equipment.

John Munroe is the terminal manager in Aliquippa PA, at least when I worked there. During the interview, he said the typical crap, "you're tired, pull over, the load will get there when it gets there" - "No one wants to drive tired" and ect. After I was hired on, was a different story. He dispatched me to be in Maryland Monday morning at 0500, knowing full well I had my daughter the day before, and would be up all day, and expected me to reload the next day, and keep driving. One such scenario - Dispatched (pre-loaded) to upstate NY. I was sick, but couldn't call off.. Had to stop a couple of times to rest and vomit. I made night dispatch aware of the situation, said I may be late due to illness, but would make it, but wanted them to send an email to John (since there wasn't a dispatcher at that time). I get there, and have to wait in line. I get unloaded an hour after I am out of hours and call to tell him I am out of hours. He proceeds to chew my ### out, and says (this is word for word)

" You need to get to your destination, get re-loaded, and THEN take your break "

Exactly how, I wonder, is this legal? Oh wait.... it's NOT! Not to mention unethical, and immoral.

I proceeded to follow his instructions, and when I got to a truck stop after I was re-loaded, I contacted Safety and informed them of the situation. I also informed them that I was not falsifying my logs, that they would show I was over hours. John was nice to me for about a week or so after that, then he starts it again. I report him to safety every single time he over dispatches me, tells me that my logs better be legal, ect. About a month or so after the initial Upstate NY issue, he pulls me into his office, (with Rody, the recruiter) and says (again, word for word)

" I know you've been talking to them up in Baldwinsville. It just ain't gonna work out. I'm gonna let you go. "

Again, how is this legal? Oh wait.. it's NOT!

I contacted the owner (voicemail) and informed him of the situation and that I would be turning his company into the FMCSA.

I kid you not, they actually did get audited! They were found in violation of 2 out of 6. Hours of service violation and load securement. I do feel bad since some of the drivers got nailed with hefty fines, but the company needed to be taught a lesson. They were forced to go E-Logs and lost a bunch of drivers, hence the recent pay increase.

I also contacted a lawyer to see if I did have a case for wrongful termination, and I do, so i will hopefully get a decent settlement out of it. Yes yes, PA is a right to work state, blah blah. However, with Truck Drivers, there is something called Public Policy that covers us. I can't explain it, you'd have to talk to a lawyer about it, s/he can explain it better than i.

As I said, the company itself isn't bad. Decent benefits and pay, just make sure they don't try to pull the wool over your eyes by saying they went E-logs for safety reasons. They were forced to. Oh, and I wouldn't recommend going to work for the Aliquippa terminal, and John will try to work around the system. They aren't all E-logs yet, but they will be very shortly. 500+ trucks, so you can't just take them all into the shop to put that in there.

Oh, and if they're smart, they'll fire John, since he is the cause of the FMCSA audit as well as a lawsuit.

Just saying

 

Excuses on my part? How is threatening me with my job legal? Either you are totally green, or a dispatcher.

I rarely get sick, but when it hits me, it hits me hard..

UPDATE:

They have decided to settle, conditional upon me not making any disparaging remarks about the company online (never did, just pointed out the TM was a douche) .. also, they will be changing my DAC so it isn't a black streak. For anyone who says they won't do that, it's in the settlement agreement, so if it's in writing, they have to, otherwise breach of contract (not saying they won't fix it, just making a statement there)

if that part isn't in the settlement, i am not signing it

as i said before, the company itself isn't bad, was just a bad apple that ended up costing the company a lot of money