Destination Unknown

Check out my YouTube page:

https://www.youtube.com/user/DestUnknownTV

Uploaded videos of the Markham, IL and Springfield, OH terminal.

 

The new US Xpress trailers with trailer tails and skirts have arrived !

 

Cajun, I used to have those videos but my wife found them and made me delete it. Just cause I'm married doesn't mean I can't admire Gods creations.

 

Repost:

My wife and I had left USX end of December to take a chance at new company with the possibility of higher income. Unfortunately that didn't work out that way so we decided to go back to USX but since we had been gone for longer than 30 days we had to go through the orientation process all over again. The clinic the company uses to perform Dot physicals tried to push a sleep study on my wife even though she had no indicator other than bmi. After that happened we decided to leave rather than going through with getting the medical card and being obligated to undergo the sleep study. We decided to go to another company and we both got 2 year medical cards from there however we did end up leaving during orientation due to not liking other things about the company.

After speaking with someone at the Markham terminal they recommended that we go to the Springfield, OH terminal because there are ongoing issues with the Markham terminal doctor. The doctor at Markham has been recommending almost everyone for a sleep study and several people have walked out to the point that USX had agreed to pay for the sleep study for anybody needing one from the Markham terminal. We were also told that they are actively searching for a different clinic to use because attendance has dropped off significantly at Markham due to these issues.

We went to the Springfield orientation and my wife and I both got a 2 year medical card on the first day. On day 3 of orientation my wife was informed that corporate safety had said that she would need to go back to the doctor and show him the 4 month card that the Markham doctor had tried to give her. She did that and the doctor reiterated that in his professional opinion she did not need a sleep study. After that, corporate safety came back and said that in 2013 my wife should have had a sleep study, which was not accurate. She was given a 6 month card when we first came to USX and was told that in 6 months she would just need to renew it. She got a 2 year card and had been running on that card for over a year. This was explained to safety that if there was an issue 2 years after the fact was not the time to bring it up. There was some more back and forth when finally we got a call that her 2 year card would be accepted and that this situation had brought about a lot of changes.

Because we pushed back and refused to allow the doctor to manipulate the situation the issue went all the way up to the new head of safety at corporate. When he heard the facts he was said that the prior 2 year card my wife had for USX is the one that they should have accepted when we were rehired. He stated that any rehires coming in should not be made to get a new medical card if they still have a valid medical card from USX. Furthermore, any new student hires coming into the company will be allowed to use their medical card from their school so long as it is not older than 90 days. The recruiters have also been informed of the situation at Markham and are recommending to people that they go to a different terminal until the doctor issue at Markham has been resolved if they feel they may be targeted for sleep apnea.

I realize that sleep apnea is a real disorder and does affect some people and that having a cpap can improve your quality of sleep. The issue here is that the doctor at Markham does not care if you have any symptoms/adequate amount of risk factors for sleep apnea. They are basing their recommendation for a sleep study solely on how much you weigh. Sleep apnea can and does affect people of all sizes but the Markham doctor is not even questioning thin drivers about if they have symptoms. 20,000 drivers a day are not dying from this disorder and there is currently no law in place making sleep studies mandatory. It is left up to the doctor to use their best judgement, but as we all know, unfortunately it is about the almighty dollar nowadays. Whenever you have a doctor from a sleep clinic performing dot medical examinations there is a huge conflict of interest. They have every incentive to recommend you for a sleep study and you are not allowed a second opinion from your own doctor.

The reason I'm posting this is because so many people out here still have the old fashioned notion that doctors will "first do no harm". They are just as corruptable as your average politician, the times have changed. As someone who comes from a family with the majority of members being in the medical industry I can attest to the power of the industrial medical complex. Doctors are pressured to push pills/machines/tests/etc that may be completely unnecessary for the sake of a dollar.

As drivers, we need to take back the power and be the masters of our own destiny. Companies only have as much power as you give them.

 

We left to work at R&L Carriers with an offer of more money but once we took the job that wasn't the case. We came back to US Xpress at the end of March. The fact that we came back to USX gives you an idea of how good of a company overall it is for drivers. Before we came back we looked at several different companies and they just didn't check all the boxes that USX does. We did attend orientation at Quest Global but the health insurance was really subpar compared to USX and we left after day two of orientation. It was a great lesson in that there's just some companies out there that will tell drivers whatever they want to hear just so they can fill the seat. They figure most people won't bother to quit after they've already went to the hassle of attending orientation.

 

Finally USX has revealed the new "exciting" team pay they've been talking about. Team Max is its name and it sounds like same old but with a new name. Here is the link:

www.usxjobs.com/teammax

Update:

Just talked to recruiter to get more info. Just like I suspected, it's the same old team bonus thing they had for OTR drivers with a new name.