In a predicament, trainer was doing illegal drugs, so I quit.

Hello everyone, thanks for reading my post!

So I got my CDL in April of this year, and a couple of weeks later, I was hired on for a company across the country with a great review from this forum and a supposedly great training program (which is what I was looking for). It seemed to be a very regimented eight week program where you stay in a hotel or truck on their property (depending on availability) to get used to sleeping in a cab, etc. You go to class, practice driving at their facility, and do local C team deliveries with another student during the eight week course. Two out of the eight weeks of training you are supposed to spend on the road with a trainer. Finally, after the eight weeks, you take a final written exam and final road test to "graduate," get assigned your truck, first load, and head back to your home facility to start regular work after being given a week off. During this time, they also run a training program for people getting their CDL through the company.

About two and a half weeks into training, the company suddenly fired almost their entire training staff due to economic concerns and restructuring of the company. This means they have way too many students for the number of trainers left, so we were to be brought in small groups at different points of the week to train instead of going in every day from 730 to 5. This would significantly overshoot the eight week target for getting training done and back home to see your family. They also didn't have any answers for how pay would be restructured for any time worked after the eight week point because that was also a very regimented part of the program. The first four weeks, you get x amount; the second four weeks, you get x amount, and after "graduation," you get paid x amount.

And finally, due to an insurance/safety audit, insurance was supposedly requiring the company to make all trainees drive a minimum of 25,000 miles before they were even allowed to take their final tests and go home.
They had a big meeting and explained all of this to us, told us this would violate the agreement they had with all of us when we got hired on, and that we could leave/break any contract with them if we so desired. (Including people who signed the year contract with them to get their CDL).

The company had treated me well and seemed like a great place to work prior to this meeting, so I was talking with the missuses back home and considering sticking it out since it was my first driving job, and I was excited to work. So the next few days, I got a call from the head trainer saying that they had an excellent ride-along trainer coming into town later today and asked if I was ready to go for my two weeks OTR. This guy was one of their best trainers, and I'd learn a lot, etc. Ok, awesome! Let's do it!

So I packed my stuff, checked out of the hotel, and met him at the facility at noon, and he seemed nice enough. He was in his 80s and had already retired, but came back to work because he was bored more or less and was trying to buy a Harley with cash. We grab our load and take off, with me driving first. Things are going great - I'm having the time of my life, feeling like Jerry Reed. We get a whole bunch of hours down the road, and this ##### guy pulls out a pipe and starts smoking weed, sitting next to me while I'm driving. Says he always gets waved through weigh stations, and it's no big deal.

Needless to say, I hopped out at the next truck stop and ended up getting a flight home. I figured that was the last straw for that company, and the universe was trying to tell me something. Since then, I have been helping a close family friend with their beekeeping company during some of the busiest/hottest months while waiting to move to Michigan. I didn't want to start with a new company and have to move before my first year was over. Everyone in the group that I hired on with, including the people who were there getting their CDL before I showed up, has since quit the company. 20-25 people.

Now, for those of you who made it through my life story, my question is, do I have to, and/or should I include that company on my resume? I technically was logged in the ELD under my name, but his load for the 9ish hours I drove. I plan on just going with Swift or Prime (if possible) and getting my year OTR out of the way, and I will start applying in the next two or three weeks. How can I explain that situation to a prospective company without bad-mouthing the previous company or making myself unemployable? Do I omit the experience from my record?

I really appreciate any insight yall might have and thanks so much for your time!

 

Yes, I will be looking for another CDL job in north/central MI around the Grayling area. I currently have my tanker/doubles&triples. I'd love to find local, be home every night work, but I realize it might not be possible without at least a year of experience, and I'm more than willing to pay my dues, as it were.

 

Chinatown, thank you so much for your reply and suggestions! To be honest, I found out about the company I worked for from a post of yours helping someone else out, and I'm sure I'd still be with them if I were able to get in and out of their training program before the changes and with a different over the road trainer!