Navajo Express has just abandoned this trainee in a tiny town 1500 miles from home!

The American Trucking Association has a bunch of good phone numbers on its contact page. We should be lighting these numbers up first thing Monday morning, following up with media, etc.

Here's the link to ATA contact page: http://www.truckline.com/Contact_Us.aspx

Do they care? Not if we remain silent. Silence = acquiesence.

Are we tired of acquiesence? Where has it gotten us?

When there was an issue with Gordon calling a driver in and making his 10-day notice effective on Day 1, I called Steve Gordon's secretary, got a call back from the Director of Driver Training and Capacity and he sounded shocked, wanted the driver to call him. The driver opted to move on without creating a further fuss, ended up with a great job, paid hourly with overtime and hometime like he never had at GTI. I felt satisfied to tell the secretary and receive the follow-up call acknowledging this wasn't fair.

Can ATA help Pj? Doubt it. But if we could prompt someone at ATA to read this full thread, I would consider that worthwhile.

 

We can make a difference if everyone comes together rather then sitting on the bench.

 

Remember that when I spoke to George in the Denver Post newsroom, he asked, "You calling about Navajo Express?" 'Yes', I answered. "You're the second caller." Very interested.

Someone said they posted on BuzzFeed. Have to admit I hate facebook (yeah, I have a page), don't twitter (yeah, I get some updates) and mostly just indulge my TTR addiction.

So if someone else has further suggestions, let's have 'em. Have been doing a video on building my chicken coop. We could go to YouTube as well. Would like to see more YouTube responses on these threads, too, not just truck wrecks.

The floor's open for suggestions.

 

What this industry needs is the same thing that was done in the late seventies. A COMPLETE,COMPLETE truck strike. I sold my trucks and got out in 2011 because after 33 yrs just got sick of dealing with idiots.

 

A truck strike's about the most uber counter-productive idea. The ATA and mega carriers would love that. The public is unaware. Change that and the treatment of drivers, all drivers, new drivers, experienced drivers will change. Quickly? No. But if we insist in raising our voices in scenarios like this with Pj, the shabby treatment of drivers will become news.

A truck strike embarrasses us.

Put light on the shabby treatment of truck drivers, toxic air at truck stops, health issues related to vibration, isolation, low pay, super long hours. That embarrasses carriers.

Whom do you want to embarrass?

 

I left a message with Maureen at Navajo.

Emailed the Denver Post and the other media outlets.

Lets hope she calls them to share what happened to her.

Enough is enough. It's time for a change.

 

Why the ATA matters, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Trucking_Associations

"The American Trucking Associations (ATA), founded in 1933, is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States. Former Governor of Kansas Bill Graves is ATA's President and CEO.

According to the ATA's mission statement, their goals are "to serve and represent the interests of the trucking industry with one united voice; to influence in a positive manner federal and state governmental actions; to advance the trucking industry's image, efficiency, competitiveness, and profitability; to provide educational programs and industry research; to promote safety and security on the nation's highways and among drivers; and to strive for a healthy business environment."

Can we allow the ATA to 'advance the trucking industry's image' while continuing to turn a blind eye to the shabby treatment of OTR drivers?? What does it mean to 'promote safety and security on the nation's highways and among drivers' where mega carriers think they can dump Pj out of a truck 1500 miles from home or not assist a family to retrieve the body of their deceased trucker??

Oh, we can allow it to continue. If so, shame on us.

 

The OP (Pj) is going to be the "Rosa Parks" of the trucking industry!

 

Lets hope she is still OK, haven't heard anything yet today.