Driver thought he was doing a good deed then got fired for it

I don't think so. Not this time.

I have had a form of warfare in my mind today over this driver considering the entire thread and thoughts expressed and heard.

WE big boss spoke, that's the end of it. IF he wants to eat 20K and have that driver back knowing he is a asset rather than a liability to the team? More power to him.

For me the final problem is the Lawman saying he wants that wood with people who have heard about it and is gathering to get some. This particular situation is one I have never encountered in my life and frankly my first call would be to dispatcher if it did happen when a lawman stands on my fuel tank and says my load now.

Im not sure dispatch possesses adequate experience to determine or make a decision when presented with such a scenario. And believe you me Ive had some calls to make that were pretty outrageous in my time. Sometimes prefaced with you wont believe this *&%

 

I can't think of a better blessing for a drivers career than being fired from a company like Western Express

 

"This guy" hasn't been able to be reached so I doubt those reporting the incident are getting the rest of the story from "This guy". Rather, reporters are digging up information pertaining to the story, adding new information as it's discovered.

This event turned out just as I predicted it would. Florida hurricane victims have a hero in Tim McCrory. For any company or corporation to take legal action against Tim would cause them a public relations nightmare.

But I smell a rat, .................
WE Company CEO Paul Weick reports that WE will "absorb the cost of the lost load and that they (WE) won't investigate the incident further since McCrory is no longer with the company".

That's interesting, considering WE claims Tim wasn't fired and they'd welcome him back. For what reason? So they could continue their investigation?
Paul just doesn't get it, .... yet.

Paul stated, "I'm glad some people got some things that they needed, but at the same time, you can't have anarchy in the country. You can't have people giving away things that aren't theirs."
Hmmmm -----
It seems Paul sees this as being "anarchy" from his higher position in his hierarchy.

Personally I don't believe Paul's story that Tim wasn't fired. Actually it makes sense that he was, considering Tim dead-headed home to Massachusetts.
Fess up Paul, you changed your stance mid-stream when you, or someone higher up on the food chain slapped some sense into your thinking. To continue harping about the sins of driver Tim would come back to bite him on the buttox via the public relations route, most certainly tarnishing the reputation of Western Express and exposing their selfish attitude toward those in dire need during a natural disaster who's crime was trying to save their homes and lives.

I'd bet big bucks that WE received a LOT of correspondence and calls from citizens who were shocked and angry about the way WE vilified driver Tim, and that's the real reason Paul backpedaled.
HaiL! I wouldn't be surprised if corporate Home Depot was also on the line questioning whether WE should even have the HD account, not wanting to be associated with the attitude of the hierarchy running Western Express.
I remember reading of other natural disasters where Home Depot gladly donated badly needed supplies to those trying to survive the storm, and employees helped load material for them.

That's what builds good public relations. Be a shame if the association with WE were to destroy the good reputation that Home Depot earned.

We're now reading that a police officer who had been helping others prep for the storm, was searching for plywood "to secure his own home" when he happened on Tim and his load. At which time, "Law enforcement spread the word that there was plywood available".
Imagine that.
I'm surprised WE didn't accuse the officer of stealing the plywood that wasn't his to take. Does anyone reading this believe the cop is a thief who stole the load?
Or did that cop recognize what was needed and made it happen?
Hero status? For some, no doubt.
Western Express drivers might notice they're being pulled over more often by the officers of Florida.

Here's driver Tim's accounting of what took place, "I went into it knowing I was going to lose my job. Because I was giving away something that wasn't mine. But the people in Florida needed it to protect their homes".

Question: If a huge tornado was headed directly toward your house with no shelter, and you know the neighbor next door does have a storm shelter, but the neighbors weren't home. Would you consider using their shelter knowing there will be those who consider that act to be breaking and entering?

If, while hiking alone in the mountains, a hiker becomes lost for several days with no food and very little water. The hiker is weak and tired when he comes upon a mountain cabin with food stacked on shelves and in cupboards, and plenty of it. Obviously a weekend get-away for the owner.
Would it be considered theft by the lost hiker if he consumed some of that food even though it wasn't his property?
Would you insist that he be arrested and charged with stealing your property?

Extenuating Circumstances.

A group of people decide to settle in the flatlands next to a flowing river.
Their neighbors settled in the highlands along the banks of the same river.

Everything was going great, crops growing and the cattle were multiplying. The perfect place to settle, it seemed.

However, the clan in the highlands decided to dam the river, creating a lake for their personal enjoyment, causing the river downstream in the flatlands to dry up completely.

The highlanders claimed that since the water came to them first, any and all water in the river was therefore theirs and the water flowing through the flatlands was actually still their property and being stolen by the flatlanders. They had no right to take water that didn't belong to them.
If they wanted any more water, they'd have to pay for it, including what the highlanders claim the flatlanders had already used.
Sound fair?

The beginning of Big business created to make Big bucks.
Show me the money!
Nothing personal though.[/B]

 

I have enjoyed your posts. And you make strong cases that causes me to think carefull and make a counter position should I think it suit me to try.

There was one quiet word called Anarchy.

Our Nation hangs on such a thin thread of society, civility and some kind of peace more or less. If you stopped the trucking, trains or even lost Memphis and St Louis in the Madrid quake or whatever major and there is no food left in the east coast to eat in about 10 days maybe... I think 50 days max is what our warehouses hold not including military logistics in terms of how much food exists in any form in our country. There is corn and grain in the silos all over the nation, barges, trains and trucks will need to get that to where it can be processed and then shipped to the store on your town for you to buy and eat.

If you were to stop that maybe 10 days or less and you cannot get it restored in say 50 days... the people around you will resort to ... behavior outside of the law to get basic needs to eat and drink becuase they must and will be willing to kill you and yours to get it. That's anarchy.

The vision of 1000 trucks in wolcott mobbed and stripped by say... 100 stolen busloads of people from a nearby city down the road seeking food that surely must exist in those humming reefers and so on.....

You would by this time be a form of military rule that must be imposed to protect wolcott IA for the good of the people and the nation against anarchy.

That is one reason I surrendered my CDL and turned in my Tier Two, in our area that means if anything happens like DC getting nuked, tier two means I get to haul dead bodies in a reefer truck that looks awful lot like a food truck to many hungry people.

No thanks. I cannot do it. Not in that situation. There isnt enough ammunition you are able to carry to make it out alive.

 

The feelings are mutual, x1Heavy. I crave stimulating conversation(s), but too often those turn into a food fight of epic proportions. It has been a pleasure exchanging thoughts and ideas, theories and opinions with you and others in this thread. I hope the opportunity to do so again presents itself.

Rest assured, that you presented views that caused me to really think about your take on the subject.

ThanX!
I really appreciate that.

 

Yes likewise.

I imagine this thread could have gone bad. Im sort of happy it did not....

I had to do some thinking on my end too maybe I am better for it in some way. We just dont give out what aint ours in them trailers LOL.... sheesh....

have good weekend. Maybe until the next outrageous problem.

Edit... I have a history of talking with company owners over time several times in life. Generally positive, but a few were not for very good reasons. Even one expressed discrimination and ignorance because his previous deaf driver soured really bad and cost him a bunch of money, took me roughly 20 minutes to explain and smooth his feathers and show our culture on that part of living and he should not expect trouble from me. But it took some talking.

Another flat asked me if I was wealthy because payroll really did not matter in that time of my life if it was 100 dollars a week or 1000. I simply did not know enough of trucking in that time to care as long I got my tolls reimbursed. I told him to stop it with the plush fine luxuries in his front foyer for high dollar trade industry shipping captians and beating up his old macks with no sleepers for his daycabs to sit in norfolk waiting on a ship 30 hours... and to do it again tomorrow.

Lo and behold, he bought small sleeper macks right quick and cut back on the extravagant display of finery and brought his tractors more up to speed. No more should I consider today's expected temperature against the smashed out back window that does not exist at 4 am.... That back window does not matter (Actually it really did when you consider the engine gases coming back in flow from a weed burner exhaust... I got sick a few times... there is some damage in my body from that type of abuse. but in those days you don't think about that stuff that high.)

Another owner flat fired me. Great. No hard feelings, but man you can lighten up francis, sheesh you got a thousand trucks to think about today. Do you even care? (I dont think he did....) that one was memorable...

Im just a drivah, keep mouf shut and head out to customer,. dont be late. Chop tick tock.

I think not... which is what causes friction sometimes.

Finally my last thought here. No #### 7 hours to toss a replacement tire on the east coast darn it. Roll into anyone with truck tires and pick out something close and issue a freaking comcheck at whatever dollar amount... otherwise the load is late. That is the root cause of where it all began to go bad. 7 hours to get a tire on the east coast is approximately between the Delaware Memorial Bridge all the way down to near Wilmington, Im pretty sure there are hundreds of tires for sale along the way....

I have a feeling a office drone waffeled on 350 tires and rather do it for 200 to paraphrase... and made it happen even if it took longer and set up a 20K loss.

 

You guys wrote some of the longest posts I've seen on this forum

 

Wow, I'm not going to read all freakin' 99 posts, but I agree with Mack, you don't give away stuff off your wagon. Sorry, but if you live in a hurricane zone, or tornado alley, there's going to be consequences. People can be so stupid, it can't happen here. Who ever heard of a hurricane in Florida? Stock up on a few sheets BEFORE the storm hits. They know about these things days in advance. I chose to live in an area, where the ground doesn't move, burn, or flood. Do you realize what a load of plywood costs today? Well, it's over $25 bucks a sheet times over a thousand sheets/load, not the best decision. I'd fire him too.