CRST needs a federal probe

I ran for CRST Van Expedited for two years; it's where I started. The only time I had any complaints about pay were when the nation as a whole was having a slow down, and the slow times of the year, of course. I will tell you, it seemed to me that I got better loads when my regular DM was out, and someone was filling in for him.

As to the college graduate thing, I just have to tell you, as a truck driver, and a college graduate, that that really has nothing to do with anything! The best DM I ever worked with was a college graduate. And the worst dispatcher I ever dealt with was a former truck driver who actually came highly recommended from a lot of other drivers! In short, opinions about DM's can vary. And having it one way, or the other, makes zero difference. It's personal qualities that matter; and those don't get transmitted via a diploma, or from trucking experience...

You have to realize that the job of the DM is to balance between all that the drivers on his fleet want, with what the company wants. And because this business is thoroughly complicated, to get those two together is never easy!

I can tell you, and this is widely known throughout CRST, the one thing that drivers can do to help themselves and their DM's to have freight and make money is to communicate all the right steps via the Qualcomm. But that is something that soooo many drivers utterly REFUSE to do. They'd rather call up on the phone and #####--after they've overslept, or been late for p/u or delivery, or stopping every two hours for three hours at a time so they can talk crap at the T/A or somewhere. See where I'm coming from?

If you work for CRST, get assigned a load, do all the steps correctly, and get there when you say you're going to/when it's supposed to be to the consignee, they will load you as soon as they can! That has been my experience, anyway.

If you only give 'em 3 weeks, and don't necessarily do those things, then you'll be back here #####in' about your experience at CRST.

 

And you think the FEDS are going to look inot CRST for low pay and the attitude of the office? ok if you say so.

All companies (big ones) have a bad atttiude, the Feds are not going after them for that.

 

The problem is that in spite of the fact drivers are required to have a professional license they are still considered laborers by the Dept of Labor. In effect, that means they will only guarantee you minimum wage at 40 hrs. A wage claim is the only thing you can claim that they are willing to help you with. Because you work out of state, your state is not willing to help you at all. By paying you per mile instead of hourly, they bypass most of the wage claim violations. When you become a driver you are entering the no man's land of the labor market. Companies can abuse your rights all they want and some do. There is little you can do about it. The best you can hope for is to find a company that is run by people of integrity. Good luck with that, they are getting few and far between. Since the CDL came into effect, trucking schools process them through the in door, and companies process them through the out door. The government subsidizes it while DOT picks your pocket on the way out. Some of the hiring criteria coming out these days escapes reason. It is mostly designed so that only students can be hired. Quality of life in the trucking business has gone severely down hill since the CDL took effect. Good luck with filing a complaint, but they will tell you to take your complaint to the company's state, where you will be told they are a major employer and are unwilling to help you. The money you spend on it won't be worth it, and they know it. To put a stop to it, Congress needs to change the status of drivers, but campaign contributions will put a stop to that. If drivers were given skilled worker status and had some form of apprenticeship type program like all other careers have instead the trucking school scam we have now, things would change for the better. But don't expect it to happen any time soon, your self serving politicians don't really care about you. It's nothing new. It's been going on since I began driving 21 years ago. I was thinking it's time to get out of this business while I can. After 21 years my record is still clear, but that means little in the face of the gov sponsored driver mill. Good luck to you. I wish you success.

 

I hope im wrong but they prob will lose their shippers...since drivers wont be responsible with equipment, trailers have to be repaired on the road. Constantly making us late shippers don't like that

 

go for it jeeter its true they are a bunch of crooks!