CELADON Trucking Services/CELADON the Trucker's career ender's

Its a bit much I agree, but under what conditions did he leave those companies? I have NOT read all of this thread nor all of the posts of the driver with the long list of former employers so I don't know if he stated why he left; rather, my point is not that this poster is a paragon of stability, but that there are plenty of drivers who had good reason to leave a job -- or for that matter a whole slew of jobs. A lady I know once told me, "you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince", and I would say that is a good description of the trucking industry today.

For example and mea culpa: I have worked for 7 companies in 14 years, but 3 of them went out of business while I was working for them and for two more I only worked for a few weeks because they expected me to drive illegally (and one of those expected me to use three log books. That's right, three.) Of the two remaining companies, I work for one today and am eligible to return to the other.

Until we know why someone leaves a company I would hesitate to pass instant judgement on someone because the numbers don't always tell the true story. Remember, there was a time when it was shameful for a woman to divorce a husband who beat her and cheated on her. I am always amazed at the number of drivers who not only fail to hold the companies accountable for mistreating other drivers, but actually defend them for doing so, to the point that the automatic assumption is that the driver must be at fault.

We work in an industry where it is accepted practice to not pay you for ten percent of the miles you drive. How anyone can work under such conditions while automatically assuming that it was not a company that mistreated another driver, but that the driver probably had it coming, is utterly beyond my ability to fathom.

 

When you apply for a job, and attend the company's orientation program, but it doesn't work out and you leave, your "DAC" report from USIS/HireRight will show that you were employed and "terminated or left employ". That's not fair at all, is it?!

 

Yes, you MAY be able to get it removed, by contacting every prior employer and disputing their information. You can get a free copy of your DAC report, once a year, from the HireRight (formerly USIS) website.
You will have to send everything "certified, return receipt requested", which will get expensive. It will all be time sensitive, so plan on being able to get to a post office on a regular basis. Plan on making copies of everything, and staying organized. Using DACFix is a ripoff, a lot you can do yourself. I had help with mine, however, from Mike Rone from RMR Consultants. He is a DOT Compliance Specialist, but he is totally driver friendly, and knows that too many drivers are getting the shaft and having lives and careers destroyed by unscrupulous and unethical carriers.

 

Hi Banjoman, If your application was rejected for DAC reasons, you are entitled to a copy of the "report" that was detrimental to your application. Contact the company that rejected your app and get a copy for you to review. $$$$$ 5/6/2011

 

It shouldn't cost any money for the company in question to provide the driver's records, Keepfozzin. I see dollar signs in your reply to Banjoman, so I can only assume that you think that it will cost money. When I disputed my DAC, and requested info from JB Hunt, there was no cost to me. This was last year, so if memory serves me correctly, they emailed me the info.
It just a real pita, and a bit time consuming, but it can be done. You don't need DAC Fix to do this. If anything, contact Mike Rone from RMR Consultants, he's on Twitter, Facebook, and has a website, http://www.rmrconsultants.com/
Mike is a super nice man, and will help you get through the whole process.

You can get false and erroneous information removed from your DAC report. Get the company in question to either snail mail or email you your records. This should not cost you any money. Get your DAC report from USIS, or HireRight, whatever they call themselves now...I think it's HireRight. You are entitled to one free report a year. Contact Mike Rone at http://www.rmrconsultants.com/ He is a very nice man and will help you through the process of disputing false claims. He is very aware of how unscrupulous companies will "blackball" you, and he is just one person out of many who would like to see HireRight stop their unsavory tactics. The problem is, HireRight only reports what the company tells them, they do not actually prove the validity of any slanderous remarks put on your DAC.
It makes me sick, that there is NO other industry that does this. How many really bad doctors are out there, still practicing medicine?! Or really bad lawyers?? Why don't THEY get "blackballed"!?

Also, when you attend an orientation for a company, and jump through their hoops, IE: getting drug tested, but then you decide that you do not like the company, or you were not accept for employment with them, it will show up on your DAC as "employee quit or was terminated". What BS!!!

 

I work for Celadon, have been with them since February of 2010. My DM's are great, and everyone I deal with is friendly and respectful. They work with me, because they know I do NOT want to drive at night, if I can help it. I'm a strong 'day runner' and a lot of companies do not care about your personal preferences, that if you have the hours to drive up until 2 in the morning, they will expect you to do so. I strive to maintain as "normal" a routine as I can, and for me, that means heading out around 6 am, and running until around 7 or 8 pm, when I can still get a place to park at a truck stop, (depending on the location of said truck stop, of course).
Of course, I have some issues with them, like having to pay out of pocket for tolls, but I am reimbursed for them on the next paycheck. I hate going to Canada, because my paycheck takes a huge hit, and as a single lady with only one source of income, that is a big concern to me, of course. Communication is the key, I think, with the folks at Celadon. I dunno, they're pretty good to me, but if and when I ever decide to leave for better equipment, a better salary, and more home time, I should hope that they would be ethical and not slander me on my DAC.. I am willing to 'take my lumps' when deserved, but will not tolerate anything that is not true regarding my employ with them or anyone else, for that matter. As free Americans, we should have the choice to leave a trucking company without fear of slanderous retaliation.

 

By the way, I chose Celadon because they are a very "female friendly" company, and not only do I earn one day off for every 7 days worked, I also earn a paid week's vacation at every 30,000 miles that I turn. I've earned three weeks already since I've been with them. I have HazMat, so I earn twice as much as someone without HazMat on their license. It's only $600.00, and after taxes, medical and 401K, taking my paid vacation hits my wallet, but I also have the choice of just taking the money if I have a couple of lousy paychecks. I don't know of any other company that does that for their drivers.

 

How does your paycheck take a hit by going to CANADA ? up until recently our US$ was worth more than the CAN $ so exspenses were cheaper.

 

OK, just for instance, I had to pay for 6 pages to be faxed and I handed the clerk a US $20.00 bill. When I got my receipt, it showed that I gav her $18.20. So, my $20.00 just got devalued to $18.20, a loss of $1.80 to me. And my company reimburses me what the receipt states I am owed. A buck eighty buy me a four pack of cat food, and with 6 cats, and one paycheck, the loss here and there adds up over time. Could I convert my US money into CN money before I get to Canada? Sure I could.
But then I'll have $40.00 or more tied up in Canadian funds when I need the money to pay bills, etc, etc. The miles aren't that good, and everytime I go into Canada, I get inspected coming and going. Those border guys must think a middle-aged white woman is a threat or something. I lose so much time, and the stress of lost time and jumping through their hoops causes me so much anxiety, it just ain't funny. I swear, my face is going to wind up on their "Most Wanted" terrorist poster one of these days! lmao!!
And Quebec is downright scary. I can't speak French, my tongue will NEVER wrap around their language...I just don't have "the ear" for languages...my gift is in music. On the other hand, my Mother aced French 102, before she ever took French 101, she had "the gift". All of the signs are in French, gibberish to me. The GPS doesn't do too badly about getting me around up there, but again, the anxiety of being in a foreign country where you cannot communicate with the people is terribly frightening to me. And I sure do know how it feels when I am resented and not spoken to on the CB radio because "Learn the language you stupid American"! lol!

 

I go there on a steady basis and have no problems , when our $ was worth more I even bought trucks / trailers in Canada nice DISCOUNT.