Trucking Company Sued for Harassment

Pray tell why is that? I'm the youngest of 5 kids and the only boy, so I've been a victim of a femme fatale (sp?) all my life. I've witnessed this on more than one occasion.

And you women think us men are competitive...

 

I wish I knew why. Women are just so catty and cruel to each other. I don't know if it is the competion thing, of if they feel better by putting others down, or if it is just an outgrowth of women talking more than men. Women are more emotional and are not as up front with things as men. Working with men is easy, they tell you what they want done and you do it. Working with women is so much harder.

 

Without getting into the "women vs men" thing, I've notived that some women will jump on that sexual harassment soapbox for the slightest of reason.

I believe this entire sexual harassment thing is taken entirely too far & much too literally.

Whatever happened to just being able to be in each other's company, joke around & get things done?

As soon as a guy begins to "break the ice" the woman thinks he's after her butt.

I tried to do the training thing.
I became "volunteered"; it wasn't by choice.

I heard every sob story & excuse imaginable.
I guess it was their way of distracting me from their mistakes or my corrections.

As a guy in general & a (thanfully ex)trainer, the last thing I'm interested in is more women trouble.
I'm totally uninterested in hearing about your lives, your loves, your ex's, your kids, your parents, blah blah blah.

I'm only interested in living another day despite your mess-ups.

Here's some news for the ladies in training, It's not all about you babe.

 

[/quote] Women are just so catty and cruel to each other. I don't know if it is the competion thing, of if they feel better by putting others down, or if it is just an outgrowth of women talking more than men. Women are more emotional and are not as up front with things as men. Working with men is easy, they tell you what they want done and you do it. Working with women is so much harder.[/quote]

I totally agree with you on this. For all of our abilities to communicate as women, we sure do misuse it. I am a woman, but for the life of me I don't understand why women can't just say what they mean and mean what they say. If you could just combine men's directness with women's sensititivity in conversation somehow you could get a lot done. Men tend to be too gruff with their directness and women often don't say what needs to be said in the name of being "nice," which really isn't. I have always preferred the company of men over women, even to being out in the field playing cowboys and Indians with the boys in elementary school rather than playing dolls with the girls (and no I didn't turn out to be a lesbian). I've just always enjoyed the direct, clear communication that men have. I would have much preferred a male trainer with CRST when I was with them, but after the stories we heard about the sexual harrassment going on, my husband would not hear of it. But really, the way I see it, if a woman is going into an industry that is predominently men she needs to be prepared for and accept a few comments, looks, and come ons. All a woman has to do is handle it gracefully and continue to say no. Where it crosses the line is if the harrassment is severe and constant enough to prohibit the woman from doing her job, if it ever crosses the line to being physical sexual abuse, or if she is held back in her job because she said no or requested it to stop. If this case is about any of the last things, then the woman should win her case, but if it was just jokes, come ons, and a little sexual pressure that a firm "no" could have taken care of, then she's full of crap. If it was anything short of constant sexual harrassment and a failing of training because she said no, then I daresay I went through more hell with my 2 female CRST trainers than this little lady went through with her male traner and mine was just outright old fashioned #####iness and female head games.

 

I have spent the last 9 years in Customer Service.
Been in around call centers during that whole time.
It's the same everywhere, get a huge group of women together, and they click off like in Highschool all over again.
A group will hate this one girl, or despise a group of others, or even one man on a diffrent or same team.
Most of the guys I have ever worked with, want nothing to do with the office politics, so we keep our mouths shut, and just work.

Is it ingrained from grammar school on?
In example, my wife will start a fight, just for the sake of fighting.
I have been yelled at by the best, so most of it rolls off like water on a ducks back. So when I continue to talk to her, in what she says is my "condensending cop voice" instead of yelling back, it infuriates her further. You can take the man away from the service, but you can't take the service away from the man.
Then when she can't back down, it escalates, and she losses ground in the verbal triade.
Then she'll start to cry, and all of a sudden I am the bad guy?
And I am thinking, what the hell happened?

Thank god that's getting better, found out she was having panic attacks, and depression.

We tied the knot last week, and alot of her anxiety was over being single, with me living with her for almost 2 years, and being a single mom with three boys and a dickall ex husband.
Now she's getting better, and she can refocus on who and her girlfriends hate at work again... while I shake my head and roll my eyes.

 

Oh dear I wondered when this was going to happen.

I used to drive for CRST and heard plenty of horror stories from other women about trainers/ or codrivers that were sexual harrassers or even more seriously predators. Many of those women had gone to human resources and higher ups writing their reports on any particular given incident only to see their reports of said incidents swept under the rug. Honestly I have no doubt that this happens at many team driver trucking companies as the Old Boy mentallity is still alive and well and the bottom line are the trucks and freight after all. But for those whose claims merit investigation, I wish these companies would actually investigate them and reprimand those guilty of creating a hostile work environment for their codrivers so as to avoid the situation CRST has found itself in.

The women that I'd known I have no doubt were telling the truth about their situations. With the wrong codriver I could easily see it happening. Honestly there are men who think with their "shifter" before their brain when it comes to matters of the opposite sex. With that said however, there are women who I do agree are devious, catty and yes sexually aggressive as well and make spurious claims against perfectly decent men who no where did deserve the allegations aimed at them. Why some women do that is beyond me, but I happen to think it's vile. It does nothing to level the work place for women in trucking and puts men on guard when we would hope they would feel more at ease about working alongside us in the industry.

I also think it's perfectly fine if a trainer does not want to train someone of the opposite sex for whatever reason, and as far as I know trainers and students can state as such at CRST. I initially had a women trainer who I had to wait 3 days for while watching my friends trot off and get started on their careers. I didn't request a female trainer. I didn't request a male trainer either, because I figured it really wouldn't matter. This was trucking after all. Well I was with her for approximately 1 week. This woman was insecure, hostile and just created a truly uncomfortable learning environment for me and I couldn't see myself riding with her for 3 more weeks without problems brewing. So after calling my dispatcher and requesting to be taken off of her truck, I was soon reassigned and finished the rest of my training with a respectful, no-nonsence man who I happen to be friends with to this day.

As far as the subject of women working with other women, I absolutely agree with what others have said in regard to the competitiveness of it. Why women get so petty and jealous of other women is something for the psychologists to work out, but in the mean time I don't have the patience for it. I've done my sentence in Sisterville in a previous job life and I'm not going back if I can help it.

 

Women are loving, strong, and self-sacrificing. Some of them, anyway, make great mothers. Personally, I didn't have one of the good ones, but I know they are out there.

I think, given women's emotional capacity and their natural expressiveness, the problem comes where there is A LOT of suppressed, sublimated, even unconscious anger/bitterness/resentment/rejection. I think the majority of women today, once you scratch the surface and go deep, are really hurting people.

Our social safety net, the extended family, neighborhood friends, all that good old TRIBAL stuff, has been blasted away by modern lifestyles. Then the way marriage and courtship have changed adds to the mix. Sexual liberation and shacking up carries a psychological cost.

And for mothers to work, putting their kids in day care as babies, and not being home when they get out of school, may seem financially sensible, but there is more pain to the woman's feelings on a daily basis than society wants to acknowledge.

Men have no idea how miserable women actually are.

The answer? Look beyond their 'acting out'. Don't patronize them. Take a walk, and come back with flowers, chocolates, and a card that says: "I love you. I know you're right. I'll try better next time. Be my valentine."

 

This does happen at CRST but I dont think it happens as much as they claim. I started my OTR with CRST--had one of the best male trainers there was. Of course, i asked for a male trainer because i just work better with men than women. He was a great trainer and prolly the best part of my time with CRST was in training--of course he didnt get too upset when i left him at a truck stop once--but thats another lesson learned there! LOL

I do know it happens though--but I think its happens to men as well--they just dont admit to it! Most of the problem with company's these days is they put people in these positions that got no business being there--and those people take advantage of that situation. I have heard a lot of stories--but it only happens if you allow it to.

If it does happen--you just need to get with a higher up and get a new trainer--no matter what! Good luck to all and Be Safe out there!

 

Hey Shock, I think the guy came and worked for us for a while before they eventually ran him off for the same reasons! He was downright scary!