Mid States Express Inc.

Are you freaking kidding me ....

I would like someone on here tell me how management was suppose to stop what was going on. Are you telling me that you wanted the Manager to stand up against the Hartmanns and lose their jobs, let me guess each one of you who wanted that to happen was prepared to help support those managers and their family until they were able to get another job .... I THINK NOT ! you made enough to keep your own families going.

There was a man who stood against the Hartmanns at one time, he said NO over raising the insurance premiums and what did that get him .... tell me .... he got FIRED and he had many YES men and women but once he was gone where was his YES men and women then. For those who don't know ... they were still collecting a paycheck for MSXN. Now I hear he was fired for different reason but I am inclined not to believe the rumor and believe what I was told by him when he was fired and called ask me to do the right thing and QUIT but I didn't and continue to collect my paycheck for another 3 years.

Everyone of us knew when the insurance bills were not getting paid, we all had choices to make and for those who chose to continue on with the insurance ... well who fault is that ... who is the enablers now ?
We all were fooled by them, maybe it makes you feel better about your self by coming on here and blaming the one person who gave you a job when you had no where else to go. I really hope that works for you. YOU HAD CHOICE. Did you make a bad choice by staying, no one knows that but you. The sad part is if MSXN was still open to this day you ALL would still be working there and giving your money to them to do whatever they wanted with it. You all would have stayed because where else could you go and do whatever you wanted and not be held accountable for your actions. This is not just for drivers but management , office and dockworkers alike.

I am so sick of reading this crap that it is not funny. Stop whining and blaming the people who had no control, the managers were in the same boat as you were. Put the blame were it belongs.

Here is one more thing ...

I agree with Broadwaybill "WHERE IS MY INSURANCE PREMIUM MONEY" let me say if you don't know where the money is by now then I see why you kept the insurance for as long as you did.

Point being is we all took the insurance and some learn and drop out as soon as they realize that their bills were not being paid, some of us kept the insurance and lost even more.

 

Please don't flatter yourself my post was not about one person. It's about they way everyone think Managers should have stood up against the brothers. I see Littlestitches know the MAN (may god rest his soul) I was referring to.

You speak of dignity I am glad you left with yours because I left with mine as well and I stayed to the end. Did I lose my last 2 paychecks? Yep sure did ... will I ever see those paychecks ... nope probably not.

As far as Annette saying no one should ask another person to sacrifice another's job.... Well my point was and this is my opinion of which I am entitled... When you are a manager it means you are in some sort of power and looked upon by others. Personally knowing that I in no way could face myself in the mirror let alone others knowing I was enabling MSXN in one way or another to do what they were doing.... That is just me.

Managers with power ... this power you speak of was to do what? Make a phone call to the upper management team and demand answers, which I am sure they did but with one phone came another lie. We all watch the captain of this ship fall out from his throne. I guess he never saw it coming until the day he stood to say NO.

Opinion are like ##s*h*l*s everyone has one and most should keep them covered up because most are unattractive and selfish and ways no bearing to the situation.

This is the time where everyone stands together, fight for what right and not point fingers at one or another.

 

I'd like to make a point as to why some of us kept our insurance. Up until June 2006 our medical bills were being paid - ours were - I don't know about anyone else. I know at that point, we had one bill still outstanding, for glasses. Our bills were minor, yearly doctor visits, prescriptions and dental. Mid-States would take 6-9 months to pay the bills, but apparently that was acceptable with our medical providers. Finally, Mid-States became so slow on paying the bills that we had to pay for that last pair of glasses ourselves.

We were still going to the dentist, not realizing the situation. Then our dentist wanted us to start paying our bill. I'd call and talk with Group Administrators (who'd tell me a check had been cut), then with Gina who'd tell me I have to talk with the Hartmanns (who never, ever returned calls). Finally after a few months I started searching the internet to see what I could find and that's when I found the class-action lawsuit. Nobody ever mentioned this to us, (Our management didn't know about it until I found it).

I contacted the lawyers who confirmed the lawsuit and I kept weekly to monthly correspondence going with them. My husband mentioned it to his management who talked to St. Louis about it, and then the *#!#$ hit the fan, so to speak. Apparently the Hartmanns were not happy campers that the information was out. This was also when we found out about one of the terminals going union and starting the lawsuit. I figured that when the lawsuit started all our premiums were being put in escrow, because that was our "earned" money and not theirs - much the same as our insurance and taxes go into escrow from our house payments. I hoped that the Hartmanns were not the type to be vindictive about whichever terminal it was that went "union." I know that here in southwest Missouri we didn't have any "union" terminals.

We stayed with the insurance because we saw "light at the end of the tunnel" in that surely the judge would order our medical bills to be paid. The case was coming to a close in early 2007 and everything was supposed to be paid by September 2007, when I was told that the Hartmanns fired their attorney and the process had to start over. An agreement was finally reached in 2008 whereby Mid-States would pay the medical providers 25 cents on the dollar for the claims. That was up to the medical providers to accept or refuse. Some of ours accepted, and some didn't. If they didn't accept the offer, they would be paid at the end.

In the middle of all this, we had a couple of emergency room visits and I had to have an emergency appendectomy. A few months later, Mid-States offered new insurance. It wasn't the greatest, but it was about all we could afford. We never dreamed that Mid-States would again keep our insurance premiums and not pay the insurance company.

To this day, I have no idea which of our providers have been paid and which haven't. We are paying some of them, some I may hear from later and God help us then, because we don't have that kind of money.

For the longest time we couldn't even talk to Group Administrators about Mid-States claims. They put you through to a recording to call Mid-States. How much information did Mid-States give us? I felt for Gina - she was caught in the middle of all this. She told me that much of the information that she gave out was what employees told her.

The bottom line is that our premiums were monies that we paid for a service. If we hadn't bought the insurance, we would have been paying taxes on that money and spending it ourselves. I wonder if anyone paid taxes on that money anywhere. That should be something IRS might want to know about. I know we didn't pay taxes on it because Mid-States apparently offered insurance under a "cafeteria" plan, whereby employees don't pay taxes on medical premiums up front, but they can't deduct the premiums on income taxes either.

You can imagine my shock when the lawyers wrote back after one correspondence and said that there was only $250,000 in the fund to pay medical claims. I figured that for 500-800 employees with at least half of them on insurance paying premiums of $40-$75 a week for the past two years, there should be at least around $2,500,000 in there. That's a lot of money to steal - and not pay taxes on!

I never dreamed that Mid-States would steal from its own employees, not once, but twice in insurance premiums and again in bad paychecks.

 

Today I called Group Administrators and found out that my medical providor had accepted a 10% settlement on 2/5 09. I'm still being sued of course but GA provided me a copy of the signed settlement agreement. I'd encourage you to check this out!!

The trucking industry used to have some honor, people like the Hartmanns and CJ caused me to leave the industry. CJ is a Navy Seal Wannabe that, when that didn't work out, joined the JB terrorist organization. After working for the premeir midwest LTL carrier ( yellow and blue trucks) I knew I was in trouble when an Omaha vendor refused to bill Mid States. After paying for changing the locks out of my pocket and being reimbursed 4 weeks later I realized the industry was no longer something that even remotely resembled something I could be associated with.

To all of you honest people that are still trying to recover from the blatant rape of your honest day's work I can only hope that you continue to pursue these criminals. Call the Labor Relations Board, call the FBI, call your congressman, call the cops.

The Hartmanns, CJ, and all of the Mid-States "manangement" team need to be brought to justice.

 

Don't blame the industry for what the Hartmanns did, not all carriers are like that. But you are correct in your statements about making calls and everyone doing their best to make sure they are brought to justice. Call everyone you all can think of...

 

To Oma Dm: The medical provider that settled with Mid-States for 10% of your bill cannot sue you. According to the lawsuit, if a medical provider settles for what Mid-States paid, the bill is settled and if you paid anything over and above what they settled for, then they're supposed to refund that money to you.

 

Any new news on the court hearing today?

 

Thanks! I retained counsel and I know my rights, I hope that everyone on here understands their rights as well. I never got on here prior to this because I really was embarrased that i ever got associated with a bottom feeder like Mid States, I spent over 20 years with Crouse, Baker offered me a whorehose salary and I failed to do my homework and left a great job with Wynne Transport to end my career with a whimper instead of a bang. My bad!

 

A minor update...A letter I sent to the Federal Prosecuting Attorney in Chicago, Fitzgerald, sent me a letter informing me he had forwarded the letter to...........I can not say on here.

Jodi 242..you proved my point...you said that you was afraid to confront the Hartmann's and anyone in management that did would have lost their jobs....and so on. So by your own admission, we had no management! You think we employees under those with the Title of Management are crazy for thinking or expecting any of you to come up with an answeer are crazy! Well, you are correct! You had a title and that is all!

Working for any business, management is the one you go too with problems....and by their own admission, WE HAD NONE AT MID-STATES....they were all afraid.

I knew this then, and I know this now. It really does not make a difference. The reason I raised the issue is: I heard a couple of those in management raising their flags of they helped or are helping we poor truck drivers now. I just wanted to hear them admitt, they were afraid as was my DISTRICT MANAGER and imediate Manager, to just ask the simple question, "WHERE IS THE INSURANCE MONEY GOING".

Do not forget to donate some money to TRUCKERS FORUM for providing us a place to keep informed.

Just a passing thought...I do believe we are at the point where all we can do is be patient and let the system run its course. The Feds will not tell us what they are doing.....has anyone called Mid-States and asked to talk to the NEW Administrator? I will tomorrow.