Butler Transport, Inc. - Kansas City, Ks.?

I have a friend who worked for them for several years, and thought the world of them at the time. He moved on to another company in the Kansas City area, for better pay.

Refrigerated transport involves a bit more headaches than other types of freight, but if the company pays a driver for delays, then you can do okay. It's also very steady work most of the year, so there's an advantage also to working in food transport.

I just am not that fond of grocery warehouses, and cold storages any longer.

I've been there, and done that...for years. I can't say that I miss them.

 

just to be clear this is the reefer company out of kc mo.my friend worked for this company for almost 2 years,then came days when they wanted to change her running and sleeping habits which we know some of us can do but others cant.you make it to your delivery and they want you to take your 10 hours off but during that time you have to bump the dock and unload-then run to p/u load overnight and del next day?what ever happened to didnt get any good sleep and i need rest.if you are tired you aren't safe to to be driving!that doesn/t seem to matter to them.plus you dont get any detention as you wait to del to grocery warehouses since alot of freight comes out of unilever-they make butter?so now things are going bad,they told her they wanted to put a new driver in her truck-they do slipseating still!!!a driver that was coming in was quitting and she would get a new truck mon.well that didn't happen so she offered to take vacation for that week as a truck didnt seem to work out.she got pissed off and found a new job,went in to let them know,signed the paperwork that she was quitting and then was told company policy was she didnt get her vacation pay?now isnt that that against the law!if you have earned the vacation and quit you should still get what you have earned !ypu have to come back to work after vacation or you dont get that vacation-but waht do you do if they dont have a truck to put you in?

 

It may be against the law but the best way to quit is to have them pay out your vac pay, make sure it's in the bank, then turn in your notice and quit... That's the only sure way to get it. Otherwise bet on getting screwed..

Never understood why drivers let themselves be pushed around and drive tired to make deliveries. They don't do that at my company. Not to me anyways. I'm not superman - can't make up for other people's goof ups - and they know it too. It only took one late load and they don't even try that crap anymore. Our dispatch closes at midnight. Before I went to bed at 12:10 am one night I sent a message saying "I'm out of hours tired and don't feel safe so I'm going to sleep - be sure to call cust this morning and resched deliv time - my new eta is..." Correct procedure would have been to let them know sooner and set up a relay which would have meant a lot of wasted time and lost sleep meeting up with another driver plus getting his load that had to be ran thru all night - in other words not a viable option.

So I'm not known as a "hero" and I don't get loads like that any more. Give me time to get r done and get the required sleep and you need not wonder/worry if it's gonna be there on time. Never been late. Mess around letting a load fall through the cracks expecting me to cover for you with no sleep running over my hours and I'll make it late everytime. Worked/works for me..

 

totally agree-but i guess not all companies are honorable to do what thay commited to and what you've earned.sad that who knows who creates problems from the l/c who books too much or not enough freight to the driver who breaks down but as long as that pea brained dispatcher thinks he has a legal way for you to do that load hes going to try to get you to take it?

 

only thing i can say BAD about this company butler is that they said i used to work for them and even put that on my dac and will not take it off even till this day.i never worked for them didnt even hear of them till 1995 they said i got let go quit or broke my les in ot but i was working for other company when they said i was there.and other company even shows i was working for them at that time and no one will take that off my dac

 

We (drivers) have laws we are bound by: 11/10/14 daily, and 70/8 weekly.......companies are also bound by these laws.

The way they (companies) get around that law is ruthless. If you don't do as they say on one load (i.e.- run illegal) they will let you sit for a day or two to teach you a lesson.

There is no law saying they (companies) have to keep you moving from load to load.

It is a lose-lose for us drivers.

 

Actually vacations are a benefit that the company can take away anytime they want, per the labor board, I feel for her, Butler sucks anyway. Companies are not required to pay any benefits period, they are only subject to wage and hour laws as defined by the federal gov. Regarding your earnings and discrimination acts.

 

Actually, you can shut down if you're too tired to continue, no matter what your trucking company says. The DOT regs back you up. In fact, if you drive-on tired and unsafe, you will be responisble for anything bad that happens out there. If you're too tired and your company still compells you to go, just send 'em a qualcomm message to the effect that you're unsafe to continue.

 

I agree 100 percent,dont let them push you around.But handle the situation tactfully. I have about 15 years driving experience,drove for and was leased to about 4 companies. I have never had a problem telling a dispatcher that I will let him know when I am ready to roll. Even my short stint with Swift, I never let them push me around,although they tried on several occasions. I would go out for 3 weeks at a time and when I got home I let them know I would be there for 3 days. On a couple of occasions they told me to be ready to go in 2 days. I just sent them a message via the QualCom,.dont even think about dispatching me until I have been home for 3 days.It always worked for me, and I quit them,they didnt fire me. When you start driving for an over the road company,there is no union,and you gotta stand up for yourself,and oh yeah as always it is a good idea to do a good job,get your loads delivered on time,etc.