CDL Training Contract loopholes?

Don't quote me on this but if you are THAT worried about safety and "doing things right" you might want to speak with a lawyer. Signing a contract does not lock you in, no matter what. OSHA could get involved if you could prove safety is why you wanted out of the contract. Nobody can make you stick with a contract that endangers your life.

A contract can only be upheld by a judge. If you made a good solid case that you wanted out because your company was asking you to do unsafe things then you could get out of the contract.

Safety trumps everything. Any judge would side with you if you could make a solid case.

 

Stick it out another 2 months. Gonna be hard to find a new job with less than 6 months. EXCEPT another training company. And dont even think about stopping at a scale and asking for an inspection. Cause yes it will screw the company, but also you.

 

Look.

You are the agent of the Company. Your assigned truck MUST be maintained to be SAFE. Let's use a wheel seal as a point of lesson from me. Obviously you understand wheel seals, the oil inside of them and so on. The thing is leaking. Fine. You write that into the pretrip driver inspection form, turn THAT into your shop manager desk with the truck key, go on duty waiting until the thing is fixed. You are being the agent of the company fixing a defect on that truck.

They will take that truck, put a new wheel seal on it, call you up, show you defect is fixed, sign as a mechanic, you sign accepting the truck as fixed and done. Now it's time to drive minus your lost on duty time.

IF...

IF...

IF>..

ANYONE gives you any flak.. for example Shop Boss says AWW RUN IT. (Oil driblling out of the hub...)

You stop what you are doing, go back to your drivers seat, get ledger pad or notebook out specifically for company problems. Write down, DATE. TIME. DEFECT WHEEL SEAL, NAME OF SHOP BOSS AND WHAT HE SAID TO YOU. AWW RUN IT.

WALK to your Safety boss in his office across the property inside the HQ building. SHOW him (And document the meeting date, time and SAFETY BOSS NAME... as you go) the pretrip report, the flak from the shop boss and inform him that truck aint going no where with a bad wheel seal defect. Until it's corrected.

This will go one of two ways in that company. If the safety boss walks out with you, stands on the feet of the shop boss and orders him to FIX that wheel seal to your satisfaction and son... you document that.

IF...

That safety boss huffs and waves you away like a irritating skeeter... aww don't worry about it.

Inform your Human Resources (And Driver Manager assigned to you) that you are not driving your assigned truck until fixed. And it's not possible to do your job because named shop boss plus named safety man does nothing. If they WAVE YOU OFF... go to the Operations Manger and possibly to the Owner.

IF THEY WAVE YOU off... the writing on wall is clear. Document their names, rank and so on.

Arrange your trip home yourself. Flight, rental car whatever. Clean the truck out, submit in writing quit for cause company failure to fix truck.

And walk. out. that. gate.

Your next stop at home is your State's Unemployemnt board, plus that of the Labor Department (Usually one and same as it is in my state...) and show them the excruciating detailed and CLEAR documentation with the example or even the actual failed inspection report not signed by mechanic. (*Make up a duplicate before you leave company property after cleaning out truck)

The State will put the company on trial according to federal laws that you as the agent of the company have determined its not safe to drive today and you were firred without cause in retaliation for it or you QUIT with CAUSE AFTER TALKING TO 4 people of bigger and bigger RANK to be brused off with the problem unfixed.

Your current economic problems don't matter. If you stand your ground you will get that unemployment and eventually if your DAC is destroyed, submit a copy of those documents you kept with names, dates, time, situation, bad wheel seal etc) DAC will submit the rebuttal. Plus the document with the state's award for cause to you to get unemployemtn. DAC will put in that to your file.

Then work on getting a better company.

Repeat until you find a first class outfit that replaces your wheel seal without flak in a few minutes.

That's all there is to it.

You might state economic problems. But if you refer to my past posts you will learn how to take each load given, build a savings eventually say within two months you should have a couple thousand for any battle to fight in the future. Therefore you are not broke and unable to do anything and drive with that bad seal because you are scared of being fired.

Stand up. And stay on your feet with careful documentation like I explained to you however the chips may fall.

The battle with good trucks fleet wide is with YOU the hired driver. If YOU decided AWW eff it and leave the yard, killing a family when that wheel and tire escaped the failed bearing in that dry and burnt up hub... on the highway, guess what. The COURT is going to AWW SEND YOU TO JAIL for 15 years vehicular manslaugher CMV. because you did not fix that stupid wheel seal.

IF you are REALLY committed, you go to the FIRST truckstop, tell machanic to fix wheel seal. Sign the failed Trip inspection as fixed AND BILL THE SHOP BOSS FOR PAYMENT BEFORE LEAVING TRUCKSTOP.

LAw says company MUST PAY.

They will yell and scream at you. Maybe threaten you. But they will pay.

Document that too to your growing notebook. The state you live in will be intereseted in that.

ESPECIALLY if you added the information that they made you SIT for 10 days as punitive punishment for daring to fix a wheel seal. That state of yours is going to REALLY love that. It just adds to your award big time for punitive punishment by employer.