Central Oregon Truck CO.

Yes, I agree that it should be shorter. It appears to me that the instructor is "making work" for himself; maybe he figures that if he can keep busy with 40 hours in the classroom that he won't have to go on the road 2 or 3 days a week when orientation is not in. I'm just sayin'.

 

To ''Dukeofearl'',

Thank you very much for your input on both companies. It is very much appreciated! I am just going to stay local for now, If times get tough I will have to look for another solution. Thank you again for your information!

 

I have been with COTC for 2 years and 8 months.
And I will make this short and sweet.
Hard WORK, Top notch equipment, MILES MILES MILES.......HOME TIME.
A good company to work for.

I believe COTC is headed in the right direction for future Growth in the trucking industry.

The High turn around rate is weeding out all the drivers that can't cut the mustard.

 

Stop it, you're killing me!

 

Worked for this Company for 20 months!!! 18 yrs exp, no tickets no wrecks no claims in 18 yrs, Did alot of Canada for them. Do NOT go to work for this Company!! "BIG" turn over every week. You'll be stuck at .32 and a half cents a mile. No freight where ever you go! 48 & Canada. Lots of short runs to get you moving, 250 mile runs. You'll starve to death. It was windy one day on the gorge in Or. a shipper wanted me to throw straps one way with the wind, could'nt do that - had to throw alternating pull on the straps, with a ghost strap. Then advised we needed 24 hrs notice to book BC Ferries to get load to Vanc. ilse, they called "SAFETY" and said we do not want this driver back here!! Safety (Fred) called while still at the shippers, and said thats not good for you!!! finish the load to Canada, then saw the fork lift driver and said i just got a call from safety, they'll probably fire me. He said quote that was not our intention to have that happen to you. COTC had me finish load to Canada (mon). Came back to USA go to Seattle load to Yakima (thur), Go to Pilot Rock Or. and bring load to yard in Terrebonne Or. Oh and clean your truck out and find away home. Sat in Yakima for a long time trying to figure out what I did? Called Safety ask them what I did - They said qoute we don't disscuss stuff like this on the phone!! Did the load went back to the yard (wife was waiting and no one was there to great me), and cleared the truck out!! didn't want to get abandoned or quit under a load on my record. This was thurs 2/3/11 Still don't know why? Went home woke up Fri hit the ground running looking for a "JOB". Loved my work history driving history no wrecks, tickets, no claims. Here is the "THE BIG ONE" we can't hire you because you say you were TERMINATED. Try a smaller Company or lease your own trk, your going to have a tough time getting a job because you were Terminated. I still haven't heard why I was terminated, remember the part where we don't discuss this on the phone!!
Still in shock they would run you all week to get you back to yard, and lost a job because someone didn't want you back. Recruiter from another co. said you wouldv'e been better off to QUIT. If you work at COTC run don't wait for Company policies (made up everyday) GET OUT!!!

 

I thought that too!! stayed out 4 to 5 weeks at a time, they'll tell you slow freight. Lots of restarts waiting for who's ever area your in.

 

Dusty, You did a good job or they wouldn't have kept you for 20 months, and that's the way a reasonable recruiter would see your situation, IMHO. My observation has always been that the flatbed carriers will fire drivers in mid-winter for as little cause as stubbing their toe, for example, because there is simply not enough freight in winter and the fixed costs on a driver such as health insurance just dont pencil out against a bunch of low revenue winter time drivers, so they thin the herd and up the profit. Now that COT has slammed your DAC, you will likely find that they have converted you into like a 2nd or 3rd string ball player (if you will entertain my analogy) and the all the carriers are flooded with 1st string applicants and wont hire 2nd string or maybe 3rd string until the economy comes back, which may be never IMHO. So they may have killed your chances for getting any decent driving job, and if you don't find a job then you may draw unemployment; but that would go against their budget big time, so you are kind of caught in the crossfire. So I think their strategy will be to doctor up their reason for firing you to try to keep you off unemployment for the sake of their profits. They will know exactly how to word their reason for firing so unemployemnt will deny you. Usually it will be some violation of some written company policy that you signed off on under duress so you could get hired. Corporations get their advice on the tactis from experts, and some even retain "hired guns" to fight unemployment claims. I think it's critical that you prevail with your unemployment claim because your DAC has probably put you out of the driving biz till the economy improves enough that carriers start hiring 2nd and 3rd string drivers (like me) again. You can bet that COT will contest your claim, and in doing so they will delay your claim and it will likely be 2 months before you finally get a check (if you win you will collect back pay but by then the bank will have repo'd everything). If you are like most of us, you can't afford to wait 2 months for income, so you feel that finding another job is your only option, and this is exactly why their strategy works so well, is no one can afford to wait that long. But in this economy it may be impossible to get hired with the DAC that COT has slammed you with. The deck is totally stacked against you; because not only do carriers typically fight you tooth and nail, and use dirty tactics such as using FedEx "3rd day" to time the arrival of their supporting documents to arrive (to you and the judge) on the day before your hearing (FYI the hearing will be done via 3 way phone conference.) In addition, OR unemployment is clearly rigged with bias and gimmicks and gotchas that go against you also, and so we learn the hard way that unemployment isn't quite the secure safety net that we would hope it would be in times like this. You are outnumbered and outgunned, my friend. I will bet the farm that unemployment will deny you on COTs word, and you will have to appeal. I heartily recommend you move on this ASAP and also level the playing field by having a pro look at your appeal and advise you of what you need to know to defend your appeal. The only such expert I know of is botweety dot com. He has 15 yrs experience and is outrageously reasonable on his rates. I benefit in no way by recommending botweety, other than the satisfaction that comes from helping my fellow driver or fellow man. I would recommend that you get a copy of your DAC before you fight them for unemployment, because if they retalliate by going back and worsening your DAC from what they originally said about you, then you have a slam dunk lawsuit (I got this bit of advice about retalliation on a DAC from a labor lawyer). Good luck and God bless.

 

Who wants to work hard ? I applied for the driver job( one who sits at the controls of a vehicle) If I have to do anything other than that I should be paid.. Fuel your truck,pay me. wait for load, pay me, starting with the 1st minute my steer tires hit your lot, filling out paperwork pay me. Sitting for ANY reason, other than my 10 hours off duty PAY ME !!!!!!!