Crete Bit Off More Than They Could Chew

and the drivers are paying for it. Crete decided to accept a couple of contract locations hauling local for WalMart distribution centers. First off, if WalMart has recognized a region as being unsupportive of their own full-sized delivery fleet, why would another company think THEY could make it profitable? Makes no sense. Crete cannot keep drivers in their WalMart dedicated fleet in Sterling, Illinois. The logistics at the center sucks, it involves mostly local driving, and includes the traffic of Chicago suburbs. Because Crete committed to the job without being able to field a large enough group of local Crete drivers who would balance the lousy work/pay with the ability to be home every day, for the last year Crete has been hijacking ITS OWN DRIVERS off the national fleet and directing them to go to Sterling for a 5 day 'temporary' assignment. First, they only paid miles, now they pay a per diem, a sub-industry standard of $150/day. I had worked it once before, then refused when they targeted me again (they get you empty in the IL/IN/OH region, claim to be slow on freight, and send you to Sterling).
They tried a third time last week and I refused. Suddenly they had freight within a hundred miles of my Toldedo location! It was to my home terminal - the message, CRETE WILL FORCE YOU TO ACCEPT THIS FLEET CHANGE OR YOU MUST QUIT.
And in the interest of whether or not I'm a disgruntled newbie? No, I'm a TEN YEAR veteran of Crete. My manager refused to standup for me so I happily quit. Communication and honesty do not exist at Crete Carriers, potential drivers be forewarned.bb.

 

pay is $150/day ($750/wk).
Compared to earned mileage pay on national fleet of 46 cents/mile which would pay $1035 for 5 days at 450 miles a day.
I have looked at only one other company for a regional/local route here in Chattanooga, $170 day, 5 days guaranteed with occasional Saturday work.
If a Friday run were an overnighter, you would get the full day-6 pay even if returning to the yard (and home) by noon.
As I told my manager, $750 might be acceptable to a local driver who gets a good nights sleep, food, and shower in his own home every evening, but I'm not accepting that low a pay to live in my truck, and spend overnights at a Walmart parking lot.

 

That makes no sense. I'm not a Walmart driver.
Crete is dropping the account because NO ONE here will do it for such cheap pay. They used to only pay per mile, and then wondered why drivers were quitting instead of being forced into cheap labor - now they pay a lowball per diem.
I'm not out here so you can buy cheap toilet paper at WalMart.
WHY would you accept a work task that is outside of what your hired job responsibiltiies are? I wouldn't do it in ANY field, including trucking, and here, I hired on for national fleet OTR, not local P&D.

 

No, I don't. Too many questions about WalMarts integrity in dealing with workers ( kind of how I now feel about Crete).

This issue was the last of several straws I have put up with in the last 4 years - all associated with dishonesty (safety, fuel networks, hometime pay, assignments, etc).
This is the second time in 6 months I have been asked to do this.

I'm sorry, but if they want me to do a task, then pay me my earned rate. They say they want me to run an average of 120,000 mile a year, thats 10,000 a month, thats 2,500 a week which is about 415 miles a day (6 on/
1 off). Pay me my 46 cents/mile as I have earned by loyal employment since 1997 and I will do anything legal you want me to do. But that is not $150 day, it is $190. I am not going to bow to the stupidity of someone in marketing who proposed this contract to the tune of a $200 paycut.
Sorry, I don't condone lying.
Its called principal and again, this only the latest in many management related issues that have occured at various levels and departments in Crete, not a one time event.
IF, they had offered something as a negotiating tool, I might have done it, but they chose to play hardball. I know I am right when I see that Crete is losing drivers, many have quit over this same issue. Crete has much higher turnover than in past years and they have been really pushing driver recruiting for the past 18 months despite no increase in freight for the company. They have management issues that have begun a slow internal bleed and if Mr. Acklie doesn't step up and take action, he is going to see his underlings destroy what many still consider to be a flagship trucking outfit.