Mistreatment of their company drivers while out on the road and what to do about it?

I work for a certain small company out of Hesperia California. I graduated school November of last year and had been doing runs for whatever companiesw would let me work for them. I paid for my school myself and didnt attend any company school so I didnt have a pre-hire. So Im in the mindset that whatever job I can get I will hang onto for about six months then start trying to get hired by a larger company and start to earn my way up. I am 47 years old and have just changed careers as I dont like climbing the big ladders doing residential and commercial paint jobs anymore. So heres my dilemma. The company gave me a 2009 International PRoStar to drive. Nice truck...or so I thought. Left Victorville, picked up the load in Los Angeles area and headed out to Indiana. 25 miles after getting the load the Air Conditioner isnt working....called in they told me the load had to get there. Ok so I'll show em Im a team player and get the #### job done. All the way East it got hott3r and hotter and hotter. OKC was 113 degrees outside the cab....124 inside. So I got to the Memphis and could no longer sleep with the windows down as I was becoming a all you can eat buffet for the mosquito's. 11 hrs behind the wheel, not able to get any rest, then another 11 behind the whell isnt only a safety issue but it makes a pissed off driver. The company paid for my motel only after the EGR cooler malfunctioned and filled the cylinders with water. Hydro-locked it right on up. So five+ days im sitting making absolutely ZERO money. Truck was fixed. Went out again. crossed the AZ border and....you guessed it. THe AC locked up AGAIN. Being a team player I continued the mission. TO make a long story shorter out of the last 5 runs this truck has left me strande for at least 5 days on every trip except one. I told the boss this past week that I wasnt driving forhima anymore after I got home unless this truck was fixed properly. I even had a diagnosis performed to see just why the same issue was happening repeatedly. He got a bit excited asking me if I quit and I told him no I wasnt gonna quit and that he could fire me if he wanted to for unemployment purposes. So I then developed a bitof a serious coolant leak. As in stop every 100 miles or so to pour 3 gallons of water in the coolant filler. Sure added some time to my trip from KC Kansas. So anyway he never paid me any layover pay. He did pay for the motel the five days I was stuck on the first trip due to the EGR cooler but other than that I havent been paid for any downtime due to his equipment failing not my work habits. I havent been paid for any of the time I had to hang around the repair shops to deal with service managers and mecahnics at all and I do mean ALL hours of the day. So the last stop I told him if I wasnt getting paid to take care of his companies interests with regards to his equipment being repaired then I wasnt going to do it. IF Im not getting paid I must be off duty in my way of thinking. So I told him that I wasnt doing one item of work for free any more for him or his company. I was tempted to bring the truck home empty after he had the dispatch girls leave me sitting in Atlanta for three days after I told him I was going off duty....LOL he showed me huh? He told me if I did he would deduct fuel charges for it at .80 per mile. From ATL to LA,CA.....hmmmm. At me making only .30 per mile as it is that was a fight I couldnt take on but....heres the kicker. I got my last pay check two days ago and it seems Im no longer an employee of this for now nameless company because there was no taxes taken out, no statement of my mileage per trip number, just a check and a stub saying how much the check was for. I assume he is now treating me as an independent contractor and is gonna 1099 me at the end of the year. This guy is a snakey son of a gun. He knew he had me over the barrel when I was stuck out there on the road, I couldnt drive home empty, I of course couldnt walk away from the truck without suffering those consequences and yet I had to deal with no AC, no rest, and no compensation all those days. Being an under 2 year driver Im still figuring out what I can and cant do to take care of myself out on the road with regards to uncaring, unsupportive, unscrupulous, company admin types. I am trying to hang in there and get at least 6 months with this guy so I can put that on my next application for a big company. Spotless driving record, hard worker, quick learner, and IM not out here to ######## around or be bullshitted either. Anyway is this legal to just change my tax status without at least giving me notice? I also thought yesterday its illegal in most of our United States to leave a #### DOG in a hot vehicle for any extended amount of time due to the threat of heat injuries But I had to go thru it on three seperate occasions before I got to the point of Im not doing again. So with the truck in the shop getting her AC issues taken care of for the 3rd or 4th time in less than three months, and her coolant leakage taken care of, and I hope they check the other items n the diagnostic check I had done,( worn out U-joint on drive line, trailer marker lights, craked windshield,etc ) I am wondering if I should even go back when this guy calls....I am trying hard to find another place to work but since this is my second carrier in the last year they always tell my I have no stability at any one job. How much stability can a man get in 9 months and three are out on the road in worn out, broken down equipment? But......I keep on pluggin away. This guy wont be the thing that causes me to leave the industry. Im sure he violated some OSHA or DOT rules by how he treated me. Now he is able to say Im not his employee after I mentioned that I knew a good laborattorney. Guess he figured out that he'd better not have me on the roles....be he's keeping me as a driver. I wish I knew what kind of recourse I have or did I have while stranded out on the road all those days. Any info provided to me would be greatly appreciated. Have safe travels my brothers and sisters.

 

Why protect the POS company by not putting their name up here?

How is any other driver supposed to know to stay away unless they know who the "problem child" is?

 

Because until I have another job I need to keep the one I have. Im all for lookin out for the other guy but I gotta eat too ya know.
But I hear ya and check this thread about Monday....

 

Get out of there ASAP. No person should have to put up with that kind of treatment. Trucks break down and sometimes you get stuck holding the baby for a couple of days, but what your describing is not acceptable. I am Canadian so not sure how it works for you guys in the USA but if it were me I would be walking away from that job right now. If the truck is not getting the basic repairs done then what is the overall safety condition of the truck. You as the driver will be held responsible for any fines associated with an inspection if it fails. Which from the way you describe the level of maintenance it probably would fail an inspection. With the way it is now with CSA you can't afford to stay with this company .You are only putting yourself in a situation that will most probably end up worse for you. Walk away and be done with it. You will be able to explain the reason you left to the next company you apply to and any reasonable person will understand why you left said company. If the next company doesn't think you had a reasonable reason to leave then they probably are guilty of the same operating practices and you should keep looking.

 

Jb only requires 6months i think...maybe 3months?

 

If you were a painter then go back painting if you can. This company and it's operating practices will only be a bad thing for you in the end. Can you stay painting while you look for a better company to hire on with?

 

You are in California. Perhaps the strictest of all states regarding employment status (contractor vs employee). California considers you an employee by default unless you meet strict WRITTEN requirements. I would go to the State Dept of of unemployment and file a claim now based on working environment. Be prepared to provide evidence (your logs should do). Your reason for leaving would be safety.
There are better jobs out there that pay the rate you're being paid, with the experience level you have.

 

You got nearly a yr of experience...get out of there...you can go wherever you want...don't stay another day with such a crooked outfit!!!!

 

Not all companies treat people bad. Not all companies have POS trucks. You stay there your bad. Drivers who for whatever reason stay with companies like this are who allow them to stay in business.

 

This is a story that is repeated over and over in the trucking industry. The exposure to heat vs. a dog is a reality. Your state championed many , most such laws. The fact that our country values a dogs comfort over a humans is quite telling. Yes, you can go out and geta job with a large carrier but you'll find the working conditions / pay to be rather distasteful also. Since your state is driving its self right into the ground I feel for you as I'm sure jobs are drying up quickly.

The transportation is not an environment for the wimpy kind. It's a dangerous job and the pay hardly ever matches the work. Yes, there are many good jobs out there but more than likely your going to run into situations like you described again.

The good thing it the national turn over rate is 100% so finding a job should be easy, but finding a good one....?

Good luck and I will concur that if you stay YOUR the problem. Find one of the many website that allow you to download applications for many companies at once you'll have many offers by the end of the day I'm sure