Running with JCT, Part Deux

I havent seen an R-Monster in this bad of condition. This trailer needs to be taken out back, have its sb210 set on fire, and be put down like an old dog.

 

Shutdown at the Loves in Comfort, Tx. And wouldn't you know it, they had a space reserved for me directly in front of the fuel island.

 

Meanwhile, Plainview, TX is living up to its name.

 

Im still in bakersfield. Working on 19 hours at this point.

 

I got a call from my grandmother this morning. She wanted to know where I was at today. I told her 20 miles from her house at the Loves. She says, I am on my way. That makes me happy. First time in two years that I get to see her.

 

I am in Las Vegas in my secret hiding spot until Sunday then to San Diego. Its nice being a gambler for the free rooms. I got a 2 room suite comped and $100 dining credit + $250 gaming voucher.

Going to have some fun and bet on the Kentucky Derby later and maybe thr Floyd Mayweather fight too.

 

I have never been a gambler. Could never get my head around the idea of throwing more and more money away in the hope of hitting it big only to continue to throw that money away in hopes of hitting it bigger. But to each their own and if it makes you happy, I won't stop ya.

 

I am not as big a gambler as uses to be but still enjoy it. I use to live here in Vegas for 2 yrs and supported myself gambling. It gets old quick that way and is a grind. I still keep my comp status up so get great rooms and food when get chance to stop and get off the road.

 

I am sitting in Winslow as getting air bag on trl replaced woop woop

 

JCT has always been a step above most other companies. They have never before shown themselves to "too" greedy. Yes, they will base your lease on the full retail value of the truck, not their cost, but that's ok. Also, they've been paying $.90/mile for YEARS and they have to accept the cost of high driver turnover and recruiting costs as a result. But potential drivers know that going in and can accept it or go elsewhere. The day to day operations are driver friendly with loads of miles and the variable lease program is the best thing going.

HOWEVER, this week I found out about a company policy that is so "bottom feeder" that I can't believe it!

The pay at JCT includes a $.02/mile quarterly safety bonus. Drive safely and avoid the bears for at least 30,000 miles in a quarter and you'll get a nice bonus. . . Or not.

I had a bit of a slow first quarter this year since I took a lot of time off, but I ran something like 31,000 miles and I was told by my DM that my bonus would be $620 or so. This is usually paid on the last settlement of the following month, i.e., end of April for bonus earned Jan - Mar, but this quarter it was paid May 1. Whatever. Just pay me what you owe.

As some of you know, I had a health issue last month. I was in Tacoma, Washington on April 9th when I started having some severe chest pains. A trip to Tacoma General's Cath Lab found a couple of coronary arteries partially blocked. Two stents later and I feel 10 years younger! I flew home and got unrestricted clearance from my cardiologist to return to work. SWEET! I had a return flight to Seattle booked for Tuesday the 22nd. JCT wanted me to get a fresh DOT physical which seemed like a good idea. This is when I found out that the new DOT guidelines require a 60-day wait after treatment for "unstable angina". I won't be able to get a medical card until June 9th.

I relayed this unwelcome news to JCT. They had to recover the truck and put my stuff in storage in Sapulpa. The total cost to me for this misadventure will be well over $20K. My contract was terminated April 24th, so at least I don't have any more truck payments. If I return to JCT as planned, I'll get a new truck. However, since I'm "officially" no longer working for JCT, I don't get my safety bonus! WTF?!!! This is about the chintziest thing I've ever heard of! Shameful, really.

For at least the next 5+ weeks I'll be playing poker in Las Vegas. Maintaining my medical will be a PITA with bi-annual stress testing required, so I'm exploring other career options outside of trucking. We'll see. . .