Swift Trans. Phoenix, Az.

I started out with Swift back in 2007 and was with them until Jan. 28, 2009. I was fired for insubordination and was claimed not rehireable because of telling the truth and not feeling safe to drive in icy weather that day. First let me start by saying that Swift is decent for a starter company and like any careers, you have to start somewhere, but there was no reason to fire me over my safety. It all began when I had Victor as my driver manager, he is lazy and a useless employee who works for Swift in Albuquerque, NM. I was driving a load from Baltimore to the Cincinatti area on Jan 27, but was caught in a winter storm along the way to Columbus, OH. I made it that day to Grantsville, MD. and stopped at the Pilot for my 10 hour break that evening, due to me only having a few hours to drive from waiting on the load. After my break it was early on Jan. 28, 2009, I started driving again, but like any time driving in winter weather you have to drive slower and more vigilant than ever, especially on I-68 through the Appalacian mountains. As I was driving, I get a message on my qualcomm from Victor asking me when I was going to get there, so I said as soon as I can, but down the road after that message my truck warning lights came on for my ABS and traction control, so I pulled into a parking area and said I was going to be delayed because of the snow and it was getting worse, so I had to go slower and it would take me longer to get to the Columbus terminal to have my truck looked at as well as get my fuel. During this time he had revoked my mentor status, which was childish, because I was just doing my job and being safe. I could have seen the need for it if I didn't advise him of the situation. There was no need for that kind of reaction. So I get to Columbus at the point where the road is actually turning to ice and it is getting pretty unsafe to drive, I make a judgement call that my truck needs service and I don't think it is safe to keep going because of the weather, so I send a message to T-Call my load so I can have my truck looked at and have the problem fixed with my ABS and traction control. He respond to that saying why didn't I tell him earlier, and my response was that it had just happened a few hours ago. I didn't think too much of it, and was told I can drop the trailer and to bring the paperwork inside to the dispatch window. I get there and the dispatcher tell me to call my driver manager, so I went to my truck and called him. As soon as he picked up, he put me on hold and then transfereed me to the terminal manager Chris, in which they both had me on speakerphone at that point. I told both of them what was going on and that my truck is having problems again that were supposedly fixed the week before in Pennsylvania and didn't feel safe to drive it because it was starting to get icy on the roads too. So to make himself look good to Chris, Victor said that he warned me several times about getting freight on time, which was a lie, because I had only had him for a month and relying on him to answer the phone or qualcomm messages was almost impossible, which Swift can still look back on anyways. I always was in contact with Victor, but he never replied to any voicemails or messages. He was quick to answer the phone that day though, because he didn't want to be found out that he wasn't really doing his job, and from personal experience, was never at his desk when I was at the terminal during work hours. Most of the time he was outside messing with his bike or nowhere to be seen. Anyways, after he said that he had warned me several times, I said where is your proof then, which he didn't have, and really put him in the corner in front of his boss, so instead of being an upright man and admitting to hearsay and blatently lying to him and me, he changes the subject and starts back on asking me the same questions he just asked me about why I can't take the load to the final. I said I just told you the reason and if I have to explain to him twice, then obviously he wasn't listening. Then he goes on to saying he doesn't believe me and that I'm making excuses. About this time I told him fine just give me a different driver manager, because obviously you are not listening and making up stories to cover your tail and turning this conversation into an arguement and blaming me for not doing your job. He then goes to say " It would be an embarassment to send you to a different driver manager and I would be embarassed to send you to another one". About this time I told him that I have never been written up, had a log violation, or even an infraction for this company since the day I started, but that didn't matter to him or Chris because obviosly I was the problem in both of their eyes and for Chris to let him talk to call me an embarassment like that, was unexcusable too. After that went on, for the third time, they asked me the same questions, so I said "I don't need to keep justifying myself and keep telling you the same thing I already told you twice, because both of you are basically calling me a liar". Just after I said that, Chris says "you know what, pack your stuff up and go home, I don't like your attitude". My attitude? What attitude? If I have to repeat myself three times, then your not listening, and what is the point of having to keep explaining myself? Doesn't make too much sense really and the real kicker to the whole ordeal is, that two hours later, they shut down the terminal because the roads were iced up and unsafe, so every driver was stuck there for three days, including myself. All because I didn't feel safe and was uncomfortable driving on ice, and doing what the safety department tells drivers to do. So who is lying now? My name is Dana and Swift can check with the person who trained me (Antonio) and with Vickie(driver manager before Victor) and figure out who is really lying, because Swift can't give me a straight answer for why I am not rehireable, and have called twice and have gotten two different answers. One was beacause my region was not hiring, in which they hired a friend of mine the same week. That is pretty low to fire somebody because he caught you in a lie in front of your boss, and how unfair is it to have two people badgering me at the same time over my license and my saftey. All I wanted was an apology and my job back, that's it.

 

I know. Been driving for other companies since then, but now my wife and I are looking to team up, but she has to go to a starter company first though. No big deal because I have a good work ethic and don't whine about short loads and hometime. The little things add up too. About the rehire, I have a good reference from Heartland Express anyways and the moving company before that. So yeah, I'm not worried about it.

 

Majority of the time I do and have always given ETA's for loads, but due to weather, you never know. It's not the real problem, it was the whole safety issue, and your right, I should have called safety before I called them, but that was a rookie mistake and have learned since then. Like they say, you never stop learning. Bottom line is that the terminal closed down two hours later and shut every driver down who was there, so me being safe and following safety procedures in which they preach in orientation wasn't followed by the driver manager, in which he should have known better in the first place. Instead he called me a liar pretty much. We are all supposed to be working together and he should be concerned for the safety of his drivers, if he was a team player. Seems like all he was in it for was to collect a paycheck and not worried about where his check comes from in the first place. Without drivers, his job is non-existent anyways. Calling a driver a liar is where I draw the line and I have always been an honest and hard worker. Always take pride in what I do, no matter what it is, and always have been respectful towards others and management. I do my job without complaints, but he overstepped the line when he TRIED to call me out to make himself look like the DM of the year.

 

Went to Heartland after Swift. Heartland is a good company and a compliant company with decent benefits, but I left for another job to be home every night. Doesn't pay as good, but my advice is to run system, because you get more miles. They gave me a good review anyways and said my job was satisfactory. If you live on the east coast, they keep you busy, but the hometime was too little. Most of the time it was only a little past the 34 hour time frame, but I went to salary and home every weekend after system, which dropped my pay. If you are not worried about going home too much, then its a great job with miles, especially since they went to paperless logs. It is more organized than it was before when it comes to time management, due to the paperless system, which counts to the minutes, instead of quarter hours. I liked working there, and like all companies, still has it's quirks, but if you see past that, then it's a solid company.

 

True. I was just making people aware of a situation that they care about freight more than drivers. Instead of admitting to being wrong, they are too proud. Just a shame that it went down that way, but I am not dogging them as a whole, just the two idiots who are too sorry to stand as upright human beings.