To Bail or not to bail...CDL school reimbursment

Dear Young Truckers,
I am writing to find out if trucking companies can in fact go after drivers for the cost of the training if they do not stay the agreed time.
Our situation is unique in that we are NOT getting the wage we were promised. 2 months in and we want to walk.There are a number of better paying OTR/Regional/Local jobs our there and we all are getting calls from recruiters. (yes , we know those other guys can be just as bad etc etc....we get it) But right now our current company has a sword over our heads and we want out.
The thing is this company does not offer any classroom time and therefore are NOT a legitmate CDL school. WE get no certificate and no proof of "school". They just train you to the drive test mins. So to us, this is NOT worth $6000 (the price they will take) in fact we can't even use it on our resume. Nobody will accept it since it is just "in house' training.
So what can we do? We really want to leave and get going on better jobs. They are keeping us underpaid for a reason and with threats.
Thanks for any adivce.

 

Wow....oaky so yes they make us all sign the "contract'. But again, they are not a real CDL school. NO classroom hours and no certificate.

Chinatown. I almost did...had a few pokers in the fire at the same time and I chose this co. because they were only a few miles away. But now it's not going well at all. a 100 drivers just signed a "petition" asking for more pay as promised and or days off...etc. Its not good here.
Knight could NOT really promise me anything they said. and I started getting some neg feedback from drivers I spoke to at my local LOVES.

 

CT...thanks. Yeah...that was a few months ago. But now there are a ton ...and I mean 2000 lbs of great jobs. Many offering all sorts of signing bonuses. I have talked to approx 30 companies (OTR, LOCAL, REGIONAL, CARS, GAS, FEDEXcontractors, Amzn contractors, local dump trucks) I am in NorCal. there are some huge DCs here. So CR England, Swift, JBHunt are all here with local d-n-hook, regional runs like Tesla batteries from Reno to the Bay Area and they are all hiring and offering all sorts of perks. I want to get in on this hiring asap.
Considering 2 options, Local, 25-30/hour. with 3 months exp. The other is Regional 400mi radius, hourly reefer at 25/hour as well. They pay log book time and I can park the truck a mile from my house.
Even at 3 months exp, Knight will want me to do a 7-8 day training in PHX, and then 200 hours with a OTR training driver. (Uh...NO!)

One last note...my current slave master job is only seasonal local. So the max exp is 3-4 months and done...and did I mention weak sub $15/hr pay.
I want to lock up a company NOW so I can get a full 12 months before we purchase our own trucks. (stay tuned).

 

OH..and yes I have my CA CDL with doubles-triples, tanker and hazmat. I also went and go my TWIC card.
So Im a freebird sort of..