Your rights under OSHA 11(c)

Where can I get a copy of your booklet ? I could use it right about now !

 

https://www.livetrucking.com/trucker-wins-big-after-being-fired-for-complaining-about-safety-issues/


If this was posted, I apologized. I missed this thread Friday, and just getting around.
@Ridgeline , I don't work for a Mega. Never have. Thank GOD SNI passed me over for a seat-belt violation, and Estes never called me back. I worked for FedEx/LineHaul, Transport America, and USX .. (not in that order) but had NEVER a problem with safety, HOS, or anything not addressed. Then again, late 90's early 2000's.... things have changed.

The O/O I work for has a VERY small fleet, his equipment is "my" equipment, and because he's a bit older than me ( i know, right?!? .. scary ) wants me to buy him out; I may. Jury's still out.

I treat his Pete's and Etnyre's like they ARE mine, even BEFORE I thought about the buyout option.

I would NEVER consider suing him for something that "somehow" was my fault. Granted, I'm not OTR anymore, but sure would be/ could be, if he lost our biggest account, or the tables turned, somehow not in our favor.

The mindset anymore is like a sense of entitlement.... or maybe that's just what "i" see. I wish I could have gotten on with Estes... trust me. I don't know why they passed on me 6-7 years ago; clean MVR, NO Dui's, no drugs, ever. . . Maybe divine intervention?

If I fall while cleaning Ted's trucks, or wrenching WITH him on the fleet, it's on me. He's got all the safety in check; as much as he should have. @Ridgeline .. you seem a lot like the man I work for, and I respect that. Totally.

Ok i've gone off on a tangent; sorry. I do that, often!

 

Discrimination is very real and prevalent. People will discriminate against you for being young, old, black, white, male, female, for going to college, for not going to college, for graduating, for not graduating, for being red-headed, bald, happy, sad, beautiful, and ugly. A few classes of people get legal protection from discrimination, on the premise that it is unfair, and I suppose that for the rest of us, it is presumed to be fair.

If you spend your life fighting the discrimination, you might have an impact. Maybe. But at the end of your life, you'll still be that guy who spent his life being discriminated against... and perhaps more importantly, it won't keep you from discriminating against the next guy.

People like people that are similar to themselves. That's genetic reality. We can intellectually combat it, but it isn't going to change; it's a fundamental fact of survival of species, going back to the very beginning of species evolution (whenever you choose to believe that was). Similarly with attractiveness and attraction; opportunity goes first to those that people like to be surrounded by. Sometimes, that's the attractive, and sometimes, the attractive are seen as competition.

Get used to it, because even if you have an impact, the change will likely not be felt in your lifetime. Use it to your advantage where you can. You can either adapt, or try to change the world. Changing the world may - maybe - be noble. But adapting to it is generally less difficult, and more rewarding.

Think whatever you like of it, morally or ethically. The practical truth of it remains, just the same.

 

I'm certain there are cases in which an employer wants some experience (ie not a rookie). At the same time, they also want someone young enough that he will learn and embrace the company philosophy.

The stereotype against the older generation is that they are more set in their ways and much less open to new ideas. Dogmatic is one characteristic no employer gets excited over.

 

Government jobs that require security clearances, like to hire old military retirees for their dogmatic characteristics...

There is always someone out there willing to discriminate for you, and someone else ready to discriminate against you. A smart person finds their niche, and fits into in. A principled person tries to force the niche to accept even people it doesn't want. You have to decide which you want to be, to know the right course of action for you.

 

I would think they prefer someone who can adapt to changes.

 

Not even a little. They like people who follow instructions. Blindly, if possible, because classified activities often come with incomplete explanations, or none at all. "Go here, and do this, between this time and that time." "Why?" "That's compartmentalized." Well, or, "because I told you to."

That takes a rare kind of loyalty and trust in the chain of command. And those are not typical characteristics of curious, and therefore adaptable, people.

There is a place for every kind of people, in this world. Not every place is well suited to every person, but there is a place for them all, somewhere.