[Useless]

Originally Posted by fireman932003

I don't believe that someone should be FORCED into something that they don't want to do just so they can get more miles. I think that is total BS!!!

I don't think that anyone who has only been a driver for a few months should be permitted to be a trainer.

Strange, how a flight instructor has to earn a CFI rating to teach a student pilot to fly a C-152, but anyone with a CDL can "teach" or "train" another rookie with a CDL how to handle a 40 ton rolling missle with a payload value of tens of thousands, or even a hundred thousand dollars, or possibly even more!!

IMO, the lack of oversight is nothing short of appauling!!

[spencerian]

Won't have to refinance it. I OWN it. No bank note here.

Thanks Madii's wife.

You are an asset to this board, and to your family.

[spencerian]

Useless, the same industry that you seem to tell me to "take it or leave it" is the same one that allows me to be a trainer in a short 6 months.

You may think I have nothing to teach someone, but WHAT TRAINER DOES? All a newbie gets is 3 weeks. In those 3 weeks that student can be abused, misused, and pimped for the trainers greater good.

I did have 3 trainers at CR England.
The first ripped out logs in MY BOOK and wrote them for me.
The second was a good driver, but had NO teaching skills.
The fourth went to a bar, and told me he would drive when he came out.

Now I didn't stay on ANY of their trucks. The same reason I didn't stay with CRE or the flatbed company. Now why? Why would someone not put up with being treated like crap? Self worth. I believe I am worth something. I believe that if you hire me, you had better intend on working me. I am not "seat meat".

I am an excellent boss, but a poor employee. The reason is because I believe people are worth something. If a man has a family he deserves to make a good living.

So it may seem like arrogance, but really...it's self worth.

[Useless]

Spencerain;

My comments regarding trainers were not directed st you personally; rather, they are a reflection upon the screwball ways of the indusry as a whole.

As I stated before, a person who wants to teach others to fly has to earn that rating. Now, which can do more damage?? A C-172, or an 80,000# big truck??

Seems to me that if truck drivers were required to earn the privillege of training, and companies were truly held accountable for their actions, there would be a greater push for companies to keep good trainers, weed out the bad ones, and from that, there would be a stronger motivation to reduce turnover.

Unfortunately, when many drivers hear this, they start screaming "regulation". My first full-time summer job (16y/o) as a teen ager was working for an intrastate carrier, although not as a driver.
The industry as a whole, and the drivers received far better treatment, and in terms of buying powr, earned more then than they do now. Sad, but true.

When deregulation took place, companies started stealing from the drivers to make up the short-fall. They have been doing it ever since. The same thing has happened in the airline industry, and the rank and file workers have suffered the most because of it.

The Late President Ronald Reagan enacted deregulation, but actually, the initial work began during the latter days of the Ford Admin., then on through The Carter Administration.

For all the talk about "Trickle-Down" economics, what we have been left with is Vacuum Cleaner Economics; the money flows from your pockets up to those at the top.

I think that what CR England and Trans Am have done to you should be criminal; sadly, it is not.

[ROCKYROAD]

Pray tell why any truck driver would be supporting any Republican? It boggles the mind!

[terrylamar]

Originally Posted by ROCKYROAD

Pray tell why any truck driver would be supporting any Republican? It boggles the mind!

And exactly what has a Dem ever done for any business. Ever. Except tax them to death.

[ROCKYROAD]

Yep then they'll stick you with a 600 mile run and give you 3-days to get there. I appreciate your frustration.

Originally Posted by spencerian

Well, some of you did not understand my post.

I never intended to sit on my rump at home looking for a job. I was going to make an immediate transition from TransAm to another company.

I didn't intend to give up. If you read the last part of my first post it says that my DM showed some effort, and in my book that deserves some credit. I have had this new DM for the past month. So this is not "a bad week". It is steady consistent lack of communication.

Also, to me it doesn't feel like I am closing doors. I now have 6 months experience. I have been in contact with several companies that wouldn't hire me before, but now are ringing my phone.

On a side note, I am sitting in Grand Rapids waiting for a load that will be available at 1pm. I was empty yesterday at 2pm. So it's only 23 hours UNPAID without a load.

[ROCKYROAD]

The research sounds good in theory. However, I would like to see the statistics on the longevity of Newbies and the first company (heck first couple companies) they hire on with.

I would venture that spencerian probably isn't too far from the norm.

Face it, with these "training companies" you work like a horse and live like a dog.

Originally Posted by devildice

Disclaimer: This is not directed to just Spencerian, but for anyone.

Even though I am new to the industry (actually haven't entered yet as I am in CDL school) I would like to echo what many experienced drivers have consistanly stated in the past with regards to companies......."research, research, research".......research a company hard and thorough BEFORE signing on the dotted line. Make sure you have as much information as possible, fully understanding what to expect and what not to expect so that you can make an educated decision. This is a great site for some info, but should not be the sole source.

[devildice]

Originally Posted by ROCKYROAD

The research sounds good in theory. However, I would like to see the statistics on the longevity of Newbies and the first company (heck first couple companies) they hire on with.

Researching will NOT guarantee anything. But at least it can give someone a decent idea about a particular company and it certainly is better than not reseaching at all and going in "blind"

[KATMANN]

Originally Posted by devildice

Researching will NOT guarantee anything. But at least it can give someone a decent idea about a particular company and it certainly is better than not reseaching at all and going in "blind"

I second that one Devil Dice.... How many times have we seen a person on here complain about a company not knowing it operated a certain way? Like "WOW, didn't know the cpm was so low!"