Profile For 40 Ton Land Captain

I would also be very interested in this info as well. I don't want to work 3 weeks out to get 3 days off. If I can work for a number of months and then take Unpaid Time Off that would work out real well for me.

After talking to the officer last night I am feeling a little better about the situation. After he read my statement he said that it was serious enough for the CID ( criminal investigation department) to start an investigation on Monday. The officer is going to the driving range to get the last names of the instructors involved.

I am a little worried about going to school on Monday.

Don't be worried about anything. You did the right thing by going to the police. The school seems not to be concerned or more worried about how they appear and about themselves than about you. Why could that be? I would doubt this is the first time this "instructor" has done something like this, this is usually a sign of a serial abuser. I have seen this personally in other jobs and training institutes.

If there is anything else that happens that makes you uncomfortable, be sure to email it up the chain of command, especially if this is a program connected to a college. With email you have a record of what was said and when and to who. If they fail to take action, they open themselves and the school to both criminal and civil penalties.

If the school knew this "instructor" has done this before then I believe that is grounds enough for a civil lawsuit. I would recommend contacting an experienced attorney about this situation, they can better advise you about the various legal remedies. Also consider a civil lawsuit against the "instructor" as well. You can file in both civil and criminal areas against this person and possibly the school as well.

It is not about being vengeful. It is about justice.

Thanks for the link and info!

Anyone know if Navajo Trucking and May Trucking do hair folicle testing or just urine? The list at hair follicle vs urinalysis breakdown by company was last updated for these companies in October 2014 so I'm looking for current information. Thanks!

Call them and find out! Also, if someone does call or otherwise contact a company, please let TT know so the page can be updated with the new info and date as well. Same goes for anyone who does the hiring process and can comment on recent testing (UA only versus UA & hair tests).

THANKS!

As a father & CDL holder I give this 2 thumbs up! :-)

Free coffee @ the truck stop = 1 happy trucker

Yes I went to their training facility in Appleton Wi last year but was sent home on day one for failing their company agility test. They seem like a good company I was really disappointed they even paid me for the not even half day I was there. I was driving home around noon Monday and Tuesday in the mail I had a check. Had I made it past the agility test I would have been paid $500 per week for training. Plus they cover breakfast and lunch Monday- Saturday so your expenses are minimal.

Details on the Roehl agility test, please.

Does anybody has a job as a driver and work for unions?Any experiences,positive or negative?How different is it from regular driving for truck companies?Please help.Thank you

Of course being unionized is better than non-union! Without the union you have nada, just an employee ID number and a right to get fired anytime. Mostly it is local freight like LTL and delivery drivers that are unionized. UPS for example or a beverage distributor.

Hello I am new to trucking, I have a cdl, I have been driving farm trucks, mainly straight truck, I been thinking about going over the road, I am currently talking to Western Express out of Nashville Tennessee, the recruiter I've been talking to, said I would half to take a two day refresher program, which I am fine with, other than I was a little shocked that the refresher is only a two day program, I figured at least a week to knock off any rust, I got leary when he kept saying Western Express has a sliding pay scale, and quoted I'd be averaging anywhere between 1100-1500 dollars a week, if that's legit I am not complaining, but I think it sounds a little high for rookie pay, I've been told to use caution to what a recruiter says, my questions are how far off base is this recruiter sales pitch to me? And is Western Express a decent place to work for? Is the pay not only decent for a rookie, but the paycheck is always when they say, with little errors on it? That way I don't half to worry about things being not shutoff on the family while I am gone.

I know no company is perfect in any profession and it's what one gives it, by keeping your head down, keep doing your job to the t day in and day out, moving forward till the next door opens.

I'm just trying minimize the risk by hopefully clearing up a few smoking mirrors.

Tell Western you want a week long refresher course, they will accommodate you, no problems!

Brett, maybe it would be a good idea to expand that small section on company leases to warn others of the truth potential pitfalls behind some of these contracts?

We've always told people it's a bad idea. And our true mission is to help new drivers break into the industry, so leasing should be out of the question for them anyhow. You really need to know how to handle a rig, how to manage your time, and know the in's and out's of this industry before attempting to start any sort of a business, which is exactly what leasing is.

For two years, Ho Lee was charged more than $1,600 a month for a truck lease. When he got ill and missed a week of work, he lost the truck and everything he’d paid.

Well to be fair, a lease is not a purchase. I'm not defending, nor accusing the business owners. But if you thought you were buying a truck when you were actually leasing it then you didn't even understand the most basic premise of the business you were running.

I leased my pickup truck for two years. After two years of making payments I turned the truck in and walked away. I don't own that truck. I don't have anything to show for those payments I made. I was paying for the privilege of using the truck anyway I wanted to use it.

I have since purchased a truck. However, I'm making payments on it, so technically the bank owns it. If I stop making payments the bank will send a repo guy to get the truck and I lose the truck and everything I've put into it.

So I think they've really gone out of their way to vilify the business owners when in fact the drivers agreed to something they clearly didn't understand. And you can see from the drivers in those pictures that these are not 18 year old kids straight out of high school. These are grown men, many of them with families, in their 40's and 50's and 60's who should understand the basics of business by now. They should know the difference between owning something vs leasing vs financing to own. They should also know you don't sign a contract you don't understand.

Leasing anything means you're paying the owner of that item a fee for the privilege of using it. Whether it's an apartment or a vehicle or heavy machinery, leasing means you're simply paying for the privilege of borrow something from the owner. You never walk away with anything in the end.

Moral of the story?

Never ever lease a commercial truck.

Never.

Sounds simple but for some people the company sells pitch gets them to sign. And in the above case you have immigrants who probably have a limited command of the English language being used & abused by unscrupulous business owners. How many newbie "American" truckers have gone to a sponsored CDL school to be a company driver then told all of a sudden after all the training and paperwork is signed there are no company trucks and if you want to make money you better sign up for a lease purchase? High pressure sales tactics. It is legal though, right?

That article makes no sense to me, unless maybe it's illegal immigrants who re driving the trucks?? Or just saps who got suckered into a lease purchase?

If they're legitimate CDL A drivers, they're obviously choosing to work there. I don't believe anyone has twisted their arm.

Lease purchase is always a bad idea, so everybody who does one is a sap? And there is no way for truck drivers who already hold a CDL to be "illegals". And you need a TWIC card to even enter any US port facility, so no, they are not "illegals".

In the article it clearly states the devious tactics used by the companies: " Many drivers thought they were paying into their truck like a mortgage. Instead, when they lost their job, they discovered they also lost their truck, along with everything they’d paid toward it. Eddy Gonzalez took seven days off to care for his dying mother and then bury her. When he came back, his company fired him and kept the truck. For two years, Ho Lee was charged more than $1,600 a month for a truck lease. When he got ill and missed a week of work, he lost the truck and everything he’d paid. "