REAL Women in Trucking
Welcome to REAL Women in Trucking, this site is to disseminate FREE Information to help keep you Safe and Informed without judging your personal self or lifestyle.
It is the result of a campaign by Industry Spokewomen to cover up, discredit , repackage and take credit for the obstacles that have been overcome by REAL Women Truckers.
At this time, there is No Guidance by Trucking Industry Leaders to make Enforcement of Federal Laws a Priority with regards to Women. At the same time, Women are being heavily recruited into the Trucking Industry and the internet is full of misleading ads, charlatans and carpetbaggers who seek to benefit from recruitment but do not want to address personal safety unless they can make a buck off it.
Change is coming , but until then it’s really up to YOU to know who and what the obstacles are and find your own way around them. This may not be so easy if you are just entering the trucking industry. The nice lady in the office might not really be inclined to assist you. The nice organization you buy a membership for may not care about little ole YOU. The structure may be so large that even people who want to help are forbidden to share inside info.
Even with all the good and bad advice you can gather, you will have to rely on your own good judgment, and sometimes this might get you in trouble. This site is about telling you the Truth.
Trucking is good if you are adaptable, don’t mind not being able to shower every day, can be away from home for long periods of time.
To survive your first couple years you should have no overhead, no car or rent to pay, otherwise you will be stressed out and that is no way to learn. Do Not Believe ADS or Recruiters, their objective is to get a commission; they could care less about your success. Also, you must realize many trucking organizations exist to further confuse and are actually a front for a recruitment machine and even insurance sales.
Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people – Eleanor Roosevelt
The method to confuse truckers and new trucking students is so prevalent that personal attacks should be your first red flag that a collaborative cover up exists. Complacency and vague answers are another clue. Retaliation for speaking out in trucking is legendary.
This is why there are No Memberships & No Forums where you have to include your personal information. This is a place for you to gather information and not be attacked.
We are proud to say we have made the topic of Harassment “HIP” to discuss on many Trucking sites. This is due in part to the Dan Rather Report Series into Trucking. The four part series is based on CLUES Desiree Wood provided to discuss topics she saw as a civilian entering trucking. Desiree Wood wrote about her experiences from CDL School and as a Student at Covenant Transport. The show titles are “Queen of the Road”, “Truck Talk”, “Mind Your Loan Business” & “Haul or High Water” they can be viewed by going to the iTunes Store and Searching up “Dan Rather Reports”, each episode is $1.99.
The story is on the web site “Ask the Trucker” and it is called “A Day in the Life of a Lady Trucker”. To read it in its entirety you must first scroll to the bottom of the comments and click the link that says “Read all ### Comments”, then they drop down from top to start the beginning of the post.
The back-story and commentary of cover-up are on the “Trucker Desiree” site.
The desired effect in writing these posts was to prompt action, awareness and it is working as more drivers both men and women are coming forward to talk about this longtime problem which is an abuse of power.
As we come together to form unity among Male and Female truck drivers, it also clear WHO is NOT unifying but rather seeking to divide. This is how we can begin to determine who may benefit from covering up abuse and misconduct.
There are tons of tools for corporate training, certainly no one in the trucking industry needs to reinvent the wheel BUT enforcement is an issue. Retaliation is an issue. The endless articles and media campaigns for solutions cannot fix this problem if there is no guidance at the very tippity top.
That’s where our Media Savvy comes in.
Women Truckers have proven they CAN competently do the job of Trucking for a number of years. The First Licensed Female Truck Driver was “Lillie Elizabeth Drennan” who received her license in 1929. Doing the job is not the problem though.
While luxuries such as Private Showers have advanced, some of the situations have remained the same, such as the topics in this 1976 Article in TIME Magazine about “Bitsy” Gomez, The Sexes-Women Truckers
Fast Forward to 2009 when CRST Van Expedited had the upper hand on the EEOC in a case that began with 265 Females Truckers reporting various degrees of abuse. The case was reduced to 35 and then dismissed because the EEOC was unable to file it properly but thankfully the Judge left to door open for an appeal with her comments given in the opinion that the cases have “Meritorious Credit”, some cases were settled out of court by the lucky few Women who could afford a private attorney.
The appeal for the CRST Sex Harassment Cased was filed on November 30, 2009, you can read more about it by clicking HERE , Should this appeal fail the taxpayers will be left to pay the enormous $4.5 Million in attorney fees.
This should make every American very angry and take action to see these government funded trucking companies continue to do more of the same and use high powered law firms to sweep their dirt under the rug.
Another recent case involves Prime and brings up number of other questions in this debate forum about how far behind the Trucking Industry is when it come to seeing the “Big Picture” ahead as more Women show the desire to become Truckers. Read the Prime Judgment and Opinions HERE
Now that we have Anne Ferro as FMCSA Administrator maybe we can get more people to listen to REAL Women in Trucking and have a shot for a REAL change, not just a smoothed over version.
More Female Trainers is only part of the Solution, better training for all with check and balances to eliminate the abusive system both in-house and inside the industry. Perhaps an aggressive outside Human Rights Group might help the Trucking Industry wake up and smell the Organic Coffee.
I’m inviting you to make your voice heard and if you don’t like change then just sit back and enjoy the ride baby!
REMEMBER: “Well behaved Women rarely make History” ~ Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
All are invited to Become a FAN of REAL Women Truckers on Facebook:
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9 Responses to “REAL Women in Trucking”
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Great Site Desiree. We encourage people to utilize this site as it was designed to be a Haven for everyone who wants to abolish the primitive behavior of abuse and harassment which exists within the trucking industry. This behavior is not just accepted, but is used as part of the formula which maintains the %125 turnover rate within trucking.
Why you ask? Because by recruiting more women in the trucking industry, and knowing that most will bail out after just a few months, you keep the turnover rate going ALONG WITH CHEAP LABOR and government incentives paid to schools and companies.
Only when the truth is out about what trucking is REALLY like ( not the sugar coated recruitment stories), and the abuse and harassment eliminated, will the RETENTION of WOMEN in TRUCKING INCREASE, thus decreasing the %125 turnover rate.
Women need to post their knowledge and experiences. I encourage ALL TRAINERS or company employees who can post things that they know are going on, to please do so. You could be saving a life of misery….or a life!
Allen Smith´s last blog ..The 7 Biggest Mistakes by CDL Students and New Truck Drivers
Thank to you Allen & Donna Smith Student Truckers have a place to go to get answers without being berated. No there is a place Women can find information and share information to help others and not worry about being stalked online and berated.
The over recruitment and misleading ads have hurt training overall because good trainers are petrified of the bad students. Some of the ads I see target Women in such a lighthearted way to indicate it just one big swinging singles bar out here so is it any wonder you attract less than serious students?
There are too many variables when you put 2 people in a box in a stressful situation. These are the things that need to be exposed so Women will understand that conduct on the road is different than in the office, warehouse or any other job where you go home at the end of the day. Being Street Smart means knowing when to shut your mouth & realizing no one will protect you when push come to shove. Your Company may not have your back, nor your HR Dept, or any organization in the trucking industry. Success is up to each individual.
Thanks for posting.
(I highly recommend Allens books because even though most everything is searchable in some manner in his site, haveing the books lets you have access to it in one place. It’s convenient and I’ve replayed mine to remind myself that this industry works by its own rules, so don’t get discouraged, learn them so you will understand what is going on.)
You have created a great site to get the story of the REAL facts WOMEN are facing IN TRUCKING and their stories of what in transpiring and the need for change. Linda and I are appalled at the things going on. Thank you for opening our eyes,discrimination and abuse in any industry should not be occuring in the 21st Century, especially trucking.
Trucking is and has always been the backbone of America to get goods delivered. Trucking must deliver respect to all persons in our great industry and be a leader for all to set the standards.
Truck driving CDL mills, claiming false information and giving false hope needs to be exploited, to show the REAL facts of what is going on and hopefully opening the eyes of our regulators on where they need to be spending their time …for Safety.
We appreciate what you are doing in your on-going, unselfish efforts and will continue to support you in these areas. Next year in 2010 there will be many proposed changes in regulations. RMR Consultants will continue to post and discuss upcoming changes, as well as getting regulatory information out to all, especially on the Rights of Drivers, that they currently have in the FMCSA Regulations.
Dear Mike & Linda:
Thanks so much for your Support and gracious generosity to the Truckers on Twitter and Facebook. Your help with the ‘Stranded Arrow Drivers’ RT actions, message board and donations are such an inspiration. You guys have gone out of your way to help @NJKatwoman with her DAC and voluteering to help other Women who find themselves with obstacles preventing them to get back to doing the job they love because of DAC Issues.
There are so many drivers who are at a disadvantage because they don’t know where to start. I’m glad we are begining to form a network of trucking industry people who have ethics and integrity.
Peace
PS: Mike & Linda Rone are from http://www.rmrconsultants.com in Dallas Texas
Wow, this here site is better than sliced bread. What will they think of next?
Thanks, this is just bare bones and it’s all volunteers helping to expose the truths that need to be revealed in this Industry. Over recruitment and Innappropriate recruitement hurts peoples lives forever. I have neen reading about many of the returning Women Veterans who report similar experiences as Women Truckers from their own Co-Workers Plus they have the added trauma of PTSD and feeling isolated.
I forsee many of these Women coming to the trucking industry because the sense of pride felt from accomplishing something like this on your own it addictive. The current system to train truckers and keep Women safe is less than desirable.
Suggesting changes has brought shouts from other Women believe it or not that increased training and support is “Radical Feminism” ?? still have not figured that one out yet.
Well,look at this, real unpretentious women that tell you the bottom line and ain’t into it for the money or the glory. Go for it ladies!
Dear Randy:
Thank you for your Support. There are many people who have watched from the wings for well over a year hoping the Industry Organizations who aim to recruit Women into Trucking truly intended to keep them safe while teaching them, we found this to be FALSE, simply another “SHOW” for the Public Opinion to SELL ticket to “Pleasure Island” so to speak.
No one here should have to drive all day and have to educate the corporate world on ethical conduct but it had to be done to expose the False Prophets who think Covering Up Violence is better business than fixing it.
“Best Practices” in an Office Situation is not Comparable to requiring Women who are learning to ldrive an 18-Wheeler and live with a stranger on a power trip. Male or Female.
If they want to recruit and show “Diversity” how about some Human Dignity to go with that?
Not sure why that is such a tall order to fill when Delivering is the name of the Game in Trucking, Transportation and Logistics
Thanks to Desiree stepping forward and taking the all the flack for talking about the dark side. Change does not happen unless there is someone to ‘get that change moving’ and that is OUR DESIREE.
What this industry needs is more women who are smart, tough, educated and ‘walk the talk’.
Thanks Desiree!!
Women working together ‘get ‘er done!!’