Archive for the ‘Harassment’ Category
Another Prime Failure in Trucking for Women
Last week the EEOC issued a press release that they had filed a class action lawsuit against “New Prime, Inc.” known to truckers simply as “Prime” and yet another sponsor of the non-profit organization “Women in Trucking“.
How many times lighting has struck this organization who claims their “Mission” is to “encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments and MINIMIZE OBSTACLES faced by women working in the trucking industry.”
The massive CRST expedited cases which we have covered here. Duke’s V. Walmart, that by some stroke of fate the WIT organization aquired a sitting male board member from Walmart and a corporate sponsorship prior to the announcement that case would be heard by the Supreme Court, and now Prime, who seems to have acknowledged there are issues by placing a female student on a truck with a male trainer.
The Prime solution? Female students can only be trained by female trainers.
Sounds easy enough except Prime did not have as many female trainers as they were hiring female students so they fired them or put them on hold until they went elsewhere. Sounds like an obstacle to me. Not only an obstacle for women who are trying to enter trucking but makes it darn near impossible to promote their accomplishments if they cannot even get out of the gate from the carrier terminal to learn.
According to the EEOC what Prime has done violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits sex discrimination in hiring and terms and conditions of employment.
On the surface this issue seems to have caused some confusion in the trucking world because indeed more female trainers are needed and it is true that entering Women will be safer with another Woman. It is not 100 percent though because Women DO harass Women.
The problem in trucking is there is very little harassment or personal conduct guidance AT ALL, for ANYONE, combined with the greed fueled “Truck Driver Shortage”, the environment is one of poor training, poor recruiting, a shortage of qualified trainers of both genders and an abundance of students who were sold a bill of goods to coax them to enter the industry.
Let me translate the issue with “Prime” in this hypothetical manner:
What if: An African-American was hired by New Prime, Inc. in order to meet diversity quotas but then told the student trucker that they could not be trained by a White person and would have to wait without pay for an African-American Trainer to become available? What if the student is NOT told that there will not be any African-American trainer to come get them because the carrier does not employ enough to meet the degree in which they hire African-American trucking students?
Would that sound right to you? I certainly hope not ….
By having these unmatched students on hold without pay two things occur. They become disgusted, quit and go to another carrier or in some of these cases; the carrier fires them when they cannot provide a trainer they knew they never had. The carrier appears to be attempting to diversify the fleet but actually they are setting the stage for these students to disqualify themselves or simply let them go after wasting their unpaid time.
The case by the EEOC against New Prime, Inc is for back wages and damages.
It is true there is danger for Women entering trucking at the hands of truck driver trainers but violating the civil rights code is not the way to solve it. There are good male trainers and bad female trainers. The problem is not gender specific.
The problem is poor leadership in the carriers, a lack of conduct and harassment training overall, little oversight or accountability.
New Prime, Inc recognized the problem and decided to put a band-aid over a gaping wound.
I became aware of the initial case in December of 2009. I directed public questions to the WIT organization about why they were not becoming involved in this issue to MINIMIZE OBSTACLES for Women who were being encouraged to enter trucking.
I was told by WIT Director Marge Bailey in March 2010 that President Ellen Voie was contacted by Paul Taylor from the “Truckers Justice Center“. It was he who had filed the original discrimination complaint. I was advised by the WIT director that: “neither Prime nor the woman suing them are members of WIT therefore it is a lawsuit outside of our organization and like any other association WIT represents their members.”
Following the posting of the Prime discrimination case on the “Women in Trucking” Facebook page on September 23, 2011 Ellen Voie was asked if Prime was a sponsor and she replied: “No, they are not a sponsor. They are a member, however, as any company or individual can be a member by paying dues.”
A play on words? or did they become involved with the organization after there was an awareness of impending litigation?
We have seen it before from this organization and the conversation on Facebook only became more heated when President Ellen Voie was pressed about the content in her “FREE to member sponsors Anti-Harassment Employment Guide”.
Apparently this trucking women’s advocate is not aware that most carriers already have a harassment policy because it is the law. They simply fail to inform, enforce and manage their own policies.
When Allen Smith of “Ask the Trucker” asked about the content of the guide which has reportedly been guarded from view to even the “WIT Driver’s Advisory Board” , Ellen Voie explained that the guide was a benefit for WIT members (Corporate Members that is) she pointed out that WIT is a non-profit association. (One in which she doubled her salary last year) she went on to note that truck drivers make up only 20% of the WIT membership which is LESS than 2% of their (her) income.
According to Ellen Voie, Corporate members fund the WIT organization and should have a reason to join with member benefits designed for them. She said: “Drivers have their own member benefits, such as the Salute to Women behind the Wheel.”
Gee Thanks Ellen! I’d rather spend $1000 of my own money to travel to Louisville Kentucky each March and wear a WIT T-Shirt for a picture and free potato chips rather than being educated on how not to be raped or discriminated against by one of your carrier member sponsor funding sources any day!
If you are not in the trucking industry your head is probably spinning at the degree of ignorance we have in leadership positions but if you are in trucking this is the norm so there are very few who will stand up and say this is wrong. Believe it or not, there are more than a few Women who will defend this line of reasoning as well but they are the minority but strategically placed corporate apologists.
Selling the personal safety of Women to the highest bidder? That is what corporate level sponsorship means correct? I can think of a 4 letter word that begins and ends with a “P” right about now.
It seems Ellen Voie does not give away freebies willingly so she should be able to appreciate that these female students were employed by New Prime, Inc and expected to receive a paycheck. If you are a female affected by this practice of New Prime, Inc. based in Springfield, Missouri I encourage you to contact Jan Shelley at the EEOC (314) 539-7918 to file a complaint about this carrier.
Paul Taylor, of the “Trucker’s Justice Center” , the Lawyer who filed the initial New Prime, Inc. Discrimination case will be at the 1st Annual Truck Driver Social Media Convention in Tunica, MS on Oct. 15th.
REAL Women in Trucking is a PROUD Sponsor of this event hosted by Mr.& Mrs. Allen Smith of the “Ask the Trucker” and “Truth about Trucking LIVE” blog talk radio program.
It is my sincere hope that more people in and around the trucking industry begin to wake up to what is occurring with regards to women being LURED into an industry that is utterly unprepared for their arrival.
I look forward to meeting those who wish to RAISE the low standards in trucking in Tunica, Mississippi on October 15, 2011.
Related posts
Conflicts of Interest on topic of Violence Against Women entering Trucking
Should the Department of Justice Office of Violence against Women provide financial assistance to the Women in Trucking non-profit organization to protect females entering trucking from Harassment when the primary offenders are sponsors of WIT?
Today, an article in “Trucking Info” titled “Harassment by Men Discussed at White House Meeting by Women in Trucking Officers.” it was announced that Ellen Voie, President of Women in Trucking was granted a meeting with White House advisor on violence against women , Lynn Rosenthal and Judge Susan Carbon, director of the Office of Violence against women at the Deparment of Justice. The meeting was facilitated by Marlise Streitmatter, deputy chief of staff for U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.
While I am happy that this issue is getting much needed attention, I can only hope that these Women in Washington D.C. do some background work before they grant funds to this trucking organization.
According to “Guidestar” a non-profit review website , the salary of the main “Officer” doubled in 2009 which was the year more than one of the WIT sponsors was engaged in discrimination and harassment litigation. No achivements to combatting harassment occured during this period, to the contrary. (Link: Women in Trucking 990 Filings )
By 2010 , the WIT had still not made violence against women in the trucking industry a priority and although we have pushed the issue hard to the forefront there remains an obivious conflict of interest and string of questionable tactics leading up to this request for funding from the federal government.
2010 would have been a grand time to make the topic of violence against women in the trucking industry priority number one but instead the focus was the fanfare on President Ellen Voie getting a tattoo of the WIT logo on her backside at a trucking convention while grasping the hand of her friend and wincing from the pain. The tattoo party did not have broad appeal but harassment in truck driver training carriers does.
The twitter tag I created for the website “REAL Women in Trucking” and companion Facebook fan page called “Real Women Truckers” is @WomenTruckers and this is the bio:
“Violence against Women in the trucking industry is being covered up. Are you part of the problem or part of the solution? Demand the ATA MAN UP, show leadership”
It has over 3000 followers and I have been using it for about 2 years to talk about this issue and other violence against women issues such as domestic violence, child abuse, human trafficking and other human rights/social justice issues.
Violence against Women is a serious topic worldwide and it is a statement on society. It is not unique to trucking culture but it does occur and raising awareness of the many aspects of how violence is acted upon Women is the first hurdle in holding people accountable. The people who commit this injustice upon women are not only those who commit the offense but also those who try to cover it up and those who would try to benefit from programs and grants to pay their salaries when they have a history of trying to interfere with exposing such crimes and injustices.
The point I have been trying to make with the @WomenTruckers twitter tag is to ask people in the trucking industry to look further than their nightly news at the horrific images of women and children being beat, raped and repressed in other countries and start looking at it in our own country and our own industry. Women most certainly are being used to push political and corporate agendas so I feel it’s time to make a few demands for using our image and the favorable tax incentives given for hiring women. Not special treatment, fair and just treatment.
In my PowerPoint presentation from last fall of 2010 , that is posted here on this site, specifially in Part Two ( Social Media and Women Truckers ) I discussed the Violence against Women division of the Department of Justice. I made references to the NFL Players association campaign to raise awareness of violence against women , links to “The List” campaign of celebrities and other research tools for the topic to encourage action. I mentioned “Truckers against Trafficking” a newly formed organization who has emerged in the past two years with an outstanding awareness campaign to educate truck drivers on the $32 billion dollar industry of modern day slavery. Human trafficking has been reported in all 50 of the United States.
I mentioned in that presentation that the U.S. Women Veterans Administration was studying unique PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) for Women Veterans ( Article: Suicide Rate among Young Women Veterans ) I specifically mentioned this because I feel it is my patriotic duty and this is why.
In the very popular thread beginning in 2008 that has since been removed from the “Women in Trucking” forum. I stated that I felt raising awareness of violence and harassment toward women entering the trucking industry was our duty because returning female veterans would have difficulty fitting back into normal society after being in combat situations.
It was my instinct that these women could find a great deal of freedom if they found trucking but not in the current low standard of training and unsafe sexual climate that currently existed. As many of you know I was stalked online for months by other women from the WIT site and referred to as a “loose cannon” and a “radical feminist” for talking about such topics of harassment and sexual misconduct in truck driver training carriers.
My membership was later revoked by President Ellen Voie following my appearance on the Dan Rather “Queen of the Road” episode where her sponsor CRST Van Expedited was featured regarding a massive sexual harassment case that was underway.
Ellen Voie and I exchanged numerous emails about the topic of what was occurring in the training carriers, including her sponsor’s carriers and while she was always very good at making me think she understood the problem well, she offered little concrete evidence of an active approach when it came to defending the women affected.
You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do. ~ Henry Ford
My quest over the obstacles I encountered in my personal truck driver training carrier led me into yet another set of obstacles to discover if the stated mission of WIT applied to a person like myself. This is what prompted me to renew my membership for a second year in hope of persuading Ellen to choose between the women of the organization who were seeking assistance or her sponsors.
CRST Van Expedited is just one of the sponsors of WIT that are in current or recent litigation. This particular carrier is one of the most high profile because of the EEOC mishandling which has been written about in a number of legal blogs. This case has put the trucking industry on the EEOC radar and commentary on this case is easy to google on the internet. Then there is the recent Karen Shank V. CRST case which was won by jury trial for a staggering $1.7 million judgment.
I have been aware of the Karen Shank case for at least 2 years but not of the specific details. What I do know is that Tracy Hamm was to be called as a witness for the Karen Shank case and although she did not have to attend the trial she remains a key component. Ellen Voie had communicated to Tracy Hamm at my persistence around the time of the first Salute to Women behind the Wheel at the Mid- America Truck Show in 2010 after her repeated claims she did not have access to the female drivers to ask them about their stories. In this workplace bullying documentary from 2009 Ellen Voie appeared to me that she was discrediting the female drivers claims even though she had not spoken to any of them. ( Raw Sound Bytes from a Trucking Convention ) , Off camera she tried to discredit my story to the filmmaker but I had never worked for her and my own training carrier never attempted to discredit my student truck driver training story. I was not even finished writing my story on the internet when this occured so it was puzzling to me when Filmmaker Beverly Petersen informed me of the comments that were made. I have consulted with this filmmaker about disclosing this information because I feel it is relevant. I was a Woman with no advocate at the time I began this journey and I had put my faith into the WIT organization.
When I was finally able to pressure Ellen Voie to speak to Tracy Hamm, Ellen excused herself from the conversation before Tracy could tell her everything about CRST management conduct. Ellen did not call her back but she did ask Tracy for solutions to problems at CRST. Later I persuaded WIT Director Marge Bailey to hear Tracy out who was not a disgruntled former employee but someone who just wanted to make a difference and drive a truck.
That was in the spring of 2010 and after Donna Smith and myself had offered Ellen Voie an enormous amount of content to “Flex some Muscle” on behalf of women truck drivers stretching from 2008 until we cut off communication after years of her chain yanking with no results in 2010.
It became apparent that WIT was not a true advocacy for women drivers issues, but rather an organization where women can gather. There was no value in advocating for women truckers or women entering trucking on the issues of violence or harassment. But perhaps now that there is a potential money stream from the federal government this has changed?
What I do is a labor of love and I receive no salary for it. My salary has in fact decreased since I began writing about this topic but this non-profit in question whose records are public show that a salary has doubled during this period and this causes alarm about the integrity of the advocacy.
There is access for this organization to XM/Sirius radio programs to speak and gather information on these topics on the Evan Lockridge Program and the “Freewheelin” Program. The drivers listening to these radio broadcasts only heard Ellen Voie promote her Tattoo Party for WIT in which very few people participated and WIT Director Marge Bailey promote her recruiting /date-a-trucker website over the past 2 years.
To the driving population in the trucking industry, and especially women truckers on our fanpage this was a slap in the face to ignore important issues by an organization who claims to aspire to represent them. Some drivers began to express that WIT was using them as a vehicle to promote their own agenda which seems to be primarily motivated by greed and the ability to become a lobby power in Washington D.C..
I recently wrote about non-profit research on the “Life on the Road” blog. In trucking, it causes alarm when drivers are “nickel and dimed” by various entities when they are seeking assistance so it is imperative to for them to understand that a non-profit can sometimes be very misleading and very little of the funding may go toward the stated mission.
Here are a few facts:
Ellen Voie’s name appears in a Pedophile crime website on how NOT TO handle a situation in a trauma. This is in regards to the insensitive manner the Trucker Buddy pedophile issue was handled with the Mother. (Link: Crimeshots~ How Pedophiles Operate )
This highly sensitive incident would be something one could learn from in the future but in my first phone conversation with WIT Director Marge Bailey February 2010 she went straight on the attack of the Mother who she said had a child that was “not even in the trucker buddy program” As if that mattered!
This is not the first time I have heard this line of reasoning from these Women. “Well she wasn’t even a member”, but you see I WAS a member and I was stalked online by other WIT members and to this day there is interference to prevent my posts to be published on the topics of violence against women in the trucking industry in trade publications and blogs. Even carriers who have contacted me to ask for a banner exchange have later been contacted by WIT to discourage them. In one case telling the family owned carrier that they must go through WIT to get Women to apply for their trucking jobs. The carrier refused the strongarm tactics and rude manner of the calls but how does that help Women exactly?
Hope Rivenburg GATS 2009
When asked to support “Jason’s Law” H.R. 1803” an industry unifying safe trucker parking bill they went further than just ignoring the topic, by accepting informational brochures and hiding them under their convention table at GATS in Dallas Texas. No one told Ellen she needed to hit the campaign trail for Hope, it was only to ask for a gesture of kindness for the young widow Hope Rivenburg who traveled with 3 babies to the convention to collect signatures personally. Being a former Wife of a trucker, Donna Smith and I assumed that Ellen Voie would embrace Hope Rivenburg but we were mistaken which was very dissappointing for both of us.
This is not to say other members of WIT have not committed their personal time to worthwhile unifying driver issues but it was not because of the organization. So why now is she suggesting that she is going to Washington D.C. to ask the Department of Justice for Violence against Women and the Department of Labor for grants or funds to set up a 24 hour crisis line for drivers?
In a nutshell what she is saying is she wants the federal government to give her funding to set up a driver abuse reporting line when in fact the carriers who commit the most driver abuse are her sponsors!
This is not the first time she has said she was seeking funds for a drivers crisis line, in fact the idea came from Donna Smith of “Ask the Trucker” and myself but it was not intended to be managed by someone with a history of covering up abuse from carriers to drivers or downplaying it and shifting blame.
This “shifting of blame” is an Human Resource method I have written about a number of times over the past 3 years. It is the adversarial management style , the “US vs THEM” manner that many harassment and retaliation issues are mishandled. Poking at the conscience of trucking insiders as I have done and leading them to the solutions is only one part of this task.
Making them take action, even if that means spending money to enforce policies they already have in place or have been working on to insure they are working is the hardest part. Slapping a logo on a website for an organization that has provided ZERO concrete achievements since its inception only serves to further intimidate drivers.
Is this on purpose? Is that why the WIT wants to be the steward for driver crisis line it previously stated was not what they were set up for? That they were not an advocacy group? Why the sudden interest in Violence against women grants from the Department of Justice?
Food for thought: A driver with OSHA concerns (Occupational Health and Safety Administration) related to the trucking industry contacted me about a “tell-all” undercover documentary he intended to produce. In his industry networking for interested parties to collaborate he contacted WIT and told me he spoke the Ellen Voie at length on the project. He said he felt there was something just not right about the website and her responses given that she portrays herself to be “For Drivers”. Shortly following his conversation with her he was contacted by a eager funding source for his project but in the contract stages the fine print stated the financiers had final editing rights to the project. He took it upon himself to investigate who was truly behind this funding source and GUESS WHO… according to him it was the ATA and it was his impression that they were “tipped off” to the project intentionally.
Sexual Misconduct, Harassment, Violence against women in the trucking industry is related to OSHA these are labor issues and anyone who knows about human resources and workman’s compensation insurance claims should be able to see the correlation of how costly it could be for carriers to experience an increase of such claims. Mental distress, retaliation these are among some of the contributing factors that could affect judgments which in turn could affect workman’s compensation insurance premiums.
Is this why the FREE to corporate sponsors 30 page document WIT is peddling is not available to individuals? I don’t know this for certain but I will venture a guess that it should be seen as a valuable incentive to understand and this is why I published information publically.
Human Resource departments and other personnel that handle claims against carriers are supposed to save the carrier money. Unfortunately, this sometimes means to intimidate people with valid claims of abuse which is the short route to a solution. The road less traveled is eliminate abusers, Like unprofessional trainers, co-drivers, dispatchers and poor recruiting.
Create a company policy that works and train more staff on how to deal with victims of trauma rather than attacking the person reporting abuse without doing a full and thorough investigation of the events.
The American Trucking Association has it’s stamp of approval on program called “Troops 2 Truckers” and we should all realize it is our patriotic duty to welcome returning veterans into the trucking industry, this includes returning female veterans. Rape, and retaliation for reporting abuse in the military that occurred by other members in our military is the focus of a lawsuit against the Pentagon. ( Link: 17 Veterans Sue Pentagon Over Rape Cases )
There is also another suit brought from Peace Corps volunteers against the organization for similar issues of mishandling rape and retaliation for reporting abuse. ( Link: Peace Corps Volunteers Speak Out on Rape )
Like truck driver training we are talking about intense unsupervised training situations where people of unknown origins are expected to conduct themselves to a very high standard but very little training for this is provided.
This is a tough issue and it is completely irresponsible to allow a proven corporate apologist with definite conflicts of interest do intake for trauma victims that will be funded by grants by the Department of Justice or by the Department of Labor when in reality many driver abuse cases reported on internet trucking forums originate from WIT sponsors.
Here’s a suggestion: WIT should cut ties with sponsors involved in any harassment and discrimination litigation until they can prove they are worthy to join a driver advocacy organization. WIT should cease to seek sponsorship dollars from a carrier following the public announcement of mistreating drivers.
This was the case when a female student from CR England was abandoned by her carrier that I wrote about here on this site and on the “Real Women Truckers” Facebook page. The story was made public by a veteran male driver on Facebook. The carrier only reached out to get the woman a bus ticket home after they became aware that other drivers were sharing the topic on the social networking site.
I spent several hours on the phone with this lady who was left living in her car at a Wal-Mart parking lot and was devastated after the way this carrier treated her. I sent her money to eat and tried to get her off to another training carrier so she could take another shot at trucking.
This story was very public like some others I have been involved in and was yet another opportunity for Ellen Voie. So, did WIT reach out to this woman? No, but she did take action by selling the offending carrier a sponsorship. A carrier well known to drivers for it’s unethical lease program now has the WIT seal of approval. How exactly does that help the woman sleeping in her car in a parking lot? Are we to believe all the internal carrier issues are now solved upon purchase of a sponsorship to WIT?
If this female student truck driver had access to a driver crisis line that was directed to Ellen Voie, Marge Bailey or others from the Drivers advisory board what guarantees would this Woman have that the sensitive details and names of those who committed the abuse towards her would not be shared to the carrier sponsor?
Getting REAL means stop trying to cover up abuse and start addressing it with long term cost effective solutions not short term Band-Aids. After all we are talking about women being beat up raped, thrown off trucks during training and sometimes abandoned in a strange town when they have no money to go home and sometimes no home to go to.
If you want to be part of the solution show leadership and get informed. Why should the federal government Department of Justice- Violence against Women commit funds to an organization whose sponsors are the main offenders?
One last footnote, recently the Injury Lawyers USA announced a helpline for Truck Drivers and Taxi Cab Drivers who have been hurt on the job. ( Link Helpline for Truck Drivers ) make sure you understand that retaliation, workplace bullying and mental distress leading to PTSD could be considered under workmans compensation.
Related posts
Recruiting & Retaining Women as Truck Drivers
Women have proved to be reliable and efficient truck drivers, but recruiting, training and retaining them effectively in the trucking industry offers unique challenges. During the recession, when loads were scarce and the driver shortage mostly vanished, carriers had little reason to rework their employment process in a way that would speak to woman drivers.
Now, however, trucking insiders predict a massive shortage of drivers in the wake of the federal government’s new Compliance, Safety, Accountability safety-measurement program, which is expected to oust low-scoring drivers from the employment pool. That means higher-scoring woman truckers and women interested in becoming truckers will find themselves popular with carrier employment recruiters, who need to do their homework and find out what makes a female job candidate choose one carrier over another.
Women drivers are recruited by some carriers at levels exceeding 25%, but currently comprise only 5% to 6% of the driving population. Unfortunately, few woman drivers are able to withstand the manner in which their training is conducted — and those who do realize quickly that the recruiters played up the romance of the open road and glossed over some significant drawbacks for women.
I believe it is time to fully address these things so the trucking industry can move forward, and my first piece of advice for recruiting women is: “GET REAL.”
This is not a “pedicure and nylons” profession, and the female counterpart to the fabled “Knights of the Road” is not “Truck-Driving Barbie.” Explain the hardships inherent in navigating 80,000 pounds of metal through congested traffic, the danger of sleeping in the cab at unpoliced truck stops, and the sheer inconvenience of not being able to shower every day. Downplaying those things increases driver turnover when the truth hits home.
That is not to say that Pretty Girls cannot drive a big rigs, but trucking is still very much like the wild west & the unsupervised nature of the work presents personal safety issues that must not be glossed over.
Potential and new-to-the-profession women truck drivers need to be able to seek advice from other women in their company, and that support also should be available on an industry level. Perhaps American Trucking Associations and/or individual state trucking associations could provide professional support and information systems for female drivers and direct them to carriers in their area with good track records for recruiting and retaining women drivers.
A vital part of retention is understanding women drivers’ needs and remembering that it’s most often a single woman, not her married counterpart, embarking on a truck-driving career. Things important to a single woman driver differ from those of single male, married male and married/significant-other team drivers. Often as not, a single woman driver not only manages her truck from the driver’s seat, but her household as well — particularly if she’s also a single mother.
Unlike a married man driving solo, a single woman trucker generally lacks a support system at home a phone call away. Indeed, many times she is the entire support system for her family while she is on the road. An employer who wants to retain her services as a driver must understand that she needs to be more flexible when taking home time and might even want to take it at different locations in order to visit grown children, grandchildren or to deal with elderly parents.
Training also is critical for retaining women drivers and should begin prior to the classroom with recruiters giving female recruits an accurate depiction of all aspects of a life in trucking, ensuring that only informed and truly interested women enter training.
Because truck driving is still a mostly male profession, trainers tend to use techniques designed for men. As more women enter training, trainers need to incorporate the cultural lessons of the 1992 bestseller “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.” While women do need the same driving and compliance training provided their male counterparts, they also need gender-specific training on the personal challenges and dangers inherent in life on the road.
For example, being women means we are far more susceptible than men to personal attacks. Carrier trainers need to discuss and address these dangers head on, instead of avoiding the subject because it’s “sensitive.” Night parking in well-lit areas, companion dining where possible, locked cabs at all times and emergency response training all should be a required part of classroom training.
Carriers also must establish supportive policy to protect their women drivers. Unfortunately, the risk of attack for women is not confined to outside sources. I personally know women who were assaulted by male drivers who were their co-workers with the same carrier. This risk is particularly great in mixed-gender team situations. Some trainers & other authority figures will often “show up” at orientation centers to sort of “troll” for incoming single females who are vulnerable & looking for a friend. Incoming women entering trucking must educate themselves on how this can set them off on the wrong foot & derail their long term success as truck drivers.
A company must have a strict policy against sexual harassment that extends to any and all encounters with women drivers who are co-workers. An abuse reporting procedure also must be provided that is confidential, responsive and reacts quickly to investigate and resolve issues.
Too many female drivers are lost from the industry in the first year because of misleading recruiting, shallow training and carrier failure to address personal safety issues. That’s unfortunate because women truck drivers are usually meticulous, safe and take great pride in their work — and because truck driving can be a rewarding profession regardless of gender.
Women who stay in trucking do so because it provides a freedom most haven’t experienced before and an opportunity to take pride in a job that’s critical to our economy. Women can be a large part of the solution to the upcoming driver shortage if carriers are willing to adapt their recruiting and training programs to address our cultural and personal differences.
Until big trucking can free themselves of the denial that is hurting women entering trucking & “GET REAL” I have taken the initiative to utilize you tube for series of videos that use tough talk about real issues for those entering truck driver training. “Advice for Women entering Trucking” is just one of many more to come on this topic to keep women safe by educating them before they are harmed in truck driver training.
Related posts
Social Media & Women Truckers – Part 2
“Social Media & Women Truckers – Part Two” focuses on Violence against Women in the Trucking Industry & notable Social Media campaigns that have changed the rules on humanitarian issues and activism.
Being successful in social media does not require a sales team, a research and development department, a marketing firm or “guru” but it does require effort to make a commitment to positive transparency.
Taking action to respond and interact can be time consuming BUT it can be executed rather effectively from just about anywhere with the use of smart phones.
Managing a Facebook and/or Twitter campaign during a lunch break via cell phone is very much a reality. Therefore, never underestimate the velocity of an individual as opposed to an organization. There is no way to gauge how far the message can travel and you never know who is listening. Furthermore, never ASSume anyone at all is listening or cares about what you are saying.
As an industry there needs to be more accountability aimed at government funded truck driver training fleets for the conduct that occurs. Very little is expected of truck driver student candidates to behave as good citizens YET many do take the initiative to try to raise the standard, only to find themselves being retaliated against for speaking up about driver abuse.
In other areas of trucking which requires experienced drivers there does not seem to be any recognition of how truck drivers are trained and why many do not make it past 2 years in the industry.
Even trucking professionals do not seem to understand “Where truck drivers come from?” in the here and now. The enormous turnover rate in training fleets affects the quantity of experienced qualified drivers who would apply to private and specialized fleets.
Until the entire industry holds those who are doing this accountable, you are all culpable for what is going on out here on America’s highways.
*** Relevant links (Gold Letters) in this powerpoint will help locate additional information ***
Related posts
What’s the problem with the CR England?
Some trucking professionals like to tout their collective careers by adding up how many years all together they have in the industry with colleagues and count this as experience.
Few of them have ever operated a commercial motor vehicle, nor have they been enclosed in a small space with a total stranger and harmed.
This weekend I took notes on a Woman’s story that had elements eerily familiar to many other women I have interviewed over the past two years. I published her account on the Facebook fan page called “Real Women Truckers’ in a note titled “Abandoned CR England Driver“.
The real hero was a male driver who met this woman as she was trying to reach out for help from her training employer, CR England. He witnessed how she was being treated and circulated it on facebook, he also sent an email to CR England.
There was immediate shock when the entire chain of events was shared, especially from others who work in areas of trucking not related to truck driver training.
I was advised by these true professionals to share the story in Linkedin and in any way possible to get action.
What is odd is that right after the Dan Rather Report series, it was CR England who posted the following remarks on twitter with this post.
“Dan Rather was wrong! Trucking is a great profession. Go to truck school and see the Country. “
The link with that tweet led to an article called “10 Reasons to Choose Our Trucking School” and they mentioned the Dan Rather Report in the post. I say odd but in reality this is typical hyena trucking capitalism. I have seen it time and again, whether it be stealing content from another trucking blog or an organization trying to use an issue they had absolutely nothing to do with advancing take credit and utilize it as a membership drive opportunity.
One of the top reasons listed by CR England on their blog mentions the Smart Way EPA partnership which ironically is a post I recently made about this sham program and how it affects employee drivers and lease Owner-Operators. ( Read: Smart Way or Dumb Way – Examining the EPA Partnership with the American Trucking Association ) The particular incident with the CR England student though had to do with violence against women in the trucking industry.
There has been an outpouring of concern by male and female drivers and it has been been phenomenal but what about the carriers? Where is the accountability?
Under no circumstances should they be able to put a person off a truck and leave them! Even if it becomes violent, carriers are responsible to provide a safe training atmosphere… end of story!
YOU HIRED THEM, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO GET THEM HOME SAFELY!
This woman simply wanted to work like so many others who have been cheated out of a dream and a chance by the trucking industry’s mismanagement!
Who was disturbed by this story? Professionals with a quarter of a century in the industry, a parent with Daughters, A representative of a Fortune 500 company listed in the top 100 companies to work for, Social justice attorneys, countless people on twitter and a good community of drivers on Facebook who shared the story over the past few days, many who shared CR England horror stories of their own. So what does that add up to ? Um , let’s see … ( 25 cents + plus kids + 500 +100 + all those other people = more collective experience with a conscience than the collective experience of those without it! )
I am asking the trucking community for assistance in this matter to examine their collective conscience on the astounding denial that exists in this industry. It should come as no surprise that the transition to CSA 2010 will require an environment of greater professionalism yet here are some of the accoutability items that continue to be rejected: Violence against women entering the industry, Crimes against truckers from lack of parking and Criminal activities in exisiting parking areas such as human trafficking, drug activities, and frequent disturbances that affect restful sleep.
The National Association of Truck Stops (NATSO) and the major trucking carriers have evaded responding adequately to “Jason’s Law” which is more than a safe trucker parking proposal; it is a statement about the conditions these powerful lobby groups and trucking carriers have permitted to occur by inaction. If you treat people like animals, they begin to act like them.
There is a climate of ignoring crime and disrepair yet blocking any sort of competition, it is a battle to maintain an oligopoly at the expense of drivers.
While national news from the state department has made human trafficking a priority, groups like “Truckers against Trafficking” have not been embraced by NATSO despite their locations being centers of trafficking activities.
It is not organizations leading the charge to raise awareness of these issues, it is individuals taking action. Truckers have had a part in saving trafficking victims from truck stops. Trucking publications have noticeably snubbed Jason’s Law, human trafficking issues and violence against women in the trucking industry yet most of the activity takes place at truck stops!
While there is applause for such campaigns as “Highway Heroes” , no campaign currently exists to encourage better conduct among the driving population. We have trucking heroes but the industry wants to choose which topics to publicize. Is it any wonder that the the Homeland Security program called Highway Watch failed? A program which asked drivers to be the eyes and ears to protect America from terrorist activities? This very same industry that does NOT embrace human trafficking awareness information, does not make a priority to fight for safe and adequate parking for it’s own, it does not encourage personal safety training or offer guidance to expendable student drivers. Thankfully, individuals are taking action.
Watch this Video from “Truckers Against Trafficking” about kidnapped teenagers being sold at truck stops , Human Trafficking Video , the heroes are not NATSO , they are individual drivers who care about humanity and grassroots volunteers who put forth time and effort to make a difference.
I do not believe every person in this industry does not care, I believe that they are insulated from the truth of what is happening at the indoctrination level into this industry. The story of the Abandoned CR England Driver is a snapshot of a system that does not care about the human factor in the supply chain.
Understanding what we drivers experience on the road, what is taking place in the training fleets, learning about the crimes against truckers due to the parking situation, coming to grips that human trafficking is occuring in this environment, my hope some will take the initiative which is the first step in getting out of the cycle of denial in which the trucking industry dwells.
Good citizen truck drivers are taking the initiative to clean up this industry so how can the industry continue to justify the way they bury their head in the sand about what is going on at the entry level fleets? These things are all connected and I’d like to see some concerned professionals step up and speak up about what is right and wrong. The court of public opinion outside the trucking industry understands that what is going on in trucking is wrong. What we lack is a few courageous people to step up and IMPLEMENT a plan NOT a PR Campaign or we will go nowhere.
The problems persist in training fleets due to poor in-house support on crisis situations where the knee jerk reaction is to blame the victim, poor communication, antiquated logistics software applications, no follow-up and predatory recruiting. The tracking of the freight is state of the art but the human beings who move it are expendable.
Good trainers quit because the bad targeted recruitment, there is a shortage of female trainers because of this. In the CR England post this woman was assigned to training situations with drivers who were not trainers and had only a few weeks or months driving experience! She also had the opportunity to become a trainer herself yet she admits she was not taught to back the truck or even adjust her tandems. This lack of seriousness in the training programs should alarm EVERYONE!
There are carriers who have attempted to curb the way they handle the personality disputes and personal safety issues but they have yet to dig into the core issues with a vengeance. We can easily determine who is doing it and eliminate them but instead we have a climate where untrained in house staff do and say things to encourage the abuser to continue.
By this remark I mean that often abusers lay ground work to “cover their ass” in advance and if personnel is not trained to recognize this they are part of the process of aggravating the situation and possibly making the carrier more liable. As with Nancy’s story, by the time she made it to the HR department she was the villain and the meeting was handled like a criminal in a debriefing session. This is very common in training fleets due to the volume of turnover but it is not unique to trucking.
Industries still operating in the dark ages still place you in the center of the bulls-eye if you dare visit the HR department where often you will be targeted, retaliated against and eliminated.
For drivers, generally the DAC is ruined and the women who experience what Nancy did are given a bad reference so they cannot re-enter this industry. Among women drivers this is very well known and it is only now that some concerned men are becoming aware of the problem. Many erroneous DAC reports have been filed on women truckers who reported harassment or refused to comply with some form of misconduct from the employer.
Question: Who do you think are the biggest foes women drivers?
Answer: Women who work in-house in the trucking industry.
WHY? Because predators make a point to befriended the outer circle of a target. Part of the challenge to these people is to gain respect and trust. This makes it very difficult when they are accused to have the friend remain unbiased.
A disenfranchised person, especially a woman who is desperate for a new life is a perfect target to isolate. Ask any criminal profiler, women like this are preferred targets for crime and violence because no one is looking out for them and it is easy to destroy their credibility if they report being abused.
“Acquaintance-Rape” scenarios occur when a person lets their guard down and the victimizer knows it. If the victimizer has made effort to buddy up with in-house staff this aggravates the situation because they have laid the foundation to discredit the target in advance. This goes on frequently for women in truck driver training; the stories I collect are almost verbatim.
In my own story I became aware notes were being taken about me and entered into the company computer. This meant when I called in distress, I was being prejudged and treated according to the perception made about me on a computer screen. I was not a person; I was an employee number, a gender and an ethnic race with comments about me.
While many carriers say they have a toll free number and emergency system to remove a trainee from a bad situation, the truth is that these systems often do not work. Especially on night and weekend shifts which is when most issues occur. Poor communication during shift changes aggravates these incidents and often the ball is dropped when the regular weekday staff comes in. There is no oversight, no cross check or follow up.
Misleading Advertising Harms People
Poorly prepared females who have been misled into this industry often think they are welcome with open arms and that trucking is one big rootin tootin party. That image that is part of the problem not only for the women entering trucking but for the inexperienced men entering trucking who think all women truckers are “good time sally”.
There is no path to lead any student successfully from CDL training, into reliable training and into a long-term carriers that require stable experience to meet their qualifications standards. For students, it is a crapshoot but in-house staff can help alleviate much of the trials by being better trained for a crisis. UNLESS this is occurring on purpose?
“We always kept the experienced drivers housed away from the students so they won’t tell them what’s going on “- Quote from a former Driver Liason
Normal corporate structure employees generally have some sort of training to work in environments with the opposite sex yet it is non-existent in truck driver training where total strangers are supposed to live together in a room the size of a closet.
These are people who are expected to follow the letter of the federal law yet many have never worked with opposite gender co-workers. What is acceptable if no one advises them? Combining a former construction worker and a former longtime housewife with zero guidance? She was recruited at her local workforce office and received paid training compliments of the American taxpayers, if she gets harmed during her training are we to toss her off on the side of the road because she has no “Street Smarts”, she deserved it?
What about the Wife of a truck driver who is not made aware that a female has been put on her husband’s truck and an affair occurs? I understand that CR England may have a waiver that the Wife is supposed to sign to give permission but this policy is not always followed. Alienation of Affection = Interference with Marriage lawsuits and they can be costly. States such as Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Dakota and Utah and North Carolina still permit cases where allegations of emotional harm are caused by a third party to the marital relationship. Wait? UTAH? CR England?
How about suing the carriers whose negligence permitted the situations to occur?
No training in conduct says ”we don’t care who gets hurt, not on the highway, not in the truck, not in your home“! Having a supervisory staff that is 20 or 30 years old who have no life experience to answer phones for crisis situations is a huge part of the problem. If your staff has no idea how to deal with a crisis they should not be in supply chain logistics!
The human factor that is required to move freight is grossly absent from trucking. Someone who cannot handle a human crisis should not be permitted to speak or treat a victim of a trauma. If they cannot recognize a predatory behavior or complete their job in an unbiased manner they should not be placed in a position to deal with people in any capacity.
Predators can be engaging, charming and they aim to make friends with those who can help them when they are accused. That way no one will doubt one word they say. Predators are not always men, women can also be predators, control freaks and understand we have a growing Pink Collar Crime population.
Hundreds of students each week are being recruited and churned into truck driver training fleets right now and there is a shortage of good trainers because poor recruitment by the trucking industry, trainers who have lost their jobs FINALLY from their misconduct and because some trainers have been accused of doing something that was false or misconstrued.
These are ALL management failures from poor management guidance and lax policies. These are human nature issues that exist in an industry that puts two or more people in super heated training atmosphere and offers little support. There is a whole lot of drama occurring in this training atmosphere which is unsafe for the motoring public as well as the occupants of the truck.
As a trucking professional how do you feel knowing that people who have harmed others have been insulated by your industry and are permitted to drive anonymously state to state? We need some real men and some real women to step up to the plate to make a broad statement that we are not going to live in denial and we are going to fix this.
We need a real plan to take action, not a PR Campaign and phony facade. I believe the problem is so great now that many of these carriers don’t know where to start. If you do not take action, you are collectively condoning, violence against disenfranchised women and benefiting from it which is no better than a human trafficker in my opinion!
This is a national problem because the carriers involved are very large truck training carriers that travel all 48 states, right in your backyard.
Following my post about the Abandoned CR England Student, I was contacted by someone who wanted to make law enforcement nationwide be aware of this neglected trucking issue. I personally would like to have truck stops create a safe haven program which would benefit the human trafficking campaign, domestic violence victims and situation like the one Nancy encountered.
Let’s face it; there is more criminal activities at truck stops represented by NATSO than at rest areas or tollway parking areas.
Last night I watched a show about Father Murphy a Wisconsin Priest who sexually abused as many as 200 deaf boys in his care. The little boys are now old men and still trying to get justice. These little boys went to the police and were sent back to this priest to live with him! People get hurt from collective inaction.
The problem with CR England is a problem with all of those who “KNOW” but do nothing, even though the little deaf boy is jumping up and down in front of you begging you to hear him!
Additional Reading:
CDL Trainers should be held accountable for their actions
U.S State Department – Human Trafficking
Related posts
Practical Truck Driver Training Solutions – Part 3 Personal Responsibility
Personal Responsibility is the ability to take care of oneself by means of, keeping healthy, managing ones emotions, keeping a sound mind, treating yourself with respect, and etc….
Being a trucker requires organizational skills. It requires common sense and it often requires two people to run one truck in an orderly fashion.
Many times a non-driving trucking spouse or partner maintains paperwork, audits settlement sheets, navigates and may be in charge of locating, planning & booking loads if they are owner-operators.
The non-driving spouse who rides along or manages to co-pilot from home contributes a great deal to the success of a professional driver.
A single person is expected to all of these things alone and the consequence of paperwork errors, miscalculations in a logbook or navigation can be costly. They can also affect your career.
When someone is considering entering trucking they should ask themselves and be honest.
Do I have good organizational skills?
Do I often rush to get things done and overlook details?
Can I read a map without a GPS system?
How do I react in severe weather?
Frequently, recruiters say nothing to student truckers about the intense logbook rules & regulations that are required to operate a commercial motor vehicle. The logbook can become a great source of stress unless you take your time to learn how to manage it accurately & legibly. If you cannot write well or do not have some math skills you will have problems in this industry. Even as many carriers are moving to paperless logs, you do yourself a great disservice by not understanding how to manage a logbook to use your time effectively.
Speaking as someone who used to audit hotels with many revenue venues on a daily basis I will tell you that the logbook truckers must complete on a daily basis took at least one year for me to fully grasp. This is because you are generally completing it when you are dead tired and your thoughts are scattered. Mistakes might be simple addition errors but they can be time consuming to correct. Truckers are constantly under time constraints. Falsifying your logs can mean your CDL. I personally suffered the most violations while I was taking advice from my trainer and a former trainer that I teamed with for one month.
Learning to do your logbook is a very important component to becoming a truck driver if you wish longevity. People, who grandstand about how they cut corners, run two books etc. are idiots. In the past this was expected but now it will eventually end your career. Even if your dispatcher is pushing you to “Do a favor” you will be the one to suffer, your dispatcher will never go to bat for you if you have falsified logs to do a favor for him or her, NEVER! , So don’t do it. Turn off your phone at night and make them put all favor requests on the Qualcomm.
The reality you should take into account is that hours to work are controlled because of the logbook and federal regulations. You are permitted to drive 11 hours per day not to exceed 70 hours in a week. A seventy hour work week? Do the math before you commit to a loan and understand this so you better estimate of how much you can make as a truck driver. That is 70 hours you log and there are indeed tricks to not burn up your hours while you are waiting but you are still probably not resting. These are long days.
You will be paid CPM “cents per mile”, therefore at the maximum per week running legal you should be able to estimate if you can survive on this low pay during your student phase. You will not be paid to sit in traffic, yet it is burning up your drive time. You are not paid to sit at shippers and receivers which can be many hours. You are not paid to fuel, wait on repairs, climb in trailers, sweep out debris or complete your logbook. Can you feel the tension building?
In some student fleets the pay is as low as 13 cents per mile. Most student fleet trucks are governed engines that only go on average 66 -67 mph, another control to your miles. All things being perfect this is barely enough to buy food and afford a cell phone. You should clearly understand this.
Right now there are many 4 year drivers who are making 18.5 cents driving team freight, this is because many companies who require experience are not hiring but a recent CNN Money reports the return of the mythical driver shortage reaching 400,000 by 2011. Here is my analysis of the Truck Driver Shortage
There are many drivers who are trapped with not enough money to buy their own trucks, no suitable options to move up the food chain & 100′s of new students arriving each week thinking there are tons of jobs awaiting them. If you are a new trucking student expect to feel unwelcome, but don’t take it personally.
What about your temper? I find most people who seek this job are independent by nature, loners and very strong willed. While working alone may seem like a great idea, truckers are often in stressful situations. You should aspire to become a professional driver. Not a unprofessional driver.
Are you a good traveler or do you get annoyed easily with delays?
Are you a good driver?
Do you suffer from road rage and act out on the highway?
Do you have trouble with your temper in stressful situations?
Do you permit others to upset you?
Most everyone will have to say yes to at least one of these points but a professional driver has disciplined control of their emotions to not tailgate, cut cars off because they cut them off, not weave in and out of traffic and to monitor weather knowing when it’s okay to roll and when to shut it down.
Venting on the CB is one thing but acting out on the highway is not impressive to anyone, it is dangerous and stupid. If you have these tendencies you should truly reflect and determine.
Can I change these things to be successful in the long run?
Committing to becoming a professional driver means your conduct on the highway AND with others when you are working should be PROFESSIONAL.
As a trucking student you will see a good deal of juvenile behavior in these huge carriers that train students. The turnover is so great that no one expects you to be around next week. You are little more than a one cow being herded into the pen. You may feel warm and fuzzy during orientation day but once you leave the terminal you are a number on a screen.
The training environments in these mega carriers have little guidance and they bring people from all walks of life looking for new carreer. There are people who would like to provoke you endlessly, get you involved in their personal dramas, and give you false information just for the heck of it. Some will pry into your life to create a drama and this includes some trainers, dispatchers & supervisory staff.
The reason my Student Trucker Horror Story is long is because every person I knew going through training was having one endless drama after another during their training and most of it was occurring because there was a complete failure by our company to provide any guidance or support.
It was as if a few inmates had taken over the prison yet in the hallways the management wandered about with a blank stare. It reminded me of the movie “The Stepford Wives” waving at each other as if nothing was wrong. The distress of the students from a lack of accurate information, communication & follow up was and is inexcusable. It was surreal to me that so much suffering could be occurring in one place that operated on denial auto pilot.
As a student you will be subjected to some people who engage in petty gossip, stay away from them. If you choose to “Hang Out” you will find that simple conversations often turn to sex, sometimes women see it as harmless flirting but as a student trucker you can get yourself into seriously bad situations.
You should realize accepting help as a student female often means there are “strings attached” even when the person says there are not.
Protect your privacy:
Don’t talk about your former job, education, marital status, income level , DO NOT talk about how many miles you are getting & DO NOT believe they are getting as many as they say they are. There is a lot of jealousy and because everyone is paid very little there is an element of desperation. Other drivers are always trying to see if the grass is greener on your side of the fence. Do not get into these conversations.
Its okay to listen and learn but do not engage because the conversations generally deteriorate into contempt and that is when the gossip starts. Listen & Learn of what to do & WHAT NOT TO DO with regards to accidents and incidents Realize that everyone will tell you, “Oh my way is the best & only way” That is 100% Baloney!
There’s more than one way to skin a cat and you will meet a lot of loudmouths who have plenty of advice but are failures in the execution of the job.
If you are adaptable, have the ability to listen, learn and you can hold a vehicle steady that’s the first step.
DO NOT try to form any Romantic Relationships in the first year or so, most end in heartbreak or disaapointment but the real loss is your chance to be taken seriously and get your much needed experience. You may meet several people in your first few months trucking that you like on a personal level and impulsively you decide to team up, after all the most effective teams are married couples. More often than not the following occurs:
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They turn out to be already married
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They have several people they “see” while they are on the road
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They are unsafe drivers and you cannot sleep while they are on duty.
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They expect you to drive, be their secretary, mommy and cook.
Once you decide to get on a truck and develop a relationship as a student you are generally taken less seriously from this point on. You are viewed as a “Truck Hopper” because there are women who go to truck driving school simply to meet men. As a single woman entering this industry, you will have to work harder to prove you are not a “truck hopper” because unfortunately there are those who cannot believe a woman can actually find peace working alone and not be a man-hater.
Mixing the two learning to drive a big rig and developing a new relationship is generally not a confidence booster. Often the man begins to feel threatened as you are becoming more confident and a power struggle ensues. If you truly want to drive you can derail your career very early by not understanding this concept. Get your experience FIRST! Then you can have more freedom than if you get dependent during your learning period and forgo some of the teaching you should have had.
If a veteran owner-operator, or other veteran driver encourages you to quit your training company to team with them you should realize that an O/O cannot get insurance to let you drive so this is actually a trick to get a sex partner trapped on the truck. Quitting to run team with someone you do not know or have never lived with is a really dumb idea also. If it does not work out, chances are you cannot go back to the training company you left. Also, starting out as a couple and never learning how to operate the truck on your own can mean you have shot yourself in the foot. This will place you at a disadvantage should you decide to go on your own later.
Sexual harassment is going to happen in trucking and in other jobs. We need to get educated. If you have a thin skin, find another line of work. But you have a right to be trained in a safe manner.
Men in trucking often have not worked around women before so you should expect to hear things you have not heard in your former work environments. Everyone in the trucking industry should have increased training BUT it is often women in support positions who are the greatest harm to entering female students. These are often the culprits who cover up abuse by a few guys who harm many. This is frequently because these women get a good deal of flattery, flirting and sometimes more and feel compelled to protect the offender at the expense of the targets of abuse. This is one way a hostile workplace is created and can be manipulated by a predator in bully organizations. It is a huge problem in trucking and especially for female students.
Mind your mouth, and your manner of dress as a student. You are being watched by predators who know most will not make it. They are looking for someone vulnerable, someone eager to learn who needs a mentor. They are looking for signs in the way you talk and dress to see how to win your confidence. Whether you engage in consensual sex or succumb to badgering after getting yourself in a dangerous situation you should realize you were a mark the moment this person set eyes on you. Stay away from “Mr. I know everyone and I can hook you up” unless you want to be used like trash.
Understand that the Human Resource department is a last resort. Do not make threats to sue and mouth off, you are only setting yourself up to be retaliated against and this may happen anyways. Instead, document with email correspondence in a professional manner and create a dated paper trail.
If you have an incident that requires the police call them, get a report and do not let your company off the hook if they say they are “investigating it”, chances are they ARE NOT and delaying, follow up is crucial. They drag things out on purpose and delays to file formal charges only make you look bad.
If they tell you there is no statute of limitations to file a harassment claim they are lying and be aware all information you provide them of the incident they will twist and try to make it seem you are guilty or mistaken. Phrases like “we are investigating but we don’t have to tell you the outcome” may sometimes mean they have simply let the predator go on to circulate elsewhere hoping you won’t find out or run into each other again. This is frequent in trucking. Beware of the friendly “Let’s all work together” & “we are stronger when we are united” cheerleaders. Place a time limit and follow up. In this industry these are specific blow off phrases I have heard time and again by people who participate in covering up abuse.
Sexual Harassment is really not taken seriously and cases are rarely won. The truth is that truck driver training fleets that have non-existent harassment & conduct training, trauma preparation, or follow up are willfully negligent. What the trucking industry is doing with the provocative way they treat victim’s amounts to Psychological Warfare and many drivers show signs of “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder’ (PTSD) after they have reported an incident to their HR Department. Victims are generally treated as the guilty party rather than the offender.
Certainly give them the benefit of the doubt to resolve the issue internally unless it is serious violence or a rape. Make sure you call the police to make a report. The trucking companies are always looking for a way to make you look guilty for dropping the ball. DO NOT let them tell you that you “brought it on yourself”. If this happens GET A LAWYER! NO ONE deserves to be raped or beaten for any reason whatsoever!
If you begin to experience nightmares, or other symptoms from the incident itself that are unresolved or retaliation after you reported it go to your HR Department for a form of first injury to file a claim for PTSD under workman’s’ comp. If they try to tell you that you cannot file or it will not be allowed demand the paper firmly but politely. Get their name and every single person’s name involved that you speak to regarding your issue.
Carriers seem to react with a better attention span to workman’s comp claims rather than lawsuits. It is truly the bully organizational structure that has permitted this conduct to permeate the trucking industry. Some experts who study bully organizations feel trucking carriers who begin to experience an increase of PTSD claims due to their poor handling of harassment for both men and women they might begin to correct their training atmosphere, eliminate the predators and create a safer environment. Locate an employment lawyer just in case; the internet is beginning to have plenty of trucking harassment cases which show this is a pervasive problem that is willfully ignored.
Women are trained from childhood to not only judge each other but remain silent when they witness something they know to be wrong. In the trucking industry this will be the toughest obstacle to recognize and overcome.
If you do get a female trainer expect her to be tough and appreciate it. But you should not have to be her monkey, her audience for her lovelorn confessions or have to be subjected to unsafe driving such as tailgating, exceeding the speed limit or breaking the law in any way shape or form.
Is it true that some Women feel they are a service to others when they remain silent when they are in the position to protect?
A female trainer should not only teach you how to operate the truck but hopefully give you personal safety tips like how to secure your doors at night with the seat belts and so on. You both should take personal responsibility upon yourselves to know, YOU STINK!
Having to live in a truck with another person and not being able to shower each day makes for very smelly living. You might be able to tolerate your stench but it is new to others and it might be so offensive they may refuse to continue to drive with you and give no reason. Make sure you use personal wipes on EVERYTHING daily to stay “Fresh” and dispose of them. Sadly, there are many people who need this spelled out. Wipe all your cracks liberally! Large people have to understand that they sweat more from places others do not. Even skinny people can smell like ass after a day or so of hard work and no shower. Don’t be arrogant! Use a pillow for the driver’s seat if your butt sweats and remove it out of sight & in an airtight bag when not in use. Keep your bedding clean and clarify the potty stops.
Couples might feel comfortable using a porta-potti on a truck but with a trainer you just met, especially of the opposite sex, I doubt it. Sometimes asking to stop for the bathroom is not tolerated at all. You should clarify this before you leave the terminal with a trainer or co-driver. This is also a characteristic to watch out for as some may become abusive when you ask to stop to use the bathroom. Try to plan to go around fuel stops whether you feel like it or not. If you are using a bottle, dispose of it properly. I prefer to see urine poured in the grass and bottles put into trash receptacles. Crapping your pants is unfortunately something that does occur in trucking. Obviously do not make a habit out of crapping in a bag, although some slobs do and the stories are … ICK!, but emergencies do occur and many times there is nowhere to stop. You should think about this.
Becoming a trucker does not mean you have to act like an ape or look like one either. On the other hand, many things that people take for granted like fresh water and clean toilets are a treat for the professional driver.
While there are some trainers or co-drivers who are slobs, other drivers are meticulously tidy, respect this and clean up after yourself. Use a bit of baby powder in your hair if it stinks from not washing. Use deodorant and if it is not strong enough find one that is. It is incredibly hard to sleep or drive with someone who stinks and it is very hard to tell someone that you want to vomit whenever they come around.
Your Trainer should not delay to teach you how to back the truck up and dock it, teach tail swing, how to complete your logbooks and what the consequences are for not doing them. They should teach you about chain laws and how to adjust your tandems and how to complete all of these things as if you are alone. You have abour 35 to 40 days with your trainer there is not a moment to spare. Learn everything you can during this time and ask for help if you don’t understand. Some people need things explained more clearly, there is nothing wrong with this.
Your trainer should not by prying into your personal life and YOU should NOT behave as if you are at a singles bar every time the truck stops. Before you leave the terminal with your trainer you should know how to send a distress message from your Qualcomm and understand how to delete it so that the other person does not see it. This can help prevent an altercation on the truck in dangerous heated situations.
Know your fleet manager’s name, phone number and email. Also know his boss’s name, and the boss’s above him. If your company has an “Incident Response Center” or Emergency 24 hour call center, make sure you have the number programmed in your phone. In my situation, I did not know such a department existed in the beginning but once I did they handled getting me safely to a motel and through the weekend but the ball was dropped after that. This is what I commonly hear from male and female drivers who have experienced “Incidents” where they had to get off the truck during training.
They are not being told these departments exist and when they do find them to be assisted, their dispatcher and/or fleet department drops the ball. There is no follow up or lack of sensitivity because whatever trauma that occurred is not handled properly.
If you are scared, GOOD! The students who are scared make better drivers who pay attention and take this job seriously; the ones who aren’t have accidents and often hurt others. They won’t be truck drivers very long but hopefully you can steer clear of them so they don’t take you down with them.
Written by Desiree Wood “Trucker Desiree”
Additional Reading:
Bring it On – Ethics in Sexual Harassment Training
Truck Driver Employee Rights under OSHA and FMCSA
Workplace Fairness – Trucking Whistleblowers