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It should come as no surprise that Ellen Voie, President of Women in Trucking has announced a FOR SALE training document on harassment following the recent judgment against one of her sponsors.

Ms. Voie has only eyed the harassment topic toward women in truck driver training carriers when a clear and present monetary opportunity presents itself and the goose that laid the golden egg has just landed on Plover, Wisconsin in the form of a $1.17 Million Dollar Judgment against CRST International.

The Karen Shank VS. CRST was won by Bohbot & Riles , LLP in San Bernardino, California by jury trial on May 3, 2011. The case is significant because it named the individual trainer in addition to the carrier.

If you will recall here on this site Ellen Voie claimed she had no access to any women who alleged harassment from her sponsor CRST Van Expedited which turned out to be false. Ms. Voie had access to Tracy Hamm who was named in the original EEOC filing that is currently under appeal. Tracy Hamm had been scheduled to be called as a witness in the Shank case.

Following the lengthy Q & A on this site with Ms. Voie regarding the EEOC V. CRST case, Ms. Voie dug herself into a deeper hole of deceit with remarks and her actions of consulting with a private investigator to look into my background which I believe to be one of a series of attempts by her to intimidate me for speaking out on harassment from her sponsors and retaliation in the trucking industry.

This came after her comments on the workplace bullying documentary in which she remarked that the women of the CRST case “just wanted to be in a lawsuit”. Is it any wonder Women remain the last Minority? Madeleine Albright, the first Woman to become a United States Secretary of State once said: “There is a special place in hell for women who do not help other women” but perhaps Ms. Voie interpets that to imply it’s okay to profiteer from them when your sponsor is causing the abuse.

Ms. Voie was persuaded to speak to Tracy Hamm after her insensitive remarks about the women of the CRST cases and she was provided training solutions that had been presented to CRST but ignored while Tracy Hamm was employed by them. Tracy Hamm was a student and a trainer for the carrier who posted on the Trucker Desiree blog along with former CRST Safety Personnel Tom Hansen.

Tom Hansen and I were later interviewed by Dan Rather in an investigative report on truck driver training issues at both Covenant Transport and CRST Van Expedited in an episode called “Queen of the Road”.

The solutions Tracy Hamm offered Ellen Voie are public here on this site in addition, there were numerous solutions provided from archived blog talk radio shows hosted by Allen and Donna Smith of “Ask the Trucker” , some of which Ms. Voie declined to participate.

My own posts about solutions for truck driver training carriers are also public but suddenly a 30 page document available FOR SALE to carrier members but not available to individuals is now being peddled by WIT.

I personally sent tips, tools and link suggestions to Ms. Voie prior to her discussions with Tracy Hamm and Donna Smith with the hope that she would utilize them for the benefit of all women entering the trucking industry. This is a matter of personal safety and highway safety in my opinion. Those ideas and tools are designed by drivers for drivers and carriers that train students. This is of particular importance in carriers who use the “team business” model such as CRST and Covenant Transport.

Our Mission is to share information for ethical purposes to raise the low standard of personal safety and training that occurs in trucking. To sell safety to women from content that is public following a landmark harassment case screams of continuing conflicts of interest by Ms. Voie who personally attempted to cover up and discredit my truck driver training horror story.

I would like to congratulate Karen Shank for having the courage and endurance to fight this ugly beast that is truck driver training. We here at “REAL Women in Trucking” provide self-help tools and information to fight back against truck driver carriers who create obstacles for women entering trucking.

It is a victory to see that trucking trade publications have acknowledged this case despite the persistence of CRST who intends to appeal the decision. The 30-page WIT document states that it focuses on “employee training”, yet, few of the WIT driver advisory board members have been driver trainers at a training carrier or employed by one. It is also unclear if members of the WIT drivers advisory board have had any access to the document which seems to be held as if it is the holy grail. Ms. Voie has never been employed as a truck driver.

The opinion of Allen & Donna Smith of “Ask the Trucker” who are advocates for student truck drivers is that the WIT document is something that should be posted publically as a PDF and should be part of the NPR (Notice of Proposed Rule) that FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro referred to as a “Notice of Entry Level Requirements”.

Currently, there is no oversight in the trucking industry to prove any tools or training to prevent harassment, retaliation or sexual misconduct have been implemented or if a system is working properly.

A person has a reasonable expectation they will be trained in a safe environment and should not have to join a club to have access to information on how to keep safe from their own employer who is also in membership of the same organization.

A trainer for CRST, a Male wrote to me today and wanted to know also why Ms. Voie is not being challenged on this issue because it is public knowledge that many individuals provided her vital research tools over the past 2.5 years therefore this document should be made available to anyone who wants to read it.

Technorati Tags: Ann Ferro, Bohbot & Riles, CDL Training, Covenant Transport, CRST International, CRST Van Expedited, Ellen Voie, FMCSA, Harassment, Karen Shank, Trucker Desiree, Trucking

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• Practical Truck Driver Training Solutions: Part 1 (6)
• Practical Truck Driver Training Solutions Part 2 (9)
• Practical Truck Driver Training Solutions – Part 3 Personal Responsibility (3)
• Ellen Voie answers questions about the CRST Sexual Harassment case Part III (21)
• Ellen Voie answers Questions about CRST Sexual Harassment case Part II (26)

Despite what the organizations who represent truckers say they are doing, the truth is that “Jason’s Law” needs your Voice to be taken seriously right NOW!

Hope Rivenburg is the young Widow of toddler twins and a 2 year old who has just emerged from her trucker husband’s murder and the trial of his killer who shot him for $7 while he waited to deliver milk parked in an unsafe area.

Hope Rivenburg and her family have fought to raise awareness of the truck parking issue since the senseless murder of her Husband Jason Rivenburg in March 2009. She is asking for your help to make calls and write letters.

There are 4 particulars states she needs YOUR help: Arizona, Washington, Pennsylvania & Virginia.

Our Twitter Campaign on the Virginia topic of rest area closures gained a good deal of attention. This collaborative effort helped to negotiate the reduction of 25 rest area closures to 19. The 2 hour time limit signs were removed & the Virginia Governor has just announced that the remaining rest areas will be reopened using inmate labor to maintain the rest areas that were affected by a budget crisis in Virginia.

This is something to celebrate that Social Media greatly impacted. Each one of us has a voice and we can help by getting involved.

Let’s forge ahead to help Hope Rivenburg who is helping Truckers and anyone who cares about Highway Safety make Safe Trucker Parking a reality.

Please make some time TODAY to make calls and/or write letters and emails to help.

Here are some guidelines to keep it simple:

Write to Congress/Senate

I have provided a link here to Open Congress which has an easy way to “Write Your Representatives & track progress of: JASONS LAW

Whether you will be calling or writing, please prepare with relevant information. Here are some additional tips:

Properly address your letter with the following headings:

To your Representative:                                                 To your Senator:

The Honorable (full name)                                          The Honorable (full name)
(Room #) (Name) House Office Building                             (Room #)(Name) Senate Office Building
United States House of Representatives                              United States Senate
Washington, DC 20515                                                      Washington, DC 20510

Dear Representative:                                                         Dear Senator:

Your letter should address topic of “Jason’s Law H.R. 2156 OR S.971  – The Safe Trucker Parking Bill”. (H.R 2156 to House & S.971 to Senate) Type a one-page letter formatted in a three-paragraph letter structured like this:

1. Say why you are writing and who you are. List your “credentials.” (If you want a response, you must include your name and address, even when using email.) *Understand that if you are not a voter in this Congressperson’s district they may dismiss your letter. Therefore you can do one of two things: Call with prepared talking points and open conversation with: “Hello, I am representing Truckers in your district who …” AND/OR network to others through Facebook and Twitter using hashtags and ask them to help us raise awareness for “Jason’s Law” (this is what we did on Virginia topic)

1. Provide more detail. Be factual not emotional. Provide specific rather than general information about how the topic affects you and others. Use the correct bill number and cite it in your letter. The House Bill is HR 2156 and the Senate Bill is S976 for “Jason’s Law”. The following links are to help you gather CREDIBLE information for your letter or call: A. C-Span Video introduction of the Bill B. Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) introduces “Jason’s Law” C. Text of the Bill was written out on a Conservative website (this bill is a non-partisan no brainer) D. 3 question survey which was prepared by @Longhawl due to the misinformation being spread by “The Trolls on Twitter”.

Close by requesting the action you want taken: In this case we need more co-sponsors for “Jason’s Law”, a vote for the bill to be passed. We are also raising awareness that this issue is urgent. There are some things to remember about effectively writing your elected officials.

DO’s:

1. Remain courteous & respectful but refrain from over doing it.
2. Say who you are. Anonymous letters go nowhere. Even in email, include your correct name, address, phone number and email address. If you don’t include at least your name and address, you will not get a response.
3. Use specific examples or evidence that support why safe trucker parking is important.
4. State that you are ready to help them and other co-sponsors to get Jason’s Law- the Safe Trucker Parking Bill passed and will be following their actions with regards to this important piece of legislation for Highway safety.
5. Thank the member for taking the time to read your letter.

DON’TS:

1. DO NOT Use vulgarity, profanity, or threats. Being rude right off the bat will only discredit any valid points you make later in your letter. Also, making implied threats ARE NOT protected speech and can get you a visit from the Secret Service. Simply stated, don’t let your passion get in the way of making your point.
2. DO NOT Forget to include your name and address, even in an email.
3. DO NOT Demand a response.

All calls, letters and emails are helpful but particularly to Arizona, Pennsylvania, Virginia & Washington. There are 2 Senators for each state. You can locate their Facebook on Google and sometimes on their official contact page.

For  Twitter try TweetCongress to look them up, and use hashtags for to get attention in other subgroups such as: #AZ #Arizona #Phoenix #USBill #HR2156 etc.

U.S. House of Representatives: Contact Information

U.S. Senators: Contact Information

Below I have listed links to give you ideas how you can participate in this action by using Social Media and studying how other are utilizing it as well.

Arizona Senators: Contact Information

John McCain Facebook Twitter

Jon Kyl Facebook Twitter

Pennsylvania Senators: Contact Information

Senator Arlen Specter Facebook Twitter

Senator Robert P. Casey Jr.      Did not locate active FB or Twitter

Virginia Senators: Contact Information

Senator Mark Warner Facebook Twitter

Senator Jim Webb Facebook

Washington Senators: Contact Information

Senator Maria Cantwell            Did not locate active FB or Twitter

Senator Patty Murray Facebook

You can also write to members of the Transportation Committee who you can look up on the links I have provided and the appropriations committee to raise awareness of the importance of this bill. Don’t let truckers be forgotten again when you have a shot right now to be recognized thanks to Social Media.

Remember, our Twitter chatter goes into Google and it’s hard to ignore so if you are for Highway Safety that benefits everyone who travels on the interstate system please help make calls for “Jason’s Law”

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“Talk Less , Listen More” that was the advice to all new trucking students from Mr. John Cooper , dubbed “Cujo”.

This gentleman was “Sam” from my student trucker story on “Ask the Trucker – A Day in the Life of a Lady Trucker“, he passed away unexpectedly Christmas weekend , it was a shock to everyone in our company.

“Cujo” was a dedicated company man, he was one of the first people a student trucker would meet and he was the first person many of us went looking for as our training experience unraveled. Often he could do little more than encourage us to remain optimistic, pick ourselves up and try again. “Cujo” motivated me to keep trying.

I learned to read between the lines with Cujo and because of that I overcame many obstacles which is my student trucker story. He was a man with a great deal of integrity but his hands were tied to make changes. His optimism and upbeat demeanor may have seemed to some that he did not understand but I know he truly cared about the students success. He was simply not in a position to be much more than a figure head, the Ambassador.

So dedicated was Cujo to the company, I never told him I wrote about him or about my story until the night of the first Dan Rather Broadcast. By that time he had seen me overcome many challenging situations. He played a key role in my success with just a few directives.

After my story became public knowledge, I was stopped by a female driver in my company at a North Carolina Fuel Stop who said “You called Cujo , “Sam” after Samuel L. Jackson in your story.” , I smiled and said “Yes, I did”.

I knew what she meant, many drivers looked to Cujo for a hand out “so to speak” rather than a “hand up”. While it was true this man probably heard more firsthand horror stories from the student trucking fleet, he could do little more than try to motivate them to dust themselves off and keep trying. Disregard the rumors, gossip and keep rolling.

It wasn’t any special treatment this man gave, it was what he didn’t say that clued me in that he carried a huge burden. I sensed this right away when I heard him speak at our orientation. I took the initiative to ask him to dispel rumors from day one about our bonuses, the team driving requirement and my reservations about teaming with “Tony”.

When my trainer brought me in short of segments to test out, it was Cujo who said “She got paid good money to teach you and she could not even complete your paperwork”! He saw that I wanted to learn the best way, I did not want to cut corners … it was me who asked to go with a second trainer to iron out the kinks of my poor training.

I waited several days for the second trainer but he never showed, it was Cujo who saw me roaming the halls a few days later and realized that trainer never came for me. It was Cujo who made sure I got a second trainer so I could pass.

When “Tony” had his meltdown, Cujo knew it would happen because he met him, he knew I had made a promise and would not break it. He tried to encourage me to be selfish and think about myself before teaming with “Tony” but I had to give it a shot, seeing how I did promise and we had gone to CDL School together.

When the company attempted to remove me from the truck and give it to “Tony”, it was Cujo who informed me what the correct wording was to utilize to prevent it from occurring again.

Unfortunately, we had one miscommunication that was very unfortunate. When I rode the bus back to re-team with “Mag” it was Easter Weekend. I arrived at 5pm on Friday, everyone had gone home or I would have stopped by to see Cujo.

Following the bleach incident I became aware that “MS” knew that “Mag” had recent problems and could be a potential threat to my safety. “MS” was inapproprately friendly and unfriendly to certain student truckers and this was common knowledge. She booked my tickets, she seated me on the truck with the people she knew were potentially violent or could hinder my success.

It was Cujo who told me “Mag is a crackhead” and “Do not tell “MS” Shit”. WOW!!!!

This was totally out of character for a man like him to use this language. He worked closely with “MS” who is the team coordinator. This was my only point of contact and he was telling me to avoid her at all costs!

He had regrets but with the weekly volume of students and the turnover how could he possibly keep up with it all? He shared just a few candid comments which helped me overcome obstacles, he gave me no special treatment. I sent others with simialr problems to him with this advice. “Cujo is not going to fix the problem, he can’t but he needs to know and then read between the lines of what he is saying to you. “Talk Less, Listen More”.

My last co-driver was a girl Cujo set me up with, after everything I had been through I tried one last time to team up but it was actually a test.

When I returned to the terminal after Hurricane Ike with “CC” I went to see Cujo who had recommended her to me the week before. I spoke with him and another fellow driver/trainer. I told him I was trying to let her take the bull by the horns but she was not stepping up. The trainer said “someone needs to be in charge, be the leader” Cujo interjected “She’s is a leader” meaning me. I was flattered but I admitted that if she does not want to be led it was only provoking her. I told him that her temperament was predisposed so I was trying to let her lead but she showed no initiative. I said “I’m not sure she really wants to drive”. Cujo said “That’s what I thought”.

It was a test! He set me up and he set her up.

I did not always get straight answers from Cujo and sometimes I took my questions elsewhere. I did not give up and he saw that.

I never told him about the story or the show because I did not want him to feel he was hiding something. I called him the evening of the the first Dan Rather Report and explained to him what the emails and qualcomm’s meant. Everyone was confused and many still have no idea there was a show.

He was calm as I told him and wanted to watch the show. Then toward the end of the conversation he said “Girl, you really got em goin around here…” he was absolutlely tickled that something was happening. He carried a very heavy burden.

With regards to the Million Mile Driver I mention in my story, he told me on many occasions “They are screwing her over” and from her when she heard of his passing, she said “He knew a lot of stuff and I know it ate him up”.

Cujo called me late one evening at out nowhere late on November 20th 2009, this was very much out of character for this gentleman who was very much “by the book”.

He wanted to see how I was and what my plans were for the future. He said things I have never heard him say and never imagined he would be the type to be that unguarded.

I didn’t know what to make of the conversation but when I received the news of his sudden passing on Christmas weekend the timing seems to coincide with a diagnosis he received.

Ever the optimist, I understand he was upbeat and downplayed his condition. He never said anything in our phone conversation about it but he spoke in a way that was out of the ordinary. He was clearly distressed. Of course I feel guilt that I did not press him, he obviously needed someone to talk to and I did not hear his wheel squeaking. He died from complications after a treatment for Cancer. It seems he had just been diagnosed with it around the time he called me.

He was a bright light of sunshine despite everything that was going on around him. I would not have been able to overcome the obstacles I faced as a student trucker without Mr. John Cooper, his optimism and few candid moments are key ingredients in my success.

Mr. Cooper passed away in his home in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was 59. He was laid to rest in Montgomery Alabama. He was active with his church and community in numerous organizations including Big Brothers, Big Sisters Organization, the Boys and Girls Club.

Rest in Peace “Cujo” Thank You for touching my life.

 

 

 

 

 

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