Posts Tagged ‘Harassment’
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.
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WIT President Seeks to Benefit from Harassment Judgment in Trucking
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.
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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.
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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