Truck Driver Put Out Of Service ...

What does it mean when your company (not the DOT) puts you, the driver, "out of service?"

-mountain girl

Somehow I had no idea that was the arrangement. I must have missed that in your explanation somewhere along the way. I agree that the sign-on bonus would have made it a moot point and you could have chalked the whole thing up as a marketing gimmick. But not if they pull the bonus. That bonus had to be in writing somewhere, wasn't it?

Were any of their offerings specific to just the terminal you were at?

I wish I knew what to tell you at this point. I would call them and get this over with one way or another. They're either bringing you in to work or they're not. But someone has to make a move.

-Brett Aquila

Back in June, right after I graduated, the Con-way Freight terminal in Henderson, approached my CDL school with two things for its new grads: a new driver salary of $21.87, plus a $3,000 sign-on bonus. My school approached me, as one of their top students with this offer from this particular Con-way Freight terminal. When I called the terminal, this was confirmed. When I interviewed, this was confirmed. When I signed documents in order to start in-processing with their physical, etc., the $21.87 was written in the offer letter, but not the $3,000 bonus. One of the next documents I was to sign was the $3,000 fee for training. In lieu of having been verbally offered the $3,000 bonus, I agreed to the 1-year contract. I even stated out loud that the two would balanced each other out. Everyone made mistakes on a couple of levels. I accepted the offer without making sure the bonus was written into it. They should not have required me to sign a 1-year contract that was really meant for the 12-weekers, not the new-hires with CDLs obtained elsewhere. In the first week of orientation/training, there was no mention of the bonus. In the second week, no mention of the bonus until I brought it up, off-handedly.

I reminded the terminal manager last week, that although the bonus was not put in writing, he and I shook hands on the agreement. While a hand-shake is not as strong of a binding agreement as anything in writing, it is still a business agreement and breaking it would still be a tort. He asked me what I meant by, "We shook hands on this." I explained that he shook hands on the $3,000 bonus with me, the driver manager who hired me shook hands on it with me, the admin supervisor shook hands with me, and they all shook hands on it with my CDL school that was going to start sending them new grads, based on this offer. I reminded him that a handshake is still a binding, legal, business agreement. He didn't like that but it's true.

I spoke to the HR rep, as per their procedure following an investigation, 2 days after I was put "out of service" when I finally got hold of her, on the phone. That means, I spoke to her on Thursday, last week. She asked me for a written statement. I decided with the way they'd treated me so far, I was not going to put anything in writing. I called her on Friday and offered no contest to their failed final exam results and she said I'd hear from the terminal manager by Tuesday. It's Thursday now. I called her back this morning. She said I should have heard from the terminal manager by now and that she'd call him and I'd hear from him today.

Based on what my CDL school director told me on Tuesday when I went to their job fair, I believe I am being used as a pawn. No kidding. The CDL school director told me that the driver manager called her and said he "wanted to make it right" between the school and the terminal. The school director started to say that the terminal driver manager had said he wanted to make it right "with me, too" but stopped just short of including me in that statement. I believe, based on my intuition, that my employer is trying to find a way to keep me on, give me a second chance to pass my skills, etc. and in turn, maintain a favorable relationship with my CDL school. This is a very strange feeling, to sort of know that this is what's happening and I'm not comfortable with it. If they don't fire me, they make my school happy and they can still hold me to the $3k contract for a year. Meanwhile, they can continue to "mess" with me the entire time I'm working for them, setting me up for a fall, along the way. If I quit, I am still obligated to repay them the 3k. This is extremely uncool and makes my stomach turn.

I really despise these kinds of games and I don't want to remain employed with a terminal that operates this way. If they offer me the opportunity to stay on with them, I might insist that they indemnify me of any obligation to that $3k, in writing, even if I quit of my own free will, thereby making that part of the contract null and void. That way, if they continue to mess with me, I can simply quit and move on.

See why I haven't quit on my own yet and have stuck it out till they fire me?

-mountain girl

Yeah that's a shame. But ya know....it seems like when you're not on the right path in life nothing works. You fight and claw and scratch and no matter what you do it keeps falling apart. Then you decide the heck with it, go in a different direction, and suddenly it's like someone flipped a switch and everything falls into place. There's no way to explain it scientifically but it's happened to me many times over the years. My ma and I have talked about that for years.

So maybe you'll go in a different direction by finding a new company and things will fall into place nicely for you.

One way or another things will work out great. You'll keep working hard until you've accomplished what you set out to do and that's the most important thing. I've always been one to make a lot of major life changes at one time - like change directions in an instant. My ma has always asked me, "Doesn't it scare you to death to ditch everything and start over like that?" It doesn't because for me the most important thing is the process. I focus on working hard, learning all I can, moving my life forward, challenging myself, and experiencing new things. In the end, regardless of how things ultimately turn out, I will learn a ton. I'll build my knowledge base, my experience base, and my character. I'll meet new people, pick up new skills, and have a lot of fun doing it. Ultimately I'll use all of that on my next adventure, and the next, and the next. As you go along you should be getting smarter, stronger, more skilled, more savvy, and more confident in your abilities. If you keep that up long enough you're going to be hugely successful in life and have a ton of fun along the way. You'll also have a lifetime of great stories and memories.

So stick it out and keep moving forward. Nobody's career was ever ruined because it didn't work at one particular company. You move on, they move on, the world keeps turning - who cares, right? No big deal. You'll be on the highway before you know it piloting your own rig and life will be grand.

Hey, thanks for the thoughts Brett, MRC, RT, HM. You're right, Brett. Nothing went right, starting with the night before my first day when I was sick as a dawg and then sick throughout that week. Followed by the next Monday when one of my kids went to the hospital in an ambulance. Blablabla. The whole thing was never-ending chaos management. In comparison, when I went to CDL school, everrrrything fell into place, every day.

I did get my answer on the "out of service" status. It means I'm still employed with the company but not earning any pay.

However, it's all moot now. They finally let me go. Terminated.

I was a good girl. I said nothing derogatory. I simply had a few questions about the contract and he said it's stated in that contract that if I'm terminated, I don't owe the 3k. I asked for a copy of that and he said they'd provide me with it. I offered the fact that I still had the keys to the shed (a shed in the back of the yard with supplies for the drivers to make minor repairs with). He was surprised that I brought it up myself and didn't know I still had them but sounded grateful. I asked how the company was going to report my termination to the DAC and said he'd get that answer from HR for me but that it sounded fairly generic.

I kept it really low key. I wanted to leave him wondering if they'd made a mistake. I wanted to leave them with them wishing I could have stayed, as the terminal manager will still have the issues he does, with the trainers themselves. When I'm gone, their problems will not leave with me because terminating me does not end their problems.

This has been an extremely long 2 and a-half-weeks. NOT working is exhausting. Sheesh.

Although I've complained about some misbehavior at that terminal, Con-way Freight still does do many, many things right and for those things, I wish I could have stayed. (That's not a political statement, either. I really mean that.)

Just so you know .. ...? My first reaction when we hung up:

-mountain girl

It could mean your truck is in the shop, or your truck is parked because you are teaming to get the load delivered, or, you should start looking for another source of income.

It could mean your truck is in the shop, or your truck is parked because you are teaming to get the load delivered, or, you should start looking for another source of income.

RT

LOL. Sto-op. You KNOW why I'm asking. They put me "out of service" but haven't notified me of anything else in a week. I think they're trying to decide "what to do with me." LOL.

I'm afraid to call them and ask because I don't want to tip the scales in any direction by doing so. ...It's like dating ...LMAO. I can't make the first call.

-mountain girl

It could mean your truck is in the shop, or your truck is parked because you are teaming to get the load delivered, or, you should start looking for another source of income.

RT

LOL. Sto-op. You KNOW why I'm asking. They put me "out of service" but haven't notified me of anything else in a week. I think they're trying to decide "what to do with me." LOL.

I'm afraid to call them and ask because I don't want to tip the scales in any direction by doing so. ...It's like dating ...LMAO. I can't make the first call.

-mountain girl

Well, did you read the last part? Damn driver. Shake it off...

It could mean your truck is in the shop, or your truck is parked because you are teaming to get the load delivered, or, you should start looking for another source of income.

RT

LOL. Sto-op. You KNOW why I'm asking. They put me "out of service" but haven't notified me of anything else in a week. I think they're trying to decide "what to do with me." LOL.

I'm afraid to call them and ask because I don't want to tip the scales in any direction by doing so. ...It's like dating ...LMAO. I can't make the first call.

-mountain girl

Well, did you read the last part? Damn driver. Shake it off...

No, seriously! They have me by the ...the "...testicular fortitude." I can't quit. I have to wait till they fire me because I signed a danged contract. Sheesh, if I'm going to be sitting around all day, at least I could do it behind the wheel . Argh!

-mountain girl

A contract for what? Are they going to reimburse for school?

A contract for what? Are they going to reimburse for school?

-RT

Nope. At the time of my hiring, they had me sign a contract whereby I promised to re-pay them $3k for THEIR new driver training program. This didn't seem like a big deal, since they had offered a $3k signing bonus as part of their marketing. However, afffter I'd been there for a week and a half, they told me that corporate re-neg'd on the bonus. The $3k re-pay I agreed to still didn't seem like a big deal until they put me out-of-service last Tuesday. I'm in limbo because they haven't officially fired me yet. If I quit, I owe them. If they let me go, I don't owe them. If they decide to keep me on with them, well, then, I still have a job... ...until I ditch them on day 366. Ha! LOL.

-mountain girl

A contract for what? Are they going to reimburse for school?

-RT

Nope. At the time of my hiring, they had me sign a contract whereby I promised to re-pay them $3k for THEIR new driver training program. This didn't seem like a big deal, since they had offered a $3k signing bonus as part of their marketing. However, afffter I'd been there for a week and a half, they told me that corporate re-neg'd on the bonus. The $3k re-pay I agreed to still didn't seem like a big deal until they put me out-of-service last Tuesday. I'm in limbo because they haven't officially fired me yet. If I quit, I owe them. If they let me go, I don't owe them. If they decide to keep me on with them, well, then, I still have a job... ...until I ditch them on day 366. Ha! LOL.

-mountain girl

I see Mountain Girl, Forgive my dumbassness, but, was this a company sponsored school? If, not, you owe them nothing. get with another company then tell Conway you are resigning (literal meaning).

...That's why I ask, what does "out of service" mean. I'm wondering if I'm being paid during that time... or am I simply in an unpaid but still with the company, status. Plthlthlthlth.... I know my situation is being investigated and reviewed. I was told I'd hear from them by Tues or Wed but not a word. The whole thing is a bit strange...

-mountain girl

was this a company sponsored school?

-RT

In a sense, yes. This was a new-driver training program for drivers who had just received their CDL. I got my CDL privately, got hired with cnwy, then started their 5-week training for new CDL drivers. This $3k contract outraged my prior CDL school, btw because they said it was unnecessary since we already had our CDLs. It was supposed to be new company driver training but cnwy treated it like a school, in a sense.

-mountain girl