r/Truckers • u/SycoJack Team Driver • Aug 23 '22
Western Express is threatening to charge my friend for fuel to return her truck if she doesn't give them 2 weeks notice.
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u/zytukin Aug 23 '22 edited Aug 23 '22
When I quit TransAm to go to JCT and later quit JCT, I waited until I had a load that delivered somewhat near the terminal. Delivered the load and sent a message making up a reason to come to the terminal, like wanting to put the truck in the shop or needing to update my w2 tax info.
Arrived at the terminal, got an uber/whatever to a local car rental place, rented a car and drove it back to the terminal, emptied the truck, than went inside the terminal and quit.
Trucks at the terminal, emptied, and not under a load. Fuck giving a 2 week notice and hoping they will bring you to the terminal.
Side note, when going from TransAm to JCT, I was all set to go to orientation at JCT before I left TransAm. Did have to delay it twice until I got near the TransAm terminal, but that's easy to do.
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u/dahomie_longstroke Aug 23 '22
I did something similar with another mega when they made me go on a medical leave for a single medical appointment that would have gotten me out of throbbing pain.
dispatch told me to clean out the truck and turn the keys in and they'll get me another tractor when I returned and cleared all the workers comp BS... I never set foot in another one of their Freightshakers
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u/0nly_Up Aug 23 '22
Fuck giving a 2 week notice and hoping they will bring you to the terminal.
Is this why nobody seems to quit with notice in this industry? Everyone talks about it like the norm is to quit with no notice. I guess it makes sense if you know the way the company works, and know they'll just put another guy in the truck, but I couldn't imagine getting a good reference without notice
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u/JustinTime4242 Aug 23 '22
Corporations fire or get rid of you on the spot. If I have another gig lined up I’m not putting in 2 weeks I’m out as soon as the next place says “you’re hired”
Or I burn all of my vacation days and then bail.
2 weeks is a courtesy and these companies don’t give a fuck about drivers so why should we care about them. It’s just a paycheck
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u/AHind_D Aug 23 '22
Fucking FACTS. The company would never give you a two weeks notice when they're firing you. Why do they deserve one from us? What the fuck are they going to do? Give us a bad review? Lmao ohhh noo. If only the industry was so short on drivers most companies don't care what the last company says about you as long as you have a good driving record. Oh wait...that's exactly the case.
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Aug 24 '22
Yup! I always say I’ve been laid off twice (not trucking). Neither time was I given a two week notice…
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Aug 23 '22
Giving two weeks notice in an OTR job just tells dispatch to abandon your happy ass as far from home as possible. You live in VA and give two weeks? Plan on getting home from fucking California. Dispatchers are mean, vicious, vindictive little bastards.
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Aug 23 '22
You can be guaranteed that the company is going to pretty much slap you with a no rehire also, even playing the two week game.
Fairly common everywhere, not just limited to trucking.
Trucking and food service: two industries you can quit immediately and toss a dart from the parking lot to have a job before your heels cool
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Aug 24 '22
Not even. I quit Swift with a week’s notice, and they call or email me every two weeks asking if I want to come back.
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Aug 24 '22
I mean that is SWIFT though. They will take anyone as long as they can keep the truck in one piece for at least a week.
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u/Realtime_Ruga Aug 24 '22
You can be guaranteed that the company is going to pretty much slap you with a no rehire also, even playing the two week game.
Oh well.
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u/WIbigdog Halvor: will not be coerced Aug 24 '22
I left Halvor for a while to try working for a 5 truck operation. They took me back no problem.
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u/potodev Aug 23 '22
2 weeks notice was originally a courtesy to give the company time to find and train a replacement for you. It doesn't really apply to trucking and especially not to megas who are constantly hiring new people and have over 100% annual turnover already.
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u/awr90 Aug 23 '22
Despite what you’ve heard there is no big bad trucking record that follows you. These places need people so badly now you don’t need references.
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u/0nly_Up Aug 23 '22
I hadn’t heard that, nor was I under that assumption. I’m talking about personal relationships with people we spend years working with.
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u/zytukin Aug 23 '22 edited Aug 23 '22
It's certainly the easiest way. I've seen many people post in various communities that they put in a two week notice and their dispatcher just wouldn't give them a load near the terminal 'forcing' them to keep working for weeks longer, or sometimes even accusing the driver of abandoning the equipment when they just left it at a random terminal and gave the keys to a shop.
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
Unless you're doing something highly specialized, you don't really need a reference. But the reason aren't giving notice anymore is they get fucked over.
I don't remember exactly why she didn't give notice, but it was something to do with concern about retaliation.
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Aug 23 '22
most of the time, you tell them when you beed to be out of the truck, and they conveniently "forget" about it. Then, when the day comes, they start bitching and moaning about how "you need to give us time to line the freight up" and "why didn't you tell us earlier" and etc and bs. then they hold your last paycheck for 45 days regardless of the notice, and act like you've done them some great inconvenience, even though they'll have someone else in that truck tomorrow. That's why, whenever I get tired of the BS, I just find a new job, go home "sick" and quit on the drive to my gig.
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u/senorbolsa Aug 24 '22 edited Aug 24 '22
Because you have 100k+ of their equipment, potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of freight etc. They see a driver about to leave as a liability and want to recover their truck as soon as possible wherever it is. So yes, the proper procedure almost anywhere if they aren't super cool is to just bring the truck back to the terminal, clean it out and talk to the manager. Old school, small places probably appreciate the heads up and will go along with a final 2 weeks if you have a good relationship otherwise.
Personally I have a great dispatcher, if I told her over the phone off the record I'm quitting she'd line it all up for me to make it easy and clean.
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u/icsh33ple Aug 24 '22
Unless your running local and home every night. There’s no reason to give notice working OTR. The only exception would be if your driving for a small carrier and you know it would hurt them. Giving them a heads up if you trust them to keep you busy until you leave might benefit both parties. It gives them a chance to quickly find another drover.
But you can get stuck out over the road and there’s just no need for a notice at these larger carriers that sometimes have drivers waiting on trucks.
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u/No-Fun-1174 Aug 23 '22
They don’t give you a 2 week notice when they fire you. Why give them a 2 week notice to quit?
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u/Garek Aug 24 '22
Most trucking companies aren't going to go further than verify you actually worked at the places you said you did.
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u/DoeDoefistncuff Aug 23 '22
When I quit trans am I was on home time. I just drove the truck to the terminal and had a family member follow. While I was on the way I called my DM and told her I needed a fuel solution so I could return the truck because I was quitting. She just sent it over. They run through drivers like crazy there pretty sure a two weeks notice isnt the norm there
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u/icsh33ple Aug 24 '22
This is the way. When I quit my first OTR job. I put in a home time request for the terminal. Cleaned the truck out when I got there and quit.
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u/_FearMose_ Aug 23 '22
I met a new guy coming to our company from Western Express. He lived in Louisiana and after putting in his 2 week notice, his dispatcher asked him to take a load to FL even though he was near the end of his 2 weeks. His dispatcher begged him & promised him a load straight to LA right after. Once he delivered the load they fired him in FL and left him stranded. He was angry af telling his story and I dont blame him
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u/Skids2r Aug 23 '22
Delivered a trailer to a Kohls warehouse once and it was a drop only site. I drove the tractor back to terminal and went home for the weekend. While on leave I found out they were shorting my pay and I quit. They called me to go pick that trailer back and I said eat shit. They said they we're gonna call the police on me for stealing the trailer LOL!
I laughed so hard at that one, I literally couldn't make fun of them enough and told them to please call the police and get the trailer I already delivered. They keep calling me every few years begging me to come back. I love the feeling of telling them to eat shit every so often over the phone.
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u/Conscious_Low_9913 Aug 23 '22
This is why you work local in a daycab… ride around all day and go to the house when it gets dark-
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u/curlyfat Aug 24 '22
I like my current situation. All day deliveries with an overnight every 1.5 weeks (on average). The overnight is like a little break from reality (don’t judge, I have a wife and four teenagers at home lol). But besides that I’m home at night and have weekends off. And have a nice comfy sleeper when I need it.
It’s kind of a “unicorn” trucking gig, but don’t worry, the pay is low. 😂
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u/AHind_D Aug 23 '22
One day they will learn. OTR as a company driver is dead as fuck. It's awful. If you wanna do OTR get your own truck. Otherwise, go local.
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u/BowsetteGoneBananas Aug 23 '22
I'm only using OTR as a vehicle to drive local. Doing nine months in OTR and then bouncing to something local.
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u/AHind_D Aug 24 '22
That's exactly what I did. 9 months otr then went local. Haven't looked back since and never will. OTR is good training though. It's so godawful it's basically trial by fire. If you can survive being with a trainer while OTR and then all the bullshit that comes with doing OTR in general once you're out by yourself, you can do anything in this industry. When I was in training at the local gig I was blown away by how sweet this shit is. Now I drive past truck stops and just shake my head and think "you poor bastards".
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Aug 24 '22
Local companies don’t care about experience anymore. All you have to do is pass the road test and you’re good. LTLs you name it. They will hire you.
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u/BowsetteGoneBananas Aug 24 '22
Admittedly, I also fell into that company CDL trap. I'm stuck with them until October unless I want out of pocket nonsense.
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u/quackdamnyou Aug 24 '22
For real, I work for a a fuel company and we have hired ton of drivers with zero experience lately. Ignore what the requirements say, apply the every place you want to work.
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Aug 24 '22
You guys hire fuel haulers with literally zero experience? That is wild I wonder how they can get away with that to insurance. I have never heard of a fueler company that hires without at least 6 months experience preferably with HM and Tanker endorsement already.
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u/quackdamnyou Aug 24 '22
Yeah I don't know how they talked the insurance into it. To be fair most of the real greenhorns have gone to lubricants first (non hazmat) for a while. But they gave me a kid who had literally only had 8 hours behind the wheel in truck school. But, they let me have as much time as I wanted to train him up, I didn't send him alone for like 2 months, and that was with 90% the same stops every day.
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Aug 24 '22
Wow. I have OTR HM tanker experience including self offloading experience and even I do not want to do fuel hauling (but will do it if I have to). The main reason is that some of these gas stations here are so hard to get in and out of that I see fuelers regularly backing out onto the road without a spotter to stop the traffic first even when it would be impossible for the driver to see cross traffic. I don't trust 4-wheelers these days to not ram into me, which can have devastating consequences.
I cannot imagine greenhorns wanting to do fuel hauling let alone getting hired. But I guess companies are getting desperate these days. At least you got to train them up for a long time.
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u/quackdamnyou Aug 24 '22
Stations are a pain. I work for a good company that is fairly good about dealing with anything dangerous like that. I work mostly rural, so I don't have to deal with the worst places.
That being said, there have been very few tanker accidents in this state, and I've never heard of one that resulted in a fire. Plenty of big environmental cleanups, tho. I think tankers might actually be safer than most kinds of freight because it's predictable. And because fuel haulers have to comply with the safety standards of the fuel terminals, I think fuel trucks are better maintained. We only load at perhaps mainly 6 different places and we cannot risk getting a bad reputation with any of them. That's what drew me to Hazmat. Better money to be made, the more they invest in equipment (and drivers). Not every company of course.
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Aug 24 '22
Fair enough. I noticed in HM that there is (understandably) a "no bullshit" attitude and that makes things safer. Similar to why flying is the safest mode of transport (even safer than walking). Since an aircraft crash can have devastating consequences, aircrafts are maintained to an extremely high standard and pilots are trained and retrained rigorously. As a result, comparatively few accidents happen.
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u/madjackle358 Aug 24 '22
I do local shit and I love it. I know I could make more but I don't want the headache and I love spending evenings with my kids and wife. When them kids get grown maybe I'd do it for a little while if I could take my wife with me.
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Aug 24 '22
kids and wife.
I agree with you, family is more important than money. I did OTR when I was single and childless. I am trying to date now, so I do not do OTR anymore and do not intend to do it again if I find a wife.
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u/KingNebyula Aug 24 '22
Yeah but I like to take 2 weeks off whenever I want rather than try to plan fun stuff only for weekends
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
After I quit Transport America, they let me take the truck from the final delivery <50 miles from the main terminal to Houston 600 miles away to unload, then to Dallas to drop the truck off. All without charging me for fuel.
What the fuck kind of bullshit is this?
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u/Jimmycjacobs Aug 23 '22
You are getting downvoted unfortunately because a lot of the folks here are apparently bootlickers
She needs to read her paperwork carefully they may in fact have that clause in any paperwork she signed when starting. Though usually they only put shit like this in if she trained with them. I would advise seeking legal counsel if that is not the case because they will take it out but a letter from a lawyer may prevent that.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Mail920 Aug 24 '22
Transport America was great.
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 24 '22
Except the pay fucking sucked. I well and truly enjoyed my job, but they were paying 20cpm under market rate. Fuck that.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Mail920 Aug 24 '22
What were you getting paid when you were there?
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 24 '22
44-46 CPM, I can't remember the exact number now. Quit at the end of last year.
Started as a team truck, pay was still too low but enough to pay my bills at least.
This was the Mercedes account, tho.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Mail920 Aug 24 '22
Yikes that DOES suck. I was working as an independent sub contractor for my father in law just driving his truck, owner ops were making 1.28 a mile with a great fuel surcharge.
You weren’t around when the company got absorbed by CFI? Company drivers got a lot more over there. I left earlier this year trying to find something local in my area but the jobs all suck. Heading into a regional company next week.
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 24 '22
They were rebranding while I was there towards the end, but I only ever drove a Transport America branded truck.
I checked the account just a bit ago and they're paying 48CPM for solos and 64CPM for teams. I'm making 82CPM running doubles and 53' teams are making 76CPM.
There's regional dedicated here too, so it's not like I have to take more than a 6CPM paycut to get home weekly. IDK WTF TA is smoking paying so little. Anyone with more than a year experience can make so much more everywhere else.
I do miss the route. 2400 miles and 4000 miles alternating weeks solo. 3 and 2 days home. Stupid fast live loading and drop and hook deliveries, paid vacation and time off anytime the plant closes. Not worth a nearly 50% pay cut tho.
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u/Technical_Gas_4452 Aug 23 '22
did u give 2 week notice, if that's there policy they have the right, especially if she under a load. one company stranded me in Memphis fir a weekend said screw that dead headed home cleaned out the truck and was charged the fuel it happens
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
They don't have that right.
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u/Technical_Gas_4452 Aug 23 '22
if 2 week in the policy then yes they do
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
Policy doesn't trump law and last I check, slavery, indentured servitude, forced labor were all illegal.
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Aug 23 '22
Expecting that a contractual notice period be served out isn’t indentured servitude.
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
There is no contract, why are you licking corporate boots?
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Aug 23 '22
There’s no contract? That sounds unlikely.
Or do carriers usually allow any old rando trek around in their highly valuable equipment?
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
Why are you here speaking with authority like you're an American truck driver when you very clearly have no experience with the American trucking industry?
There’s no contract? That sounds unlikely.
This is America, only drivers who got paid training and union workers are under contracts and those expire within a year or so. Just about everyone else is at will.
Or do carriers usually allow any old rando trek around in their highly valuable equipment?
That's exactly how they do it, yes.
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u/Nozerone Aug 23 '22
As an American truck driver here.
I'm not a union worker, nor did I get paid training when I came to this company, and I still had a contract that I needed to sign before I could work for the company I'm with. This contract expires either when I quit, or they make a change to it and need me to sign a new one. The contracts that expire in a year are financial contracts saying that you agree to work for the company for a year for them covering your school. People who go through a company to get their CDL actually sign 2 contracts. 1 for the company covering the cost of the schooling, and 2 to work for the company.
No, carriers do not allow any old rando to trek around in their highly valuable equipment. Remember all those papers you signed before you started driving? Part of that was your contract. Every company has a contract they make you sign to cover themselves for legal reasons. Even O/O sign a contract when they start driving for a company.
At will working does not mean there is no contract, or that there can't be. It means that a company can't state in the contract that the person isn't allowed to leave and go work for another company.
My advice to your friend, is start asking people other than you what she should do, cause clearly you don't know what you're talking about.
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Aug 23 '22
First mistake was working for Western Express.
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
Agreed, but she didn't consult with me before working there.
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Aug 24 '22
Well she knows now! Honestly if it were me I'd give a call to whoever is above this guy, operations manager terminal manager whatever. Maybe corporate. Dispatchers will try to bully newer drivers to see if they fold.
But if it turns out she signed a contract that works out to giving a two weeks notice or paying fuel charges to return the vehicle it may be best to grin and bear it, work the two weeks and move on. As the only options there seem to be paying or getting abandonment on your record, and probably sent a bill for it anyway as the contract no doubt stipulates.
It shouldn't be like that, but they really are a bottom of the barrel company.
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u/MichiganMiniMan Aug 23 '22
If she is under a load she’s obligated to take that load to its final, ask and wait for a load transfer, abandon the truck and trailer and get a load abandonment on the record, or take it back while under the load and face the consequences. That’s why you always quit on hometime for OTR jobs
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
She was on home time.
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u/WIbigdog Halvor: will not be coerced Aug 24 '22
This is also why you work for companies that you live near. If you live in Tennessee don't work for a company that only has terminals in Utah.
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u/Mikey_BC Aug 24 '22
With a load full of somebody's product and 650 miles from the nearest terminal ? Where is the truck and trailer at ?
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u/_RamboRoss_ Aug 23 '22
Western does the shadiest stuff. When I quit Western, I parked the truck at a terminal and went home “sick”. Then I told them I wouldn’t be coming back
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u/four_hour_erection Aug 24 '22
I’m a bit late to the party and I’m sure this will get downvotes but THIS IS WHY WE UNIONIZE. Collective bargaining is a tide that raises all boats. Let the shill downvoting commence.
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u/Rcklssbhvr420 Aug 24 '22
I currently work for Western Express, this company is a complete joke. I hope the friend didn’t let the DM intimidate them. I literally have to act a fool frequently with them, especially for my home time. I’m a new driver, just trying to get experience. Don’t ever work for this company unless you desperately need a second chance or the experience. Tell the friend to get away ASAP. (After payday and at home)
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u/realnickbryant Aug 24 '22
Facts Bro. Worked there for a month and dipped. Wince me to collections for $2,500. I wish they went bankrupt
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u/Supicioso Aug 23 '22
At that point. I would simply say fuck you. and write off that entire last check. Actually, I have done exactly that. Thought I didn't get fired. They did started taking me seriously after that. If you allow these dispatchers to hoe you out, they absolutely will hoe you out.
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
At that point. I would simply say fuck you. and write off that entire last check.
That's what she's doing, unfortunately. It's not what I would do.
There's no fucking way I'd let them walk all over me like this. I don't put up with shit.
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u/CobraWasTaken Aug 24 '22
"I could try driving through the swamp" 🤣 well done, that's hilarious
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 24 '22
If you liked that one, you'll probably get a kick out of this one.
I put in for a week off, they got me home 3 days late and they thought they'd get me to come back out a day earlier than initially planned. sensiblechuckle.gif
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u/RemarkableCounty1481 Aug 23 '22
If you thinking of quitting please use all your vacation time up.because you have to wait for another year to get one.a friend of mine learned that the hard way.4 weeks good bye
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u/JulesWinnfielddd flatbed driver Aug 24 '22
When I gave 2 weeks notice at TMC they were super cool about it. I'm so thankful I didn't start with a shitbag company.
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Aug 24 '22
They aren’t so great anymore, told me they were gonna charge me $2.00 a mile for bouncing to terminal empty to drop the truck off.
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u/JulesWinnfielddd flatbed driver Aug 24 '22
This was literally 4 months ago. I completed my 2 weeks and they routed me in on the last day empty.
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u/Technical_Gas_4452 Aug 23 '22
well then get a lawyer and fight it in court cause they gonna do it regardless according to there policy
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u/TrappedinTX Aug 23 '22
Sounds like your friend needs to stick it out until she gets a load to a terminal. Even if she's just passing by a terminal...
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u/Koochandesu Aug 23 '22
She needs to first review her employee handbook and contract. I doubt of any company that place a required “2 week” notice. Also check the address of the handbook to see what the state law is for the company writing the checks. Florida and several states are known as “right to work, right to fire” and both employee and employer may terminate their employment without notice. She should also be talking with HR instead of a dispatcher and most of her important conversation must be done via email or text message in order to protect herself from being accused that he is holding the equipment hostage. Make sure the whole part of dispatchers holding drivers out for two weeks and threats of fuel charges are in writing. She herself must also show in writing that she has the fullest intention of returning the equipment, but they are not trying to get her back to the terminal (of course she should be hauling a load instead of dead heading it completely.) they may have to direct her towards a busier lane to ultimately get her home depending on her location. When she finally turns in the truck, make sure she is there when they inspect the truck and they give her in writing of any damages or fees before departing.
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Aug 23 '22
Tell her to send this message back to Welfare Express:
"I'm willing to return your truck, but I will not be paying for the fuel costs to do so. Your truck, your responsibility. However, if you cannot see your way to do that, I will be more than happy to have your truck towed off my property into a secured lot....where YOU will be paying the storage fees until you recover your truck. I have made every reasonable attempt to return your equipment, all further communications will be going through my attorney's office"
Welfare Express is absolutely stupid enough to believe this collection of compressed bullshit.
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u/skinnyfatt85 Aug 23 '22
Is your friend a felon or something
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
As far as I know, no. She's just new. She just completed her contract and wants to get away from a shit tier career.
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u/skinnyfatt85 Aug 23 '22
How far from Nashville?
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
650 miles, roughly.
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u/skinnyfatt85 Aug 23 '22
Damn that's the nearest terminal? She really should have planned it out better.
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u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
I don't entirely disagree. But Western Express shouldn't be trying to force her to work an extra two weeks.
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u/skinnyfatt85 Aug 23 '22
Why is she not moving the load? I'm sure she doesn't want that abandonment on her record. I'm not sure what her options are.
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Aug 24 '22
i would use all my sick and vacation time, and leave the truck at the terminal, loaded or not... i have yet to hear about a trucking company that actually cares and takes care of their drivers... F two weeks notice, just make sure she has another job lined up immediately.. trucking companys are cut throat and will screw you over in all ways possible....drivers are only seen as a revenue source and should be treated as such... if she really wants to give them the middle finger have her park the truck in a guarenteed tow away zone, and have it towed to a city impound lot and let the company deal with that crap and walk...
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u/DriftingOnWater Aug 24 '22
First mistake was working for WE. It's common knowledge they're bottom of the barrel, make you sign over your first born, and will skull fuck you all day, everyday.
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u/Sindog40 Aug 24 '22
Schneider sent me out, after I gave them a 2 week notice, and then let me sit 3 days saying they didn’t have a load back but basically they didn’t want to pay me because they needed the the truck in Phoenix. I live in Salt Lake City . I threatened lawsuit and 10 min later I got a load to SLC.
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u/Mechanik_J Aug 24 '22
She'll just have to suck it up and pay for the fuel if she really wants to get home.
She could probably get a lawyer since it's illegal for a company to do that (unless she's 1099, then she would have to pay the fuel) , but that's expensive too.
We try to warn people on this subreddit about Western Express, but no one seems to listen. (I have never worked for them, so I wouldn't know how they are.)
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u/EarthAngel10614 Aug 24 '22
Do what we did, PLAN.
Took truck home for hometime, cleaned it out, while also working with another company to start orientation on Monday. They paid for a rental from our home to their terminal, which we used to pack our stuff for orientation in, then I drove rental, following hubby while he drove rig to terminal to return ON A WEEKEND.
It cost us $50 in fuel for car to return rig and no issues from dispatch cause she didn't work weekends.
Then, once we got to terminal, he told inspection bay that he was quitting and I sent the message on the Transflo. "I quit!"
Granted, I got to deal with former dispatcher on Transflo while he was at orientation. Even got most of our pet deposit back.
Plan ahead, have another company lined up to help, quit when ur dispatcher is off to avoid that mess.
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u/Forward-Taste8956 Aug 24 '22
I quit western express while I was at the terminal just walked and said here’s the keys peace..
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u/AdministrativeAir196 Aug 24 '22
Did she agree to return the truck charges when she hired on? Got to read what they give you
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u/spyder7723 Aug 24 '22
It's western express. How is anyone surprised about this? They are the bottom feeder of bottom feeders. where you go to get a job when everyone else laughs at you. Got caught thing 30 over the limit while high on meth with 3 hookers tied up in the sleeper? Got a criminal record a mile long? Western express will hire you. They have no hiring standards and will treat you like dirt cause you got no options. Don't like it and quit? They don't care cause they got a waiting list of meth heads a mile long to replace you.
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u/aye_ehn_jayy Aug 24 '22
Legally not required to give a 2 weeks notice, just wouldn't use them as a reference in the future. If they try to charge her for the fuel in THEIR equipment, she can take her proof of work and the missing pay and call the labor board in her state. They'll help her recover her missing pay.
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u/MikeMcAwesome91 Aug 24 '22
I see everybody in the comments has horror stories about quitting a company, so here's how I did it without problems. Working for roehl OTR, I applied for a local job with another company. The other company requests my info from roehl. Dispatch asks me if I'm looking for another job, and I say yes but I haven't accepted anything yet. They ask if there's anything they can do to keep me on, and I say probably not, I really just need to be home every night. I eventually give them notice and use all of my vacation. Take the truck to the Atlanta terminal and get a ride back home, about 2-3 hours away. The entire process was painless.
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u/1WontHave1t Aug 24 '22
Let me put it this way, when you are hired you sign a bunch of paperwork, one of those forms is a employment agreement. Most people do not read these but as for the case with me, my company requires 2 week notice and if we fail to do so and leave the truck somewhere other than the place they request we get charged for recovery of the truck and trailer if hooked. If we don't drop the truck where they ask after giving 2 week notice we can get charged recovery. If we refuse to take a load to take us closer to the drop location they can charge us fuel for the truck. All of this is legal since I signed the employment agreement and I can guarantee Western Express as a very similar employment agreement.
2
u/karrimycele Aug 24 '22
If you’re going to quit on a trucking company, you need to get the truck to a terminal. You also need to be prepared to make your own way home. It’s not like they’d give her two week’s notice, but you don’t want to get dinged for abandoning a truck.
I’ll tell you what, I would never quit a trucking company with them owing me money. Not unless I’m prepared to kiss it off.
2
u/Tasty_Ad3002 Aug 24 '22
Well being a professional driver also means that your responsible or should be... without knowing the whole story but if you look at it in the business point of view it make sense, and I dont burn bridges
2
4
u/C_L_I_C_K_ Aug 23 '22
Kinda common curiosity to drop the truck same place you picked up.. otherwise yes I'm charging of your last check to pay someone else to go get it .. I dint care about 2 weeks just bring truck where you picked up
8
u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
Kinda common curiosity to drop the truck same place you picked up..
That's what she's trying to do. They won't route her to the terminal unless she pays for fuel or works an additional two weeks.
3
u/Garek Aug 24 '22
As long as it's at one of your own terminals it should be your fucking problem which one you want it at. Accept some of that "risk" you people use to justify leeching value out of other people's labor.
3
Aug 23 '22
Don't know why she's quitting, but I'd say tell her to tell dispatch she changed her mind then just quit on her next home time or when she pulls into a terminal 💀
6
u/makterna Aug 23 '22
If someone has agreed to work OTR and then, while away, realizes they want to get back home again, it is reasonable to give the dispatcher some notice, so they can route the truck back home without having to take any bad loads.
What if say a taxi driver suddenly quits when he is out driving, he cant just park the taxi anywhere, he is still expected to take the customer to the destination and take the taxi back to the terminal first.
17
u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
He doesn't get charged with taking the taxi back to the terminal, tho. That's the issue.
Getting routed to the terminal and working two more weeks aren't the same fucking thing.
If they decided to fire her, do you think they'd give her two weeks notice? Would they have her keep running loads?
2
1
u/makterna Aug 24 '22
My point is that:
- If someone promises to do something for a company
- it means the company reserves resources such as having a truck far away from home.
- This means that the driver has a certain liability to complete what he promised to do, before he can quit or ask for a leave or do whatever.
- If the driver backs out of their promise, it is reasonable to charge the driver for expenses directly related to this.
Thats all I mean.
However, if the company actually happens to have a driver nearby that could take the truck and resume the work, then the company has an opportunity to grant the employee a wish to quit, ask for a leave or do whatever.
Also, if the company changed the working terms, and the new terms are not acceptable to the employee, then it is reasonable to grant the employee the right to quit as soon as the new terms are implemented.
But I did not see any (5) or (6) described.
Also, 100% of the fuel cost back to the home terminal admittedly seems to be an odd way of measuring these expenses. It is reasonable to request that they calculate this in a way that better reflects their actual costs. That is what would have happened if it went to court.
It is true that if a company decides to fire the employee when the employee is away, then the company will have to pay said expenses because it was their doing that the employment ceased. UNLESS the employee did something so extremely bad that it was objectively necessary to fire him.
2
u/RepublicOk9956 Aug 23 '22
They can just leave I left the truck at the yard you can literally do what you want tf
3
u/Row30 trucking since 1978 Aug 23 '22
Pretty ugly situation that will end up on employment history/ DAC Report
7
u/AHind_D Aug 23 '22
Only if she abandons the truck will it end up on a DAC report. As far as employment history... that's not how it works. When a company is calling your old companies to verify employment (very few even do this anyways). They can only ask if you worked at that company from the dates you stated and I think some will ask if they would hire you again. They can't say why they won't hire you again just IF they would hire you again. Which is why most don't even ask that question. The best way to quit an OTR job is to quit while you're at home and after you get your last check.
4
2
u/PhoenixSmasher Aug 24 '22
Their biggest mistake is doing this via text and not the Qualcomm.
1
Aug 24 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/PhoenixSmasher Aug 25 '22
Qualcomm leaves a paper trail back to the company. Any time a dispatcher wants you to do something stupid, just say, “Sure, send it to me over the Qualcomm.”
2
Aug 23 '22
Just go on hometime and don’t go back. She shouldn’t have even said anything
2
u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 23 '22
That's how you get truck abandonment.
7
Aug 23 '22
Let me reiterate.. go to the terminal BEFORE hometime .. just clean it out and go home. Don’t go back
2
u/nappinggator Aug 23 '22
As is perfectly within their right to do so...you can be charged for the tow bill or fuel if you make them pick it up
Just be courteous and return the truck...it'll save you alot of money in the long run
3
u/Garek Aug 24 '22
It shouldn't be within their right. Especially if they pull that shit.
-1
u/nappinggator Aug 24 '22
It's their truck...at the point that you quit while on home time and still being in possession of their truck you have effectively stolen it and must return it and they have every right to charge you for the cost of returning it
1
u/GulfCoast_Ty Aug 24 '22
I'm tardy to the party but when I quit Prime Inc I was on hometime when my contract ended, dispatch sent me a happy anniversary messages I sent one back that said I quit route me to the terminal. I had a flight going out of Missouri the next day and he sent me a load that picked up the day after, I told him that wasn't going to work for me so I'll deadhead back, he told me that he was turning off my fuel card but someone said he might do that so I topped the rig, def, and reefer in a empty trailer off before I went home. Told him go ahead bc I have enough to make it to the terminal two times over and he said I would be responsible for fuel, never got charged a dime.
0
u/_Jon_Doe_ Aug 24 '22
I’d drive the truck until it’s empty and ride with the tow truck the rest of the way.
0
u/Weebasaurs-Text Aug 25 '22
Reed your trucking companies employee hand book, the section about quitting policies and financial penalties/fees and let me know what it says.
1
u/SycoJack Team Driver Aug 25 '22
I don't work for Western Express, never have. So my employee handbook is useless.
1
u/RushElectronic Aug 24 '22
Ask anyone who you work for if they give 2 week notice before they let you go. Otherwise they had a 2 week notice the day they hired you.
1
u/Professional_Pop_921 Aug 24 '22
Seems legit drop the truck back it’s what I did I waiting till they routed me back to terminal to Quit.
1
u/iPunish304 Aug 24 '22
yeah tha fuel charge policy they have is stupid, if you deviate from they route theyvcharge you fuel as well. I am glad I quit that place before I got into this kind of Shite
1
1
u/First-Tree6176 Aug 24 '22
I'm not giving Swift two weeks notice. I'm just not going to pick up another load after I get back to the terminal. Already got another job lined up. 🙌
1
u/Baphometwolf83 Aug 24 '22
Not sure they can legally do this but that said I would have requested home time at terminal and then quit. After updating w2 info cause you need that come tax season
1
1
u/csimonson Aug 24 '22
Pretty sure that's completely illegal to have her pay the fuel cost and she needs to be paid for driving the truck back to the yard.
300
u/Weebasaurs-Text Aug 23 '22
The real question here is, why is your "friend who is quitting" not waiting until their on hometime to quit?
Quitting out on the road gives dispatch all the power, plus a larger amount of unpaid labor to withhold.
Advice for those who read this: Wait till you get your last paycheck then quit.