Retaliation

Forced on a 6 truck 5 stop load to the Northeast during the holidays.

June 29th: Today, Steve Hernandez again had emailed Gary as to when he was going to provide a response concerning Jacksonville’s mileage discrepancies. Approximately 2 hours later, I received another phone call from Gary, asking where I was and when I was going to return to the terminal. (Unless the customer calls which is rare or a truck needs to be picked up somewhere, Gary usually never calls a driver pertaining to his location and/or ETA.)

Previous to this phone call, Gary had told me that it was slow; therefore, I was in no rush to get back that day, but rather Friday for dispatch after the meeting, seeming I couldn’t deliver over the weekend anyways. Upon returning, I signed the board (after being out for 2.5 weeks) and then scratched my name off, only to see if Gary would push the 3 days off rule. He did!

June 30th: When I arrived at the terminal June 30th (Friday morning) for the meeting, only two drivers (Charles Curtis and John Quarles) had showed up. The June Meeting Notice that I had posted 3 weeks previous had mysteriously disappeared!

When asked why John did not sign the board that morning or the past three days for the matter! His response was that his truck needed to be fixed, even though he had already picked a load. (Look at the board attached and notice John’s name was not there for the previous 3 days)

During the union meeting, Gary comes outside and asks why I had crossed my name off the board (as planned). I tell him that I had been out for 2.5 weeks, just got home and need Friday (a weekday) to get some things done before the holidays. He then abruptly leaves and then comes back with the union contract, pointing out to me, that “time off” does not apply to the lowboy drivers and that I need to immediately sign the board.

So, I sign the board and guess what? There is only one load available….Go figure! A 6 truck/5 stop load to Hartford, Ct. It is now, that I figured out why Gary had been calling me so many times asking where I was and when I would be back. This load was a hot load that should have been delivered that week, prior to a long holiday weekend. Nonetheless, the customer is now upset and I’m stuck spending a holiday on the road!

After the meeting, I am told that I need to go and get my truck from the shop so John can get the new Volvo that I am driving. (Even though there were two spare trucks in the yard for him to temporarily use (see page 4). So we go to the shop, I get my truck and bring it back to the yard and find out that the AC, etc is still not fixed. At this time, Gary is in a conference call, so I leave him a note…truck is still not repaired and leave with the Volvo to the port to load my 6 trucks.

After returning from loading, I find that John had taken it upon himself to take my truck back to the shop. After finding out that he was not getting my Volvo, he then proceeds to the port to load. But wait, I thought his truck was in need of repairs? And why didn’t he drive his truck to the shop to be repaired, like he did mine? And why was Gary so anxious to give him my Volvo, when there were two others spare trucks in the yard? And why was I forced on this load over the holidays after being out for 2.5 weeks, while John had not been dispatched for the previous 3 days?

This is what we have been dealing with at our terminal on an ongoing basis. Gary Forbes shows special privileges towards those who make his job/life easier, and makes life hell for those who cause him any friction…including but not limited to, making him abide by the union contract. At the time of this writing, I am expecting Gary to tell me to come in on Monday morning to give the Volvo to John before I leave for my trip. This is only if he even shows up for work on Monday!