The other day, John had talked to a mechanic while I was in the shop and advised him to just back the brakes off the truck, to get me to another shop. Well, as I added in a previous blog, not only is this unsafe it is illegal.
Well, not only two days later, I have yet another post. After completing my load, the truck and steering wheel began to shake. I get out and check the front tires and notice that the left steer tire is gouged all the way around on the inside, meaning something is wrong with the alignment, front end, etc. Tires just do not do this for no reason.
Well I call John and tell him that my AC had quit (yeah it is summer out) and that I needed to replace the front drive tires and so forth. Ok, being in charge of maintenace, his response to me is, “Let me check with Gary and I’ll get back with you.” Umm, this IS a maintenance issue, right?
So, I call Gary back, hoping that he don’t go home before getting back with me. I tell Gary that Jim had assigned me a load in Garland that was hot. (I was closer to Garland then Jacksonville). He then calls Garland and then later leaves me a voicemail for me to deadhead back to Jacksonville, instead.
OK, so now I am deadheading 1,150 miles back to Jacksonville with a gouged steer tire and with no AC, when I could of had it done out there and made the company some extra revenue on the way back. Not that I really care about the companys revenue, I’m just thinking as if I were a terminal manager right?
Now, I’m deadheading 1,150 miles back to Jacksonville where there are NO loads and we are about to be laid off in a few weeks. Regardless, out on the road or back in Jax, I’m still getting breakdown pay for all this!
Lets put the drivers life at risk so we can save a buck.
Filed under: Maintenance, Management, Safety | Tagged: Auto Truck Transport, IAM Pension Fund, IAM Union, Morgan and Morgan
