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One way to make positive changes is for corporate to talk to the employees (dock and drivers) WITHOUT managers around. At my place most drivers are the biggest whiners I have ever worked with, some EVERY morning looking at their sheets saying they are getting so F&&&&d,,,,,,, how do you do that being paid by the hour? Give me your 10 stops that each one is an hour instead of my 25 drops running my but off, it is the 25 stopper who is working too hard for what he gets paid for, not you. At our "safety meetings" hardly anyone will speak up, but bet my last dollar before the meeting everyone is pissy about something, then after the meeting some run to TM's office to continue the talk, others form a group outside and discredit the day's speech. I think this is along the same lines as the equipment, so many complain, but look at their sheets,,,,,, yep,,,, checked OK and went home. If it is not right, note it!!!! Now with DOT season upon us, if it is not noted, and you get nailed, how do you back yourself up when safety calls and ask why were you even driving a truck in that condition? You, as the driver, are the last line of defense for the public and yourself, but most just don't care
 
We have had a meeting with the with the vp of the company before it went in one ear and out the other. The driver signed off ok on the condition because they wont fix anything and they will just put you in a truck worse than the one you had or send you home
 
Let 'em! Been down that road with threats, it only took one time to throw it back into their face and never heard another word. Start by letting your TM know, then call HR and Safety in Pitts BEFORE you punch out, give them first and last name of who said you either drive or go home, remind them that is not only a DOT Violation, but also a violation of your civil rights under 49 USC § 31105, specifically section B that states: the employee refuses to operate a vehicle because—
(i) the operation violates a regulation, standard, or order of the United States related to commercial motor vehicle safety, health, or security; or
(ii) the employee has a reasonable apprehension of serious injury to the employee or the public because of the vehicle’s hazardous safety or security condition;
(C) Relief in any action under subsection (b) may include punitive damages in an amount not to exceed $250,000.

And if it also involves any derogatory insults (words I can't use here) remind person that this is in fact a violation of the Vitran Rules of Conduct that is posted on the Vitran website for the public to see, (and now every day on our tablets) and as such, they are now subject to suspension or termination for berating a fellow employee. This does not have to be directed towards race, gender, ect. Just calling someone an idiot in a harmful way is grounds for dismissal.
 
Sounds good but i dont deal with them anymore. I got firef almost a year ago and im enjoying my unemployement. That was the worst place i ever worked so glad to be gone.
 
apparently someone in wichita did the program for the computers.
Not_wanted said:
the loan? they are samsung tablets from verizon, you can get your own for $50 contract and $30 a month data charge. My TM said we got 1500 to 1700 of them, and more are being rolled out every week. nothing special, we are just using an app named city driver, but do not know if our IT did it, or paid someone else to write the code. we had some hiccups at first, but this last week everyone's worked as far as i heard.
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it would still be hard to talk with "corporate" since most of the same people are still here. the ones that dont give a damn and are here only to collect a check. if keylon wants honesty then he needs to travel to more terminals and hear from everyone. we really don't have safety meetings. we drivers are supposed to read the safety briefs on our own and sign that we understand. so we are never really able to ask any questions on anything. yeah they wanna get back to the hub n spoke for linehaul which isn't all bad. we will still have alot of damage claims due to the way we load trailers and try to jam as much freight as possible on them. and having a bunch of parttime dock people wont help cause they wont care.
 
lambofgod said:
it would still be hard to talk with "corporate" since most of the same people are still here. the ones that dont give a damn and are here only to collect a check. if keylon wants honesty then he needs to travel to more terminals and hear from everyone. we really don't have safety meetings. we drivers are supposed to read the safety briefs on our own and sign that we understand. so we are never really able to ask any questions on anything. yeah they wanna get back to the hub n spoke for linehaul which isn't all bad. we will still have alot of damage claims due to the way we load trailers and try to jam as much freight as possible on them. and having a bunch of parttime dock people wont help cause they wont care.
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Morale is at all time low right now. Hopefully, the changes will work, bit it will take time to work the bugs out. No, I am not corporate (read some of my posts!!!), but since jobs are awfully hard to find right now, I have to hope it works. Unemployment doesn't pay for health insurance for my family, and runs out eventually....
 
Eeksharky said:
I worked there for almost ten years nothing will ever change until they get some management in place. I started in 2002 and it just got worse every year. When they ran out of freight they just bought another company to run into the ground. If there was a show called top worst managed companies in the world i'm sure vipjaxchrissirerawestmilanoverlandquast would be on it. I dont know your new management but im sure it is like the past. Not a clue about anything trucking. Good luck keep your options open
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I agree with Eeksharky, and take it a step further. As I eluded to in my first post, in my opinion, Keylon is not concerned about employees quiting (and that goes for every level of employment). If Keylon sticks to his guns I do not see how a mass firing will be avoided. I see a lot of the problems as cultural. It is engrained in employees at all levels to do the least possible, band aid problems not fix them, collect a check, and go home. What struck me when I was first hired on was I kept hearing the same statement by drivers "Vitran does not pay well, but it is a laid back place to work." Well, because I refuse to run illegal there are weeks I sit at the shop for an hour or more past my cut time every night to get lights, tires, springs, etc fixed. All it takes is for the last driver whom pulled that trailer to do a 3 minute post trip to prevent that, but drivers at my terminal are too lazy.

The pay is no good, but aside from that the overwhelming amount screwings I get are from other drivers. A couple weeks ago I popped the hood for a pre trip and the previous driver was driving the truck with no serpentine belt on it!...that means no water pump or altenator.

Too, I find it hard to believe the negative culture is isolated to drivers and dock workers. I would imagine it goes right up the ladder.

I am unhappy with the pay situation, but until we are made to work like UPS or ABF I will not expect that level of pay. By the same token, if I am expected to meet the criteria of an ABF or UPS driver I will expect that pay. (from what I hear I am not interested in working as much as ABF drivers do anyway)

For me I have taken the CYA approach at every turn in anticipation of a major crack down on the BS, and if that crack down does not come I do not want to work at Vitran because there will be no raises or benefit increases.
 
morale IS at an all-time low!!! but corporate doesnt care because they think they can get anybody in here to work. they actually do hope senior drivers will quit so they can get new drivers in at a lower wage. sometimes i want to leave but in my area there isnt much to choose from(plus no one is hiring right now).
 
Well, if it makes you feel any better Jesus, I live at a major US crossroads and although places are hiring I like my run. I have not been here long but have gained a lot of seniority in that time. Quite frankly I want to be home daily, not work the dock, and know what I am doing at night. ABF drivers have great pay and benefits, but I hear six day a week work and OTR is the norm, and although I take pride in my work and want to do a good job I want a personal life too.

There are some drivers where I work who do a great job, like their co workers, play well with others, and have been there for years with no raise. I know it must be hard for those guys to keep doing it. Given my relatively short tour at Vitran it is probably easier for me to stay positive.
 
lambofgod said:
apparently someone in wichita did the program for the computers.
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Yes Wichita IT has been doing the programming for the AP's on the tablets for months. They are doing a pretty damn good job. Wichita has had the tablets for 2 months,between the IT and city drivers hammering out bugs they are getting a workable system.
 
PITRAN HONKEY LIPS said:
outstanding beach bum -- outstanding...... no but seriously. if we were to continue on down the old path, we would be out of jobs in less then 18 months. i was told vitran was turned down for a 40 million dollar loan !! banks dont want to give loans to struggling trucking companies. eg. YRC.. SO THE CHANGES ARE NEEDED ..
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"old path" you mean city drivers sleeping behind K-mart? How will cutting the dock back to part-time fix clock-sucking city drivers?
 
City drivers clock-suckers will be fixed with the computers. The old sheet you could show arrived, spend ten minutes at Speedway, then go deliver, then show actual time you left. Unless your Manager was following you around, there was really no way to catch you. Now, each time you send a status report, your GPS location goes with it. I for one am tired of working so hard only to have others collecting a bigger paycheck for actually less work. We need three more drivers at my place, for the only reason then they can suspend some of these guys for other things too. As of right now, no one gets sent home because drivers and management know a trailer would sit, and good luck hiring any new people until some of this equipment is sent to the auction
 
Not_wanted said:
City drivers clock-suckers will be fixed with the computers. The old sheet you could show arrived, spend ten minutes at Speedway, then go deliver, then show actual time you left. Unless your Manager was following you around, there was really no way to catch you. Now, each time you send a status report, your GPS location goes with it. I for one am tired of working so hard only to have others collecting a bigger paycheck for actually less work. We need three more drivers at my place, for the only reason then they can suspend some of these guys for other things too. As of right now, no one gets sent home because drivers and management know a trailer would sit, and good luck hiring any new people until some of this equipment is sent to the auction
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don't you mean sent to the scrap yard? lol.
 
we pay for our health insurance lol look at your check each week
Scotty425 said:
Morale is at all time low right now. Hopefully, the changes will work, bit it will take time to work the bugs out. No, I am not corporate (read some of my posts!!!), but since jobs are awfully hard to find right now, I have to hope it works. Unemployment doesn't pay for health insurance for my family, and runs out eventually....
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vijax said:
we pay for our health insurance lol look at your check each week
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this is the only place where the company increased in size, went down in ins coverage and went up in cost. don't forget we pay for the big wigs 100% covered across the board coverage. and of course, their policies are alot better than ours.
 
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