THE BEGINNING to 6/24/09
I didn’t really realize it at the time, but, I guess my trucking career began over 9 years ago when I got a job driving a school bus for Laidlaw. They were the main busing provider for the Omaha Public School District. I liked my job quite a bit. It was one of the only jobs I ever had that I really liked…and I had a lot!
Fired!
About a year ago, Laidlaw was purchased by First Student. Nothing really seamed to change except that they made us wear yellow reflective vests. Not a big deal. Then, in January 2009, I got called into the office. “It’s not good,” the boss told me. First Student had done a background check of my criminal record. Well, when I filled out my application over 9 years ago, I failed to mention a misdemeanor assault charge. Little did I know that it would come back to haunt me 9 years later. Anyway, I got fired. Not for something I did on the job. Not for poor performance (I was good at my job). I wasn’t fired BECAUSE of the assault charge. I was fired because I didn’t mention it on my application where it asked “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?”
Shouldn’t there be a statute of limitations on lying on your application? I’m assuming the real reason they fired me is, since I’d worked there so long, I was making more money than most of the other employees. I believe that they saw this as an opportunity to get rid of me and get someone new who they didn’t have to pay as much. Right after I got fired, I learned that many other employees have been fired over the last few months. “Clifford was one of the first ones to go,” someone told me. “Yeah, I was wondering what happened to him,” I thought to myself. I’m sure this “inquisition” was just to save the company a little money, but, ya know, what can you do?
Shouldn’t there be a statute of limitations on lying on your application? I’m assuming the real reason they fired me is, since I’d worked there so long, I was making more money than most of the other employees. I believe that they saw this as an opportunity to get rid of me and get someone new who they didn’t have to pay as much. Right after I got fired, I learned that many other employees have been fired over the last few months. “Clifford was one of the first ones to go,” someone told me. “Yeah, I was wondering what happened to him,” I thought to myself. I’m sure this “inquisition” was just to save the company a little money, but, ya know, what can you do?
The Class B CDL Job Hunt
Well, this happened to occur during the recession. Unemployment rates were/are very high. Many people are jobless, and not many companies are hiring. Not a good time to lose a job.
Because of the way I was fired from First Student, I made the decision to mention my misdemeanor offense (and hid nothing else) on all my applications that I send in from now on. I definitely didn’t want anyone to have that as an excuse to fire me 9 years down the road. (Do I sound a little bitter?) I crossed my fingers and hoped that someone would hire me despite the blemishes on my record.
I started looking for jobs in the area for Class B CDL Drivers, which is pretty much limited to garbage trucks and school bus drivers. I applied at some garbage haulers.
Deffenbaugh, the main garbage hauler in the Omaha area was hiring. They had ads in the paper, TV ads, and they were even having a job fair. I went down to Deffenbaugh and filled out an application (misdemeanor and all). There was a handful of other people there filling out applications as well. I imagined that, on any given day, at any given time, there was a handful of people there filling out applications. That meant there was a lot of competition for not a lot of jobs.
Well, my worst nightmare was realized when I received a postcard in the mail a couple weeks later stating that I wasn’t being considered for employment.
Because of the way I was fired from First Student, I made the decision to mention my misdemeanor offense (and hid nothing else) on all my applications that I send in from now on. I definitely didn’t want anyone to have that as an excuse to fire me 9 years down the road. (Do I sound a little bitter?) I crossed my fingers and hoped that someone would hire me despite the blemishes on my record.
I started looking for jobs in the area for Class B CDL Drivers, which is pretty much limited to garbage trucks and school bus drivers. I applied at some garbage haulers.
Deffenbaugh, the main garbage hauler in the Omaha area was hiring. They had ads in the paper, TV ads, and they were even having a job fair. I went down to Deffenbaugh and filled out an application (misdemeanor and all). There was a handful of other people there filling out applications as well. I imagined that, on any given day, at any given time, there was a handful of people there filling out applications. That meant there was a lot of competition for not a lot of jobs.
Well, my worst nightmare was realized when I received a postcard in the mail a couple weeks later stating that I wasn’t being considered for employment.
Did That Say Stunt Driver?
I was looking at online job classifieds looking for other Class B driving jobs. I saw an ad for Deffenbaugh. Man! These guys have ads everywhere! Then, I came across an ad for “Werner Stunt Driver.” Stunt driver! I can do that! Then I looked again and noticed it actually said STUDENT Driver. “Hmmm. Truck Driver,” I thought. I assumed Student Driver meant that they’d train you to get your Class A. But noooooo! It’s for people who have just recently completed school and have obtained their Class A CDL. But that’s what lit the spark that got me looking into CDL classes.
As I was researching CDL classes I discovered that the cost $3000 to $5000! For a 4 week class! Jeesh! So much for that idea! Then I came across the Metropolitan Community College class. $888 for an 8 week class. That’s much better! It’s a much better class at a much better price. I went right down and signed up. It was the spring quarter of class.
Let Me Get This Straight. Did You Say You’re Going To Give Me $650?
The instructor informed us that there were five $650 scholarships available to our class. There were only 15 people in the class. That’s pretty good odds of winning one of the scholarships. In fact, a couple of the students didn’t qualify for the scholarships, and a couple more stated that they wouldn’t be applying for them. Even better!
I ended up winning one of the scholarships. I also found out that only four people applied for them, so, everyone who applied received one. So that paid for most of my tuition. Sweet!
The Rodeo Comes To Town
Also, it just so happened that the annual Student CDL Truck Driving Rodeo was scheduled during the spring quarter as well. No, that does not mean that we were going to ride bulls and rope calves. I rode a mechanical bull once and it didn’t work out too well. A Truck Driving rodeo is a truck obstacle coarse. Our instructor stated that he would REALLY like it if EVERYONE would enter the rodeo.
There’s no way in hell that I could compete with an experienced truck driver in a skills contest. But, since this rodeo was for students only (from 3 different schools), it was a level playing field. I figured, “what the heck, I’ll give it a shot.” The prize money certainly influenced my decision to enter the rodeo. The top three contestants would receive from $400 to $600! Plus, even if I didn’t place, at least there was free food at the rodeo. Have you ever seen a truck driver pass up free food?
The rodeo consisted of 2 events, the obstacle coarse & a truck inspection. For the truck inspection part of the competition, you had five minutes to inspect a tractor/trailer combo and find as many things wrong with it as you could (they had rigged 10 things on the truck like light bulbs missing, loose lug nuts, improper paperwork, etc). When you found something wrong, you had to say “defect” and tell them what was wrong. If you didn’t say “defect” it didn’t count. The five minutes went by really fast and I had only made it half way around the truck. I think I found about 5 things wrong, but only 3 of them were ones that counted towards the inspection. I still think that mirror was really loose. ; )
The other part was the obstacle coarse. Unfortunately, I know I won’t be able to put into words how difficult the obstacles really are. It was comprised of 5 parts. The first was called “The Scale.” They had a small (about 1.5’ wide x 2’ long) rectangle on the ground. You had to stop with your front right tire on the rectangle. Your tire can not hang off either side of the scale or you don’t get any points. The closer to the middle (front to back) of the scale the more points you get (50 max). The hard part about this is, once you get within about 6’ or so from the scale, you can’t see it anymore! The judges don’t tell you how you scored on each obstacle, so I had no idea how I did on this part until later in the afternoon. The second part of the coarse was the 1st half of an obstacle called a “Pull Through, Back Through.” This was the “Pull Through” part. They had two barriers set up that you had to drive the truck through forwards. There’s only a few inches to spare on either side. Then you had to continue forward to an obstacle called a “Front Stop.” It was a much smaller rectangle on the ground. You had to stop the truck with the front center part of your front bumper over the rectangle. I thought I did all right on this, but apparently, I missed it completely. Later I saw the score sheets and found out that only one or two people got any score on it at all! Next was the hardest part of the whole coarse. The “Back Through!” About fifteen feet to the right of the “Pull Through” barricades, they had two more barricades that you had to back through. They have cones all around the perimeter of the coarse, so you have very little room to maneuver. So, somehow, you have to get your back end over 15 feet (blind side!) and through the barricades with only a few inches to spare on each side. You are not allowed to stop! If you stop, they deduct 10 points. You are, however, allowed 1 free pull-up where you can pull forward to reposition. This did not count against you as a stop either. If you hit a barricade, you’re disqualified. Somehow, when I was blindly backing to the barricade, when it finally came into view in my mirror, it looked like I was dead on target! I wasn’t exactly sure how close I was to the furthest barricade though, so I took my free pull-up and repositioned myself. Then I was able to back right through! Then you had to continue backing (still without stopping) until you got to the final obstacle known as “The Dock.” You had to get the back of your trailer within 18” of the dock. The closer you get (without touching it) the more points you get. I must have been just over 18” because I didn’t get any points. I know I was damn close though. In my mirror it looked like I was about a half an inch away!
I felt like I had done fairly well on the coarse. One of the judges came up to me and told me I did really well. I thought he just said that to everyone. As the day went on, I started getting clues as to how well I did. One of the contestants from one of the other schools came up to me and asked “Are you they guy that made it through the coarse in one try?” I didn’t know if it was me or not. The whole time I was doing the coarse, it seemed like I was in a surreal dream state. “I guess,” I answered puzzled. You weren’t allowed to watch any of the other contestants do the coarse until after you had done it, so I had no idea how any of the other drivers were doing. Plus, it was freezing out, so after I was done I only watched one other person go through it. They didn’t do well. Besides, free food was waiting for me inside. That was the important part. Some people inside told me that they thought that I would win. “Really?”
Sure enough! I ended up winning first place! I got a check for $600! Yeah!!! Add that to the scholarship money that I had already won, and my schooling was more than paid for! One of our trainers told me he thought the thing that really helped me was that I nailed the scale perfectly! Cool! Now I know how I did on the scale!
The Deans List
I ended up graduating at the top of my class. I got a 96.48% for the entire class. I just got a certificate in the mail stating that I’d made the Dean’s List for the Spring Quarter of 2009! That’s the first time I ever made anyone’s list that wasn’t someone’s Shit List! They also said that based on my high academic achievement for the Spring quarter, I’m invited to join Phi Theta Kappa which is the International Honor Society for two year colleges. Thanks, but no thanks. No more school for me. Just get me out on the road!
The Class B CDL Job Hunt
I sent in applications to TMC and Crete (actually Shaffer, Crete’s reefer division). TMC looked pretty good because they guaranteed they get you home 46 weekends a year. Plus they have them sweet shiny black Peterbilts. The downside was, since they’re flatbed, that meant you have to do a lot of tarping. The other downside was that…they flat refused me. They do hire students, so I’m assuming it had to do with my misdemeanor assault charge. So, now I’m panicking. Is anyplace going to hire me? Am I going to have to settle for Werner? Will Werner even hire me? Damn it! Should I have left that off my applications?
Going through the application process took forever at Crete. I really wanted the job though, so I waited as patiently as I could. I think they purposely took a long time since freight is really low right now due to the recession.
I called Crete and asked if they’d had time to look at my application yet. “Call Kaitlin in recruiting.” Not in the office. Call back. Not in again. Call back. I finally get a hold of her. “We got some questions about you application. What’s this marijuana ticket? What’s this driving under suspension? What was your license suspended for? What’s this misdemeanor assault?” GREAT! They’re not going to hire me either. I answer all their questions. They say call back. “Waiting for school records.” “Waiting for safety dept to get your application.” “Call Destidy in recruiting.” Good news! She told me I can start training July 6th! Yay! I got the job! But, I have to wait til July 6th to start! I’ve already been unemployed since the end of January and I’m going broke. But, like I said, I really wanted THIS job, so it was worth the wait.
Now, to quickly clear things up for the people reading my blog who may now think I’m a hardened criminal. The marijuana ticket mentioned in the previous paragraph was way back in 1989. I got a ticket for having a pipe with a little bit of half-cooked pot in it. For the record, I haven’t smoked pot for about 13 years. And the license suspension was from way back too. It was for an unpaid ticket. It was suspended because I was poor and irresponsible. I just didn’t pay a ticket. They suspended my license. Then I got caught driving while it was suspended. Not really a big deal. I don’t remember what the original (unpaid) ticket was for (a minor traffic ticket), but I’ve never had a major violation like a DWI or anything.
Going through the application process took forever at Crete. I really wanted the job though, so I waited as patiently as I could. I think they purposely took a long time since freight is really low right now due to the recession.
I called Crete and asked if they’d had time to look at my application yet. “Call Kaitlin in recruiting.” Not in the office. Call back. Not in again. Call back. I finally get a hold of her. “We got some questions about you application. What’s this marijuana ticket? What’s this driving under suspension? What was your license suspended for? What’s this misdemeanor assault?” GREAT! They’re not going to hire me either. I answer all their questions. They say call back. “Waiting for school records.” “Waiting for safety dept to get your application.” “Call Destidy in recruiting.” Good news! She told me I can start training July 6th! Yay! I got the job! But, I have to wait til July 6th to start! I’ve already been unemployed since the end of January and I’m going broke. But, like I said, I really wanted THIS job, so it was worth the wait.
Now, to quickly clear things up for the people reading my blog who may now think I’m a hardened criminal. The marijuana ticket mentioned in the previous paragraph was way back in 1989. I got a ticket for having a pipe with a little bit of half-cooked pot in it. For the record, I haven’t smoked pot for about 13 years. And the license suspension was from way back too. It was for an unpaid ticket. It was suspended because I was poor and irresponsible. I just didn’t pay a ticket. They suspended my license. Then I got caught driving while it was suspended. Not really a big deal. I don’t remember what the original (unpaid) ticket was for (a minor traffic ticket), but I’ve never had a major violation like a DWI or anything.
Things are starting to roll…or not.
Then Crete calls me back and says they can move my start date up to June 22nd! Yay! The sooner the better. Broke! They send an email telling what to pack for the road, what to expect etc. They say bring cash. $100 minimum. Broke! The email made it sound like I’d be hitting the road with a trainer on the 22nd. Boy did I misinterpret that! I packed all my gear for the road. Large duffle bag. Small duffle bag. Laptop, bedding, thermos, etc and I’m off to go on the road. They failed to tell me that I wouldn’t be going on the road then. Nope. It’s three days later and I’m still sitting at home.
On June 22nd all I did was Fill out tons of paperwork, take a test on Reefers (which I knew nothing about! I probably failed miserably), and then hey sent me to Concentra for a physical. No problem. I’ve taken tons of these while working for First Student/Laidlaw. I know the routine. It goes like this: Make sure you drink lot’s of coffee! Drive all the way there (drive the bus because, why should I have to drive my own vehicle for their piss test!). Sign in. Sit and wait. Make sure you’re able to pee for the piss test. Slam a tiny Dixie cup of water. Take another cup back to my seat and sip it. The only reason I’m sipping it slowly is because, since I carried this tiny cup all the way across the room, I have to make it seem worth the trip. Waiting. Patiently. OK, now I have to pee. Bad. Call me next please! They finally call in……….the person next to me. They call in Roberto Hernandez. Then another. Wasn’t I here before him? They finally call me in. Pee in this cup, don’t flush, and bring the cup back out here. Whew! I thought I was going to pee my pants. I could have filled a few cups. Then they run you around pretending to check you out more. They weigh you. It would have been interesting if they would have weighed me before AND after that huge piss. They check your eyes. Then they put you in a room and make you wait a half hour for a doctor. Blood pressure test. Breath In. Breath Out. Follow this light with your eyes. And, if you’re lucky, turn you head and cough! Why do I get the feeling he didn’t really need to do that? Was I just molested? Then you leave with your head hung low.
Yes, I know the routine. And, that’s how I thought it was going to be this time too. Nope. Drink tons of coffee. Check. Wait in waiting room forever. Check. Gotta pee. Check. Take this cup in there and fill it to this line…Take this cup in there and fill it to this line? TAKE THIS CUP IN THERE AND FILL IT TO THIS LINE!….Nope. Instead, they take me in and have me in and have me lifting all sorts of wieghts and stuff. I GOTTA PEE! When’s the piss test? After the physical tests, everything else was the same (no “Turn your head and cough”), but, no piss test!
I hadn’t eaten that day yet, so, on the way back to Crete, I stop at Taco Bell. I get back to Crete when Mike says “Steve, let’s go to lunch.” Oh well, I can always eat a second lunch. We ate an an awesome Mexican restaurant on 24th & Q in South Omaha. El Rey. Great food! Too bad I couldn’t eat it all. Then, on the way back, Mike stops one of those guys pushing one of those little dessert carts. He gets us a couple of popsicles. Mine was watermelon. It actually had seeds in it. They were really good, but, since it was nearly 100 degrees, we ended up wearing more than we ate.
I did a brief interview with Carole, the Shaffer fleet manager. Then I finally got my piss test. Then I was sent home.
They had me come back the next day for a lot more paperwork (insurance) and some more tests. You gotta love Hazmat tests! Luckily it was open book. There was an Hours Of Service test, too, and a few videos. Then a driving test. After that I was sent home again. Now we just gotta wait for the results of my drug screen…and a trainer.
They have me call Wednesday morning to see if the drug screen results are in. “We haven’t heard anything yet. We’ll call you.” Later that afternoon they call back with the good news. Your drug screen came back and we’ll have a trainer tomorrow morning sometime between 9 and 11. Yes! Finally going on the road. So, now I’m just doing laundry, finishing re-packing, and finishing this blog before I go to bed. Hopefully I’ll be able to sleep!
On June 22nd all I did was Fill out tons of paperwork, take a test on Reefers (which I knew nothing about! I probably failed miserably), and then hey sent me to Concentra for a physical. No problem. I’ve taken tons of these while working for First Student/Laidlaw. I know the routine. It goes like this: Make sure you drink lot’s of coffee! Drive all the way there (drive the bus because, why should I have to drive my own vehicle for their piss test!). Sign in. Sit and wait. Make sure you’re able to pee for the piss test. Slam a tiny Dixie cup of water. Take another cup back to my seat and sip it. The only reason I’m sipping it slowly is because, since I carried this tiny cup all the way across the room, I have to make it seem worth the trip. Waiting. Patiently. OK, now I have to pee. Bad. Call me next please! They finally call in……….the person next to me. They call in Roberto Hernandez. Then another. Wasn’t I here before him? They finally call me in. Pee in this cup, don’t flush, and bring the cup back out here. Whew! I thought I was going to pee my pants. I could have filled a few cups. Then they run you around pretending to check you out more. They weigh you. It would have been interesting if they would have weighed me before AND after that huge piss. They check your eyes. Then they put you in a room and make you wait a half hour for a doctor. Blood pressure test. Breath In. Breath Out. Follow this light with your eyes. And, if you’re lucky, turn you head and cough! Why do I get the feeling he didn’t really need to do that? Was I just molested? Then you leave with your head hung low.
Yes, I know the routine. And, that’s how I thought it was going to be this time too. Nope. Drink tons of coffee. Check. Wait in waiting room forever. Check. Gotta pee. Check. Take this cup in there and fill it to this line…Take this cup in there and fill it to this line? TAKE THIS CUP IN THERE AND FILL IT TO THIS LINE!….Nope. Instead, they take me in and have me in and have me lifting all sorts of wieghts and stuff. I GOTTA PEE! When’s the piss test? After the physical tests, everything else was the same (no “Turn your head and cough”), but, no piss test!
I hadn’t eaten that day yet, so, on the way back to Crete, I stop at Taco Bell. I get back to Crete when Mike says “Steve, let’s go to lunch.” Oh well, I can always eat a second lunch. We ate an an awesome Mexican restaurant on 24th & Q in South Omaha. El Rey. Great food! Too bad I couldn’t eat it all. Then, on the way back, Mike stops one of those guys pushing one of those little dessert carts. He gets us a couple of popsicles. Mine was watermelon. It actually had seeds in it. They were really good, but, since it was nearly 100 degrees, we ended up wearing more than we ate.
I did a brief interview with Carole, the Shaffer fleet manager. Then I finally got my piss test. Then I was sent home.
They had me come back the next day for a lot more paperwork (insurance) and some more tests. You gotta love Hazmat tests! Luckily it was open book. There was an Hours Of Service test, too, and a few videos. Then a driving test. After that I was sent home again. Now we just gotta wait for the results of my drug screen…and a trainer.
They have me call Wednesday morning to see if the drug screen results are in. “We haven’t heard anything yet. We’ll call you.” Later that afternoon they call back with the good news. Your drug screen came back and we’ll have a trainer tomorrow morning sometime between 9 and 11. Yes! Finally going on the road. So, now I’m just doing laundry, finishing re-packing, and finishing this blog before I go to bed. Hopefully I’ll be able to sleep!
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