Gainey Transportation Services, Gts forced dispatch, forced to run over log books, forced to run illegal equipment Ripoff Grand Rapids Michigan

 Dear Bob,,,   I don't know Buddy,  I was with Gainey for 5 years. Apparently, you are either a newby or just don't understand the logistics of the Trucking industry.  I was never "forced" to do anything, neither were you. If you accepted a load via preplan, you did that on your own, stating you had the legal hours to run load, at this point, you would be commited to either pu load or deliver on time,  and is your Driver Managers job to see this through. If you sent your hours in everyday, like you're supposed to, this Gives the Planner and your Driver Manager the option to plan arround your availability. If you were preplanned on a load that you did not have the hours for, then it is your responsability to inform your Driver Manager of the situation.  You need to understand that you were not the only Driver on your Driver Managers board,  they have like 50-60 Drivers they need to deal with on a Daily basis. Maby your Driver Manager was away from their desk momentarely and you were preplanned on a load you could not accomplish, that's when you, as a professional Driver needs to speak up.  As far as the 34 hour restart, it is not a law that when you reach 70 you get 34 off.... at midnight you pick up hours, regardless. If the Company needs you, they will use you. I sat once for 31 hours and then was dispatched,  was I happy, absolutely not, but I did it, without complaint, because that's my job !!!  Gainey also did not make you run looseleaf logs,  they have there own logbooks with Company logo and address pre-stamped on every page, so if you do run looseleaf, you do that on your own. Gainey had one of the best log Departments in the industry. another complaint you had about being reimbursed,  let me tell you a true fact,  if you had a reimbursement that did not match your logbook time, you are not going to get reimbursed, regardless of the situation. and there is no Company in the world as an OTR Driver that says you will never have a Driver unload. that's just silly.

I wont address the 11 hour drive and the 34 reset. They are legal and supported by the DOT regardless if you agree with them or not. This isnt a Gainey policy its a DOT rule. Now, 11 hours driving is the max you can possibly do. And split logging much harder than it used to be. Then again, a lot of drivers cant handle split logging. Partly because of the large physical demands it makes on most people and because the math and accountability is tougher than straight logging.

However, if your 10 hour break is interrupted you have the right to restart your break.

Having worked at many trucking companies their is a lot of pressure on drivers to squeeze the most out of their logs. If you are ever asked, or told that you have to rework your logs illegally you should refuse. When it comes down to the logs, your the captain of your own ship and you know when your able to do something better than a dispatcher on the other side of the Qcom or the phone.

Gainey transportation will pay for lumper's anywhere that they are available. Unfortunately lumper's are not always available everywhere you go. Lets face it, trucking is a hard job, not everyone is up to it.

Saying that your aware of things being done 99% of the time with out any proof is just pointing a finger. Gainey is inspected by the DOT often and with out warning just like any other company. Also gainey plans dispatches at 50 to 55mph, and usually adds a couple hours of pad time. That means, the milage for a load is divided by 55mph to get the hours before the earliest legal delivery can be made, and if needed a 10 hour break and pad time is added.

Its a drivers responsibility to keep in touch with dispatch to let them know if your delayed in traffic, have a break down or anything else that will delay you.

Finally, if you where told to run with bad tires i would be surprised that you didnt stop at the first weigh station you came to and told the officer to write it up. You have a responsibility to yourself to run safe.

I wont address the 11 hour drive and the 34 reset. They are legal and supported by the DOT regardless if you agree with them or not. This isnt a Gainey policy its a DOT rule. Now, 11 hours driving is the max you can possibly do. And split logging much harder than it used to be. Then again, a lot of drivers cant handle split logging. Partly because of the large physical demands it makes on most people and because the math and accountability is tougher than straight logging.

However, if your 10 hour break is interrupted you have the right to restart your break.

Having worked at many trucking companies their is a lot of pressure on drivers to squeeze the most out of their logs. If you are ever asked, or told that you have to rework your logs illegally you should refuse. When it comes down to the logs, your the captain of your own ship and you know when your able to do something better than a dispatcher on the other side of the Qcom or the phone.

Gainey transportation will pay for lumper's anywhere that they are available. Unfortunately lumper's are not always available everywhere you go. Lets face it, trucking is a hard job, not everyone is up to it.

Saying that your aware of things being done 99% of the time with out any proof is just pointing a finger. Gainey is inspected by the DOT often and with out warning just like any other company. Also gainey plans dispatches at 50 to 55mph, and usually adds a couple hours of pad time. That means, the milage for a load is divided by 55mph to get the hours before the earliest legal delivery can be made, and if needed a 10 hour break and pad time is added.

Its a drivers responsibility to keep in touch with dispatch to let them know if your delayed in traffic, have a break down or anything else that will delay you.

Finally, if you where told to run with bad tires i would be surprised that you didnt stop at the first weigh station you came to and told the officer to write it up. You have a responsibility to yourself to run safe.

I wont address the 11 hour drive and the 34 reset. They are legal and supported by the DOT regardless if you agree with them or not. This isnt a Gainey policy its a DOT rule. Now, 11 hours driving is the max you can possibly do. And split logging much harder than it used to be. Then again, a lot of drivers cant handle split logging. Partly because of the large physical demands it makes on most people and because the math and accountability is tougher than straight logging.

However, if your 10 hour break is interrupted you have the right to restart your break.

Having worked at many trucking companies their is a lot of pressure on drivers to squeeze the most out of their logs. If you are ever asked, or told that you have to rework your logs illegally you should refuse. When it comes down to the logs, your the captain of your own ship and you know when your able to do something better than a dispatcher on the other side of the Qcom or the phone.

Gainey transportation will pay for lumper's anywhere that they are available. Unfortunately lumper's are not always available everywhere you go. Lets face it, trucking is a hard job, not everyone is up to it.

Saying that your aware of things being done 99% of the time with out any proof is just pointing a finger. Gainey is inspected by the DOT often and with out warning just like any other company. Also gainey plans dispatches at 50 to 55mph, and usually adds a couple hours of pad time. That means, the milage for a load is divided by 55mph to get the hours before the earliest legal delivery can be made, and if needed a 10 hour break and pad time is added.

Its a drivers responsibility to keep in touch with dispatch to let them know if your delayed in traffic, have a break down or anything else that will delay you.

Finally, if you where told to run with bad tires i would be surprised that you didnt stop at the first weigh station you came to and told the officer to write it up. You have a responsibility to yourself to run safe.

I wont address the 11 hour drive and the 34 reset. They are legal and supported by the DOT regardless if you agree with them or not. This isnt a Gainey policy its a DOT rule. Now, 11 hours driving is the max you can possibly do. And split logging much harder than it used to be. Then again, a lot of drivers cant handle split logging. Partly because of the large physical demands it makes on most people and because the math and accountability is tougher than straight logging.

However, if your 10 hour break is interrupted you have the right to restart your break.

Having worked at many trucking companies their is a lot of pressure on drivers to squeeze the most out of their logs. If you are ever asked, or told that you have to rework your logs illegally you should refuse. When it comes down to the logs, your the captain of your own ship and you know when your able to do something better than a dispatcher on the other side of the Qcom or the phone.

Gainey transportation will pay for lumper's anywhere that they are available. Unfortunately lumper's are not always available everywhere you go. Lets face it, trucking is a hard job, not everyone is up to it.

Saying that your aware of things being done 99% of the time with out any proof is just pointing a finger. Gainey is inspected by the DOT often and with out warning just like any other company. Also gainey plans dispatches at 50 to 55mph, and usually adds a couple hours of pad time. That means, the milage for a load is divided by 55mph to get the hours before the earliest legal delivery can be made, and if needed a 10 hour break and pad time is added.

Its a drivers responsibility to keep in touch with dispatch to let them know if your delayed in traffic, have a break down or anything else that will delay you.

Finally, if you where told to run with bad tires i would be surprised that you didnt stop at the first weigh station you came to and told the officer to write it up. You have a responsibility to yourself to run safe.

we use to drive for gts. the ac was out in the truck and dispatch made us run from
minn. to cali,in the dead heat . then had to run back to ks with out ac. they lied about there pay . they told us we where getting 36 cents a mile but come to find out we where only getting 27 cents.All the company drivers where getting paid the
same way. In one day after that got out they had 30 drives quit in one day. We got tired of the night dispatch trying to get us to run on are 10 break,and not
getting paid for setting. so we quit, best thing we ever done...

i too work for GST and they have tried to coerse me to do things illegll. I have refused, but I all so have them on qual comm and on tape when conversations are on the phone. I allso told them when I called in that they where being recorded.I have had no threats or slow downs. You just have to stand your ground.
Joe-OK

Coercion works something like this:
1. A load dispatch with a tight pick up or
delivery time will appear on the qual com.
2. The driver will send in an eta for pick up and
delivery.
3. Another qual com message will appear saying
call me or call us.
4. The driver telephones the dispatcher, and is
told:
A. this is a very important load and has to
be on time, or this is a hot load, or the
customer assembly line will be shut down
if the load is not there, etc.
5. The driver tells the dispatcher there are not
enough hours on the logbook.
6. The dispatcher will then say according to
the computer you can make it. (this may or
may not be true based upon whether the driver
put all the log entries on the qual com, or
if the computer has a too often glitch, or
the dispatcher is outright lying).
7. The driver checks the logbook and tells the
dispatcher there are not enough hours.
8. The dipatcher then calls the fleet manager in
on the conversation. The fleet manager also
stresses the importance of being on time.
9. The driver then calls the fleet log
department, only to be told to look for past
entries in the logbook to see if any hours
on line four can be moved up to line one or
two.
10. The driver is confused by this obvious
suggestion to change his logbook.
Especially if he/she is not familiar with
the surface transportation act, (which is
elided over at training and orientation).
11. The driver recalls the dispatcher, only to
be told to do what you have to, to get there.
12. The driver is threatedned with a service
failure.
13. The driver now has a problem, do what the
company wants or do what is legal.
14. The driver reluctantly calls DOT for fear of
losing the job or company punishment. DOT
stresses to run legal.
15. DOT punishments are fines, out of service,
possible loss of CDL and jail time.
16. Company punishment usually is service
failures, bad load assignments, weekly miles
cut and less pay, and firing.
17. Driver now realizes if a complaint is made to
FMSCA, none of the information over the phone
can be recalled as evidence to back up the
claim, (the dispatcher and the fleet manager
can deny saying anything).
18. Driver now knows the importance of using the
qual com to capture all the imformation on,
(a hard copy can be obtained), and how to use
a tape recorder to tape the phone calls
legally, (state by state and federal laws).
19. Driver now must contact a trucking attorney
to make sure his rights are protected.
20. Drive must hve enough courage to take a
chance against company punishment and black-
balling procedures.
21. This, or something like it, happens on a
regular basis in the trucking industry, and
that is why truck drivers run tired.
22. Can states prosecute dispatchers and fleet
managers under state laws? Yes, but
will they?

Craig, you are entitled to your opinion. However I will take the side of my attorney's when, after hearing all the evidence and listening to the tapes, he said he could hardly believe it too if it were not for the facts presented. His further comment was, it's the trucking industries dirty secret how drivers are coerced by dipatchers to drive over their logs.

Don't worry craig, It's alright to hip shoot, it makes us all laugh, all the way to the court house.

By the sounds of this original report, it sounds as if this "ex-employee" may have not read his handbook like he should have.

I would suggest that if you work for any other company in this business, you should learn all the facts. I find nothing in your complaint to be factual or true for that matter.

I have worked for a few trucking companies out there. Yes, there are some that are exactly what you describe in your complaint. However, Gainey is not one of them.

They do not require loose leaf log books. In fact, they have their own printed log books with a very strict log department.

99% no touch freight, and some of the best equipment in the business. Yes, you may start out in an older model truck (2004 and newer). This just makes good business sense. It is better to try someone out in a VW, then in a Cadillac. That way when they wreck the equipment, it is not a $190,000.00 KW, W-9.

After a few short months, you can have a newer truck. By the sounds of your tone, you must have been a driver who don't follow the programs (legal programs). A pre-madonna as we say in the industry. Service failed your first load, had a preventable accident or 3, and perhaps some logging issues.

There had to have been a underlying issue that you failed to mention. Taking your jabs by making these things up like you did, would lead me to believe that probably was in fact the case.

Had you taken the time to get to know this company, you would have probably noticed some of the newest equipment in the country. I have always been paid detention because I followed the necessary steps. I had to assist with unloading 1 time out of several hundred loads. I was paid well for the assist too.

You are not forced to do anything. If you have the hours to legally make a run, then you are dispatched on it. However, some of the "pre-madonnas" don't like to take loads because they want to go where they want to go and not where the freight is the strongest.

The qualcomm has a volume control on it. If you were being kept awake by it, that was because you chose to not turn your qualcomm down.

I could continue to discredit each and every claim you have made, however, I believe my point was made. Best of luck to you in your career.

Dave is absolutely right! A lawyer is necessary if anyone is to stay in the trucking industry.
I read through my past notes and came accross more information.

During orientation, we were told to carry our log books loose leaf, in order to only show dot the current day, plus the last seven. Further, in New Jersey, I was told to pick up a load and count the freight. It took 5 hours to get the freight on, and 14 miles apprx. to take it to the drop yard.

I was told just to circle my pay slip for city pay because they woul not fax a city work sheet, and we were not given any at orientation. It ended up I was paid for 14 miles @ 34 cents per mile. This was just another ripoff in the string of them.

Finally, it is critical to know that the new rules require a minimum of 34 hours off between 70 hour periods. A fact my dispatcher totally ignored, by stating they did not accept 34 hour resets. The weekly recover was ignored.
As of now I am looking for work but am being blackballed by information over the phone the company is giving outfits I apply to.

While the information given is not on my dac report is is being deseminated by Gainey, (this according to a recruiter who informed me). I am currently seeking an attorney. I have recordings of phone calls ordering me over my log books and disregarding the recovery rule. Good advice, know the Surface Transportation Act, and keep a lawyer on retainer.

God forbid, should anybody inform drivers of the "STAA-ACT", Surface Transportation Act, that gives Drivers legal rights against this type of treatment !!!

You may, punch this in your search engine, and it should pull it up !! Try it !!! Print it off, make copies of it,carry it with you, know it front and back, top to bottom, be able to recite it!!!!

Lastly, if your going to be in the Trucking long, it'd be a very wise idea, very wise, to find a good Criminal Attorney, who also specializes in other areas, and have him on "Retainer", just in case you need him, also provide him with any necessary information that you find, so as to make him knowledgeable as well, with so many laws out there its hard to know them all, when your in need and in trouble,,,, it also saves time, and helps them research the laws to your advantage as well !!!!

Thank You !!