SWIFT TRANSPORTATION, PHOENIX, AZ Shaving miles off pay, forced to drive unsafe tractor with air leak , forced to terminate employment Fontana, California

I too have been short changed by hundreds of miles on many trips working for Swift Transportation (every mile documented on logs).  When I had brought this up with my driver manager  out of the Fontana, CA terminal she refused to look into it and furthermore started to "pick" and "dig" trying to find anything to use against me since I had complained that the miles being "shaved" each trip was "extensive". Upon arriving home in California and examining my log book to the pay check stubs I found several trips had a discrepancy of sometimes up to 359 miles missing from my pay! I found local trips which I should have been getting hourly pay, paid by miles!
( example: for a nine mile local trip I was paid approximately $2.50 another trip for 30 miles I was paid $9.00) and a few trips I found not to be paid at all.

I had called the driver manager and the statement she said to me astounded and sickened me, "Nothing she can do" was her statement to me.  I have been told three different ways of how Swift pays miles since I had started with Swift in May of 2009. First was "interstate miles" told in orientation. The next way I was told miles were paid (several months later) was a thing called "zip code miles" then finally at the end of my employment with Swift, (bring it up again to driver manager ) I was told  "it's the miles that they send on the qual-comm acconpanying the preplan which the driver should check carefully before accepting the plan".....

I've read all the material issued to me by Swift Transportation and I haven't found it written anywhere which type of miles they really do pay and it seems to me Swift shaves miles with such confidence they must have been doing it for years and getting away with it. 

I was ultimately forced to quit. The harrassment was extreme...

On February 3rd, 2010 I had to have the trailer inspected before delivery at the Laredo, Texas terminal.  Upon initial inspection the Swift mechanic noticed I had a bad air leak in the red service line. I went into the dispatch office to hand over the bill of lading and explain my truck needed service and to please "re-power" the load.  The dispatcher handed me back the BOL stating to me the truck will not be entered into "shop status" until I completed delivery of the load.  I explained again that the truck has a bad air leak and is unsafe to drive, and you will be putting myself and the general public at risk of an accident. He said deliver the load then we can put the truck on "shop status".  I then stated to the dispatcher if he meant I would be forced to sit unless I delivered this load? The dispatcher just turned away and ignored me busying hisself with the telephone.

I was forced to deliver the load driving with a really bad air leak with the threat of retailation by way of making me sit for days. I then returned to the mechanic area in the Swift terminal in Laredo texas to await repair.

After sitting in the mechanic area parking lot for approximately three days, I decided enough was enough, not only did they put me down for a phony B-service during that time to further hold me there in Laredo Texas, ( I had just had a B-service done in November and did not need one) Swift refused to fix the air leak forcing me to drive an unsafe vehicle with the threat of making me sit for days on end.. and to add insult to injury shaved off hundreds of miles therefore "cheating" me out of my pay! Since Swift does this with such confidence, I wonder how many other former drivers of Swift had experienced the same or similar situation?  During my time over the road working for Swift I had been hearing quite a bit bad remarks from other drivers of other companies that were former Swift employees. One driver actually got mad at me when I said I drove for Swift and then warning me I should get out of there before they rip me off.

I need some legal help, it is clear.  I need to know where to begin. Talking to Swift Transportation Payroll, Driver managers etc, doesn't get anywhere and they owe me not only for the pay I worked for, but  I feel they owe me for the expense it cost me to get home on my own from Laredo Texas. I literally had to rent a vehicle to transport all my belongings and myself back to Fullerton, California from Laredo Texas and I do not think it's fair.  The treatment I received was quite obnoxious and boarders on discrimination to female drivers being taken advantage of by Swift Transportation.
Thank You