Archive for the ‘Employment’ Category

Well here it is the middle of May and I’ve been home for six days now.  That’s not quite as good as it sounds since I originally planned to be home only three days.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love being home.  It’s a pleasant change being able to spend some time with Marilyn, even when she puts me to work with chores around the house.

This happens sometime in the trucking industry.  Too many trucks at one end of the country and not enough loads.  Seems like there are one or two such slowdowns every year.  A friend of mine with the same company, who only came as far east as Toronto this week, is running full out and getting lots of miles.

But here it is the 14th of the month, second last day of the two week pay period, and I’ve only got one weeks running in.  That is definitely going to put a dent in the end of the month pay cheque.

No use complaining.  Just have to be thankful I’ve been enjoying more home cooking than usual and that we’ve been able to go out to a restaurant together a couple of times.  We had time to rearrange the livingroom, wash and service my truck, set up the bird feeders so Marilyn can get more bird photos. Man has she ever got more bird photos!

Birds aren't the only ones who benefit from feeders. Click on the picture to view more in the Gallery.

I know there are other driver’s experiencing this same slowdown right now.  I hope they are enjoying the time at home, not stuck out on the road somewhere, staring at the same trucks stop parking lot.  Been there, done that.

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Recently I’ve been thinking about the level of respect for truck drivers and the trucking industry in general.

In Europe and other parts of the world, trucking is an honorable profession and drivers are looked up to and respected. While this was the case in North America 30 or 40 years ago, not so much today.

In fact I get the impression some days that those of us who hold onto a steering wheel for a living are considered to be 3rd or even 4th class citizens.

Oh sure, family members and close friends, and other members of the trucking community still tolerate us and even give us a grudging degree of respect. But the majority of the population at large look down their noses and give short shrift to this once noble profession.

I’d like to suggest a few possible reasons for this change in public opinion and attitudes.

First off, we have become a much faster paced and self absorbed society. Everyone is in a hurry. Common courtesy has all but disappeared. People, especially city dwellers and commuters have no time to waste behind heavily laden, slower moving vehicles. In fact they’re in such a hurry, common sense is a thing of the past. Tailgating, cutting others off and ignoring the use of turn signals are becoming common occurrences.

Of course some truck drivers have brought a lot of this disrespect on themselves. There are those who throw their pee bottles and garbage out in parking lots and ditches never giving a thought to the person who has to clean up after them.

They park in places they shouldn’t with total disregard for other motorists. Some are unkempt, unwashed, loud and obnoxious. Of course many others in society are those things too, but they don’t all drive 70 to 120 foot long, noisy, smelly,  obstructions to draw attention to themselves. .

Years ago truck drivers were kings of the highway. They were the  ones you could depend upon to stop and give assistance if you ran out of gas, had a flat tire or were involved in an accident. Truckers have been known to stop crimes, save lives, and even give their lives to avoid harming others.

While that remains true to a very small extent today, in this day and age stopping to give assistance could just as easily result in having a gun or a knife stuck in your face and your wallet lightened or your truck and load hijacked.

There is one truth that folks who resent or despise truckers and trucks need to keep uppermost in their minds though.

There is not an article of food in their kitchens or restaurants, nor a stitch of clothing on their bodies, nor any component of their homes, cars, or leisure equipment that hasn’t spent considerable time in the back of a truck. If you even have such an insignificant item as a tissue in your possession with which to blow your nose…… thank a trucker.

Wow I can’t believe a whole month has passed since my last post.  It seems like only a few weeks. 

Well it has been a few weeks and very busy ones at that.  I am happy to report that my move to Fastrax Transportation may just be the smartest move I ever made.  It’s just too bad I didn’t get smart sooner.

As they say, better late than never, unless of course you’re talking about the big three; war, death, and taxes.  In those cases never is definitely preferable.

The downside, if there is a downside to employment with Fastrax, is I’ve only been home three days in the last month and even worse than that, I wasn’t home for Marilyn’s birthday this month.  It was an important milestone too.  I won’t tell you how old she is but it rhymes with “fix tea”. Groan.

The upsides to the new job, and there are several, is that I have been able to run a legal logbook, I’ve been able to do the majority of my sleeping at night, and my work days have been spent 10% waiting and 90% driving.  A huge difference from my last employer.

Another big bonus has been the chance to see some of my relatives who I haven’t seen in years.  I had breakfast with my Uncle David Gray in Winnipeg. 89 years young, still the same guy I remember from the last time I saw him 23 years ago.  Then my Aunt Maisie and Uncle Oliver Benson now semi-retired from the farm and living in Ste. Rose du Lac made the hours drive down to meet me for supper at Neepawa.  By the way, the Brahma Restaurant just east of Neepawa on Highway 16 is a pretty good place to eat.  And if you’re in the market for western wear they have a shop for that too.

In Edmonton my brother Allan and his wife Pat who live in Beaumont, made the hour drive through rush hour traffic to join me at the Yellowhead truck stop for pie and coffee and a long chat to catch up on things.  My cousin Hazel and her husband Dave drove in from Spruce Grove to join in the party and to catch up on the family news.  I’m looking forward to many more trips to Manitoba and Alberta as I have a hockey sock full of relatives I haven’t seen in a very long time.

As of this writing I’m back in Winnipeg, having delivered a big load of beer this morning.  I’m sitting at the Flying-J writing this post as my logbook resets so I can pick up a load in Brandon tomorrow and head down to Laredo, TX over the weekend.  Sure beats Jersey and Hunt’s Point any day.

It has been quite some time since my last post to this blog and if I had such a thing as regular readers I apologize. Between a lot of pressures on the job and a lot of other things going on, this blog got sadly neglected. None of it was really a good reason but most certainly a good excuse.
Hopefully, all that will change however, as I have moved my truck to a new company. As of Friday the 19th of February I am officially a driver/broker with Fastrax Transportation out of Hartland, New Brunswick, a division of Day & Ross.
I owe a deep vote of gratitude to Fastrax Broker Manager, Gerry Betts and his very capable assistant Andrea Grant for making the transition painless, if not downright enjoyable.
My previous employer, while acceptable in many aspects and even above average in a few, just didn’t seem capable of allowing me to meet their expectations without breaking the hours of service regulations on a daily basis. To be honest my last few months with them had me almost to the point of burnout.  As an example, I got a $488 logbook fine on my last trip with the previous employer. I hadn’t had a logbook violation in the past 16 years. This one totally attributable to lack of sleep and exhaustion.
Today is Sunday the 21st of February and I’m in Northern Ontario on my way to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba with a load of McCains frozen french fries and pizzas. I had almost forgotten what it was like to drive mostly daylight hours and get a good nights sleep.
Now I’m not one bit afraid of a good days work or a good nights work for that matter. But when I’m expected to do both on a continual basis I’m forced to draw the line, for other people’s safety if not my own.
I truly hope if there are other drivers out there whose employers play fast and loose with their safety and well being that they too will have the common sense and ability to make a change.
Marilyn has been very supportive throughout this transition and is every bit as relieved as I am at the prospect of running legally once more. She doesn’t see me often but when she does she prefers it when I’m not quite so uptight.
Stay tuned to this blog and I’ll keep you posted on how Fastrax proves out on this and other factors. Who knows this may be the company to fit your needs as well.

If any of your decide to put in an application at Fastrax please tell them the GrumpyOlTrucker sent you.

PS. I’ll be posting pics of the truck with the new decal package whenever the weather allows it to be clean again for five minutes.

Hello from England once again. As some of you may know, I’ve been trying for some time now to find work in Canada, so that my family and I can start a new life there. I’m pleased to say I’ve been offered (and accepted) a job on PEI, with the same company that Grumpy works for.

So this may well be my last post from the UK, and I’m focusing on what I’m expecting from trucking in Canada and the USA. One thing I know for sure is that it’s not an easy option! Long hours, extended periods from home and inter-stellar mileages are what my employers will expect from me, and it will take some time to adjust to that – I know I can do it, as I’ve done it before – and this time it will be different and (at first) exciting.

We in Britain think of 400 miles as a full days work, but over there that’s just a warm up. One of the things British drivers struggle with is the amount of un-paid sitting around you have to do, but I’ll just have to learn to keep focused on the big picture, and rack up the miles when I can.  I`m also wary of the challenges of driving your vehicles. The steering wheel is on the wrong side for a start! Long ago we abandoned the the constant-mesh (or “crash” as we call them) transmissions, so I don’t doubt I’ll be playing a few tunes on the gearbox.

Border crossing will be another challenge, as will stopping at every scale, and moving axles around. One thing I’m hoping for is a little respect and appreciation for what I do from the public. Hopefully, truck drivers are seen as a welcome service provider, whereas we are treated with contempt over here. The people that design shops,supermarkets, restaurants and municipal areas deliberately set out to discourage us from parking, and, where we can stop, we have to move on after 2 hours or pay a fee. Yet, as I understand it, you can pull into a Canadian Wal-mart and do a little shopping without worry.

Naturally, I’m looking forward to the wide open American highways, and the challenges of driving through the big cities, and seeing the sights. And, most of all, I’m looking forward to a new life for my wife and children. I will be coming alone initially, so that I can be sure I’ll be able to make the money I need to support them, and that will be tough. When they do arrive, I expect life to be a struggle, especially until my wife can get a work permit. She’ll have to stay at home and deal with all the trials and tribulations of daily life, whilst I’m off exploring in my truck. No doubt there will be tears and tantrums from the kids (ten and thirteen), because they’re still wrapped up in the excitement of it all, and haven’t quite grasped the enormity of what we’re doing. When they have to try new food, make new friends and join new schools, it may be something of a shock.

So, to put it in a nutshell, I expect 2 or 3 very tough years for us all, followed by a life time of contentment and happiness – and I can’t wait to get on with it As things stand at the moment, I’m waiting for my LMO, which should be here in a couple of weeks. With a bit of luck I’ll be in Canada a couple of weeks after that – I hope to see you there. My next post should be a progress report.