On this episode, Dooner & FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller are joined by Celadon bankruptcy story breaker JP Hampstead, EVP of Media Emily Szink, Freight Broker Live’s Steve Oatley and The Dart Network’s Dave Ables.
Navigating the Celadon shutdown and breaking a story on What The Truck?!? [podcast]
Noble1
Truck drivers are not in the business of extending credit , they are not BANKS !
A “Truck Driver Alliance” could certainly position themselves to create and own their own bank and extend credit with “interest” to outsiders , however , truck drivers are currently not aligned nor united to create anything even remotely close to what I’m suggesting .
We’re still in the dark age acting like divided dependants at the mercy of others . This is what needs to change in order to protect yourselves and gain a little more independence . We need to evolve . Our unfortunate experiences should act like the stick to motivate us to render our lives a little more joyful and pleasant .
In my humble opinion ………
Wishing you nothing less than the very best !
Sincerely ,
Noble1
Noble1
Listen from 37:10 to 37:41 Trucks getting repoed
Drivers were forced to vacate the trucks by law enforcement as they were being repoed while they slept in them at a truck stop .
Something is definitely amiss here . Why were these trucks being repossessed ? Were the payments not up to date ? What is legitimate about having the right to repossess a truck that is not late on its payments and stranding drivers in a parking lot ?
Something is definitely not clear regarding this issue .
Furthermore , what can possibly justify such an inhumane act ? But that’s fine , you want to be “ruthless” , well two can play that game . However , I suggest simply being wise , prudent , and ethical .
Now due to this whole event of stranding truck drivers and making them go through inhumane experiences due to the mismanagement of Celadon , how can we as truck drivers prevent this sort of thing from ever happening again to truck drivers that work as employees for carriers ? This sort of behavior should not be provided with a second occasion .
Because from my point of view this occurred because truck drivers were vulnerable due to entrusting their employers in good faith to treat them with dignity and provide them with the means to return comfortably as any other day in the past .
Yes management could have simply called back drivers FIRST to their terminals for a general meeting . THEN release the info to outsiders BEFORE the recent SEC announcement .
But there is no point in going back in the past for now . We need a solution to ensure that this sort of barbaric careless treatment will never happen again !
What we need to ensure is that no truck driver will ever be positioned in such a vulnerable position and experience such an undignified atrocity which would render them victim to treatment again . Because this can certainly happen again with any company .
So things obviously need to change . It can be as simple as demanding that a company ensure the funds to pay your wages are held in escrow . That a fuel card does not only give access to credit but must ensure preloaded funds are accessible for either the whole trip or per trip from and back to the terminal .
What this situation with Celadon and many before it has clearly brought to light is that drivers can no longer allow themselves to trust an employer nor a corporation blindly . It’s nothing personal , it’s business . And drivers must not allow a business’s mismanagement issues too become personal issues .
Same for lease ops and brokers . NO MORE CREDIT TO YOUR SHIPPERS NOR CARRIERS !
We can look at this from many different angles . As a consumer when you “order” a good off of the internet and it is shipped to you , more often than not you will need to pay for shipping . And more often than not you will pay the shipping “fees” upfront before receiving your good(s) . NO CREDIT IS EXTENDED ON SHIPPING ! Seldomly you may be offered to pay C.O.D .
So now a trucking transportation employer should need to guarantee you won’t suffer , nor screw you , and that you won’t be left stranded , nor be in a position where you’ll be forced out of a truck that is going to be repossessed .
So drivers will need to create a few regulations of their own or remain at the mercy of another company which can potentially position themselves in the same sort of dire circumstance and repeat the same sort of behavior rendering you a victim of their mismanagement .
Of course it would be a lot simpler to HAVE FREAKING UNITED as a “Truck Driver Alliance ” to prevent such things by being ALL on the same page .
BUT you chose to do differently and remain divided and each one to fend for themselves .
The least you can do is protect yourself . However, by being divided it won’t prevent another from competing with you and provide/offer “credit” and or blind faith to the employer and or shipper .
Learn from this situation and protect yourselves because NONE of us can guarantee that this won’t reoccur with another .
We have trusted in good faith , and we ended up getting screwed . So we should admit to having exercised bad judgement . And by admitting that it is our fault , not only do we gain power through taking responsibility , we also gain experience , and from that experience we also gained wisdom which shall be used to apply GOOD JUDGEMENT ! Now based on good judgement you can ‘prevent” this potential reoccurrence by being “prudent” due to your experience .
So by taking responsibility YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO RESPOND ! So “respond” wisely .
In my humble opinion ………..