Hello,
My husband just finished his 4 day orientation at CRST in Fontana,Ca and was told from the beginning that he would leave from there today or tomorrow with a trainer for 28 days. Well now they have just informed him that they are going to rent him and two other trainees a car to drive to Oklahoma City (1200 miles away) to meet up with their trainers and he will not start getting paid until he takes off in a truck in OKC!
Does this sound RIGHT?? Is this NORMAL procedure?
Thanks, Val :shock:

 

Does this sound RIGHT?? Yup. Is this NORMAL procedure? Could be, but if he's in a vehicle paid for by CRST, he should be paid/reimbursed for ALL expenses to get to OKC. The other option would be to sit at home until a trainer gets to your area. But, after all, it is Crash and Roll Stunt Team. BOL

 

Pretty much par for the course. So long as CRST is picking up the tab for all expenses for this trip then I would not worry too much about it. With freight being what it is, sometimes it is easier and quicker to send the trainee to the trainer than the other way around.

I several people who went through training at Werner and a few other companies that sat for 2-3 weeks waiting on a trainer to come to them as the company would not do what CRST is doing.

 

:? yep !!! ....... a larger company has the option to do this or anything they want ... if the truth be known, they figure if a person wants a job bad enough ... especially just starting out .. you will go anywhere and do just about anything they ask. I beleive that's called paying your dues :evil: ..... one company I started with back in the 90's did the same to me ... except they told me after all my paperwork had been completed that I was going to get on the next bus heading for Denver. YIKES .... in the middle of summer and stuck a bus with the AC not working ...... hated it ! :evil: ......... I wasn't paid for the ride to Denver - guess they figured since they were paying for my bus ticket - - that would be good enough.... As for me ~ I'll never get back on another bus unless it has private TV's and a toilet .... Why is it that bus stopped seem to draw out all the wierd people at 3:00am ..... :cry:

 

Thanks for your responses! My husband got to OKC this afternoon (friday) he had to wait around at the car rental to get picked up then dropped off at a hotel until tomorrow! I don't get it.... I think he would have been better off waiting in Fontana a few days for a trainer instead of driving 1200 miles and not getting PAID for all the driving! They paid for the car rental but he has to pay for gas and food which they say he will be reimbursed for!
He just got a call from his trainer and he is in Pa and will be in Ohio TOMORROW and he said that he will either pick him up in OKC Monday or CRST will send him to Ohio!
This is CRAP he is on the road or in a hotel for maybe 5 days and NOT getting paid until he gets on the truck with his trainer (who knows when) and then he gets paid for the miles he drives for the NEXT 28 days, this does not make sense to me!

 

As CFM would say that is how the coolie carriers work. It sucks.

 

I would have never have agreed to do anything but to be paid while I sit at home waiting for a trainer.

Doesn't make sense to me either but unfortunately drivers continue to allow crap company's to treat them this way. It will get better though, he will go through worse crap than this.

BOL

 

Val,
As the others have already stated, your husband's current situation is not at all uncommon. I speak from experience as I started out at CRST a couple of years ago. There is a bright side. Instead of waiting at Fontana, at least CRST is aggressively trying to get him on a truck. I have been to the Fontana yard a few times and it appeared that there were LOTS of people more or less milling around waiting for a trainer. I am also going to assume that your husband is on a 6-month or 1-year contract with CRST. The good thing is that his contract period started counting down on the day he completed orientation and received his CRST credentials. I'm sure at this point that 1200 miles to OKC seems like quite a haul. You will soon learn that in the trucking industry, especially with team operations like CRST, that 1200 miles is hardly more than a trip around the block. Tell hubby to hang in there. There are definitely going to be some rough days ahead. Personally, I found that starting my driving career with CRST, driving as a team, was a great learning experience. I have since moved on and now drive locally in a job that I enjoy more than any job I have ever had. Lastly regarding pay. Trucking companies, in general, tend to be rather hesitant to pay for anything other than when the wheels are turning on the truck. Remember that at this point your husband is still a student. Encourage him to stick it out, get some miles under his belt and then he will be able to move on and find a more acceptable employment situation. In my opinion, CRST is best looked at as a place to get your training and move on. If you have any questions that I may be able to answer, please feel free to PM or e-mail. Good Luck!

 

With CRST being one of the biggest crap outfits on the road today this does not surprise me at all. I would have spent more time researching companies.

 

Your husband is entitled to the federal minimum wage at a minimum and more likely, California minimum wage. Don't wait for CRST to volunteer it, though. Call the CA Department of Labor to confirm what I said and then call CRST and let them know where to send the check.

If your new employer sends you home to wait for a trainer you wont be entitled to any pay. If the employer has you travel to meet a trainer, you are entitled to be paid.

Once again, it's the big myth about pay per mile. You don't have to be driving to be paid. Your company owes you Federal minimum wage (some states are higher) for all hours worked.