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I need some advice here. I work for a small trucking company mom and pop operation, right before Christmas my boss (the owner) and I got into a huge fight, I had been working 12-15 hours a day almost since October and I'm a single parent which they know. The day in question I had started work at 7am and was 9 hours into what was looking like a 12 hour day, then my supervisor called and said I would have to do another run when I got back from the current run which would have had me working until between midnite and 1am, around a 18 hour day. He also said he was givin me heads up so I could make arrangements with my kids. About a half hour later I messaged him and said he needed to look for another option for that other run. 1hour later my big boss the owner called cursing me out for not working the other shift, I wasn't even given a chance to explain that I had other obligations, he cursed me, even told me he owns me,I do whatever he says and work whatever he tells me to. Said who the f&ck do you think you are, you're treating my company like sh@t etc. a week later he called a meeti with me, and again 2 min in he starts screaming again about me not workin that shift. I wasn't the only one available for that, in fact there were other guys sent home early. But at the second meeting he even said to me "I asked you to do one thing and you wouldn't do it, it isn't like I asked you to blow me!" This crap and some other stuff has been going on for 3 weeks now, I can't afford to quit plus the job market sucks around here, what can I do? It seems like no matter what it's gonna bite me in the ass.
I need some advice here. I work for a small trucking company mom and pop operation, right before Christmas my boss (the owner) and I got into a huge fight, I had been working 12-15 hours a day almost since October and I'm a single parent which they know. The day in question I had started work at 7am and was 9 hours into what was looking like a 12 hour day, then my supervisor called and said I would have to do another run when I got back from the current run which would have had me working until between midnite and 1am, around a 18 hour day. He also said he was givin me heads up so I could make arrangements with my kids. About a half hour later I messaged him and said he needed to look for another option for that other run. 1hour later my big boss the owner called cursing me out for not working the other shift, I wasn't even given a chance to explain that I had other obligations, he cursed me, even told me he owns me,I do whatever he says and work whatever he tells me to. Said who the f&ck do you think you are, you're treating my company like sh@t etc. a week later he called a meeti with me, and again 2 min in he starts screaming again about me not workin that shift. I wasn't the only one available for that, in fact there were other guys sent home early. But at the second meeting he even said to me "I asked you to do one thing and you wouldn't do it, it isn't like I asked you to blow me!" This crap and some other stuff has been going on for 3 weeks now, I can't afford to quit plus the job market sucks around here, what can I do? It seems like no matter what it's gonna bite me in the ass.
That sounds terrible. I am in a poor position to advise you. I don't remember labor law very well (I do remember that refusal to work overtime was a firable offense - but I also remember that there were caveats around notice, length of overtime, etc which I do NOT remember).
Aren't trucker's hours pretty heavily regulated? As in, aren't there PA laws against driving for 18 hour shifts? Or is that just over the road and for local hauls you are a slave?
Sigh. I hate to say it, but more than a legal thing this sounds like a guy thing and you need a guy's advice, specifically from a guy who has worked hourly jobs where Queensbury rules go out the door. I hope Andywire reads your post!!
One thing I can say is that you do not want to get emotional about this. This is about business, and both you and they have legitimate business needs. Theirs is for reliable, safe employees. Yours are for predictable hours and equitable pay. You can tell them that you can plan within a certain range of hours - outside of that, the babysitter charges double and you lose money by working. They should understand that. Frame it in terms of business. Strictly business. It sounds like they are interpreting your parenthood as weakness, and treating it as a license to bully you because they perceive that you have no options.
It does not sound like they are planning very well. Once those other guys booked out (you don't know they were sent home - they likely said 'OK, that's it for me' and left) you were their only option other than getting into the truck themselves. Likely they got a last minute order and were counting the cash before the delivery. Quite possibly they had already been hitting the sauce. Frankly, that's the only reason I can think of for them to be so belligerant. Other than that they are bullies, and bullies are belligerant by nature when they think they can get away with it.
Generally what should happen is that the market should drive bullies, poor planners and drunks out of business. Evidently it doesn't in your neck of the woods. Is this a one horse town and these guys own it? If so, you are stuck and need to get used to being treated as a plantation slave until you can get the h*ll out into a bigger town, or put them out of business. That being said, bullies only understand one thing - fear. That being said, kill them with kindness or you'll wind up having an "accident".
Listen to what I am saying because it will help you to clear your thoughts, it will give you a sense of resolution and get you out of the victim mentality, as well as providing ammunition in any potential case of "he said-she said". WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS.
The other alternative open to you: if they are THAT rushed, and get regular premium priced rush orders, and require you to work 18 hour days off the books in a regulated industry (if that is the case), then skirting the law may have become a way of life.
Consider biding your time and keeping your eyes open. Do they file their state sales and use tax receipts as required? Do they submit their portion of your SS contributions? If they are unethical in one arena, the odds are 100% that they are unethical in every arena. On the tax matters, these are government matters (I don't remember: SS is a Federal program. Does that make not remitting SS contributions a felony?), the laws are not lenient, and the government (state; Federal and local if they have not been paid off) has a much bigger stick to fight with than you do.
Alerting government agencies about your employers' skirting their tax obligations is a nice example of your tax dollars at work. Doesn't cost you a dime, and the government enforcement agencies are more relentless and effective than any labor attorney you could hire.
These guys could be in the red to the tune of a couple hundred grand over the course of a year. When the authorities come to collect, these guys will not have a long time to pay up. Make it your business to ensure the local papers know about it. In a small town, there are ways to get the word out without it pointing to you.
You need a job, you say.
OK. Right now, learn their cost structure. Build up your knowledge about their customer list. Learn the business. While they are struggling to come up with $200K on 30 days' notice to stay in business, get your own delivery truck. Set up your own shop. Provide a superior level of service to their customers while these bullies are going belly up. If you have any possible way to do it, set it up as a veteran-owned business. When you are able to, hire some Marines. You will want to position yourself as being on the side of the angels. Just stepping up to do the right thing by the honest merchants in the town, and all.
How did you come to be the low guy on the totem pole here? Is it because you are the newest?
In the early 90's, I also worked for a Mom & Pop truck (18 wheelers) repair company. Very small outfit and they literally "borrowed from Peter to pay Paul" each day and especially to make payroll every week. Unfortunately, payroll checks bounced every now and then, which made the owners even crankier. It was a hostile and a very sexually harassing place to work. Everyone who worked there smoked inside the office constantly (I'm a non-smoker) and it was so nasty and smelly. I went home every day smelling like an ashtray. I hated it. The only reason I took the job was that I knew them from my p/t job that I worked in the evening, and they offered me a f/t job at their office. If I'd known it was going to be that bad, I would have never accepted the job.
However, not all Mom & Pop businesses are bad businesses or badly run businesses. Unfortunately, the one I worked at went under nearly 20 years ago.
Start looking for something else and get out of a volatile situation before you end up being a casualty.
Depending on things like the kind of truck driving you do and the reasons why you had other obligations, you could have some legal standing to argue for better working conditions. To know for sure, however, you probably need a lawyer's advice.
That said, going to a lawyer is not always necessary or a good idea. The best analogy is that when you break a bone, you need to see a doctor. When you have a bad cold, you just take care of it yourself. Workplace fights are common. Most are much more like bad colds than broken bones. The fights always suck, but rarely are they so serious that you should pay the kind of money that a well-trained lawyer deserves for that lawyer's expert counsel. You don't need to go to a doctor to know to buy yourself some NyQuil and get plenty of rest for your cold. You don't need a lawyer to tell you your workplace sucks and it is time to look for a new job or take an active role in confronting the problem to change the situation.
I realize you have confronted your problem, but have not improved the situation yet. I also realize that you are here on this forum seeking advice and not in a lawyer's office. Good for you. Unless you think these job conditions are worth paying hundreds or thousands of dollars to remedy through a legal battle, it seems as if it is time to move on to new employment even if that choice is difficult to make.
You have tried to deal with your boss, and what have you learned? Your boss is a pig. Now, as the old adage goes, don't waste your time trying to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Start looking online for a different job. I'm unsure where you live, but if there are aren't many jobs around you, try relocating. Since your a single parent, move to a larger city with your kids and apply to Allstate or larger companies that need truckers!
Are you an owner operator or employee paid by the hour/ or mile using a company truck? It may not matter either way, but you need to try to talk to your boss to iron things out. It sounds like he may find any reason to let you go, so try to mend fences best you can and on top of that, he has a bad temper which doesn't help your situation. Your company's operation sounds disorganized on top of that and often things are at small businesses anyway. While this is all going on, look for another job NOW as it sounds like most everything is stacked against you at work. Try to stay professional and cool at all times, especially with the difficult boss (manager), no matter where you work.
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