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I’m feeling overwhelmingly conflicted right now.
Due to an injury I had to take time off from being a truck driver and upon my return I decided to go with a larger company one with better benefits and pay.

And the company I signed on with is actually one of the top 5 largest in the world. So it’s gotta be good right?

Well being that they are so large they have bought out other companies and much to my surprise that’s where I got assigned but the company was still operating under its name and out of its headquarters in Montana and I went their location in Conover N C.

And around that region there’s still some good ol southern Baptist red necks and to encounter one should be expected especially in the trucking industry. But of the instructors there who’s job is to evaluate us and determine that we’re safe to operate an 80,000 lb truck was a little open about his thoughts and beliefs.

And usually I’m good at working around people like that by limiting my contact with them but here I had to be inside of a truck with him and another driver for several hours at a time. Well the other driver was new and was having issues with keeping the truck on his side of the road so of course the comments of we’re going to die came out and this instructor said “let’s pray “ and of course I didn’t say anything.

Which apparently was the wrong thing to do because he noticed it and asked if was religious and I told him that I was agnostic or which he replied “ I bet you’re a liberal too “ and I unfortunately responded with “ nope I’m a socialist “ which got me that look. ?

But oddly enough this isn’t the real problem that I’m facing. As many of you know I’m not a political correctness but what I saw there in the past two weeks would make an HR representative burn the building down ( which ironically there wasn’t any HR representatives there at that location)

But when you hear enough jokes, comments and oddly enough physical actions mimicking sexual acts that are homosexual in nature that it made me uncomfortable and I worked in a prison for over a decade.
And then we saw the safety manager and we got to hear that he was gay and that his partner was a minister and how they’re both disgusting and will hopefully burn in Hell.

The same instructor also joked openly on multiple occasions about having sex with the wife of the young driver that was with us as well as talking about having sex with own wife.

But wait there’s more ? one of the instructors there was mixed and they openly referred to him as caramel but he at least referred to them as hickabillies wich doesn’t make things right but still. We also had a guy from Columbia that was very socially inept and wouldn’t stop talking which is why “ Mr.Christian “ screamed at him to shut the fuck up even though the guy was at lunch and having a conversation with me and someone else.

And throw in the farting and horseplay and it was a high school locker room from hell. And since I didn’t participate I was made to see that same individual get assigned a truck so that he can go out and make a full paycheck ( well until he kills somebody because he’s driven on his own before) while the guy from Columbia and myself were told that we would need to be on the road with a driver trainer for a week and then they’d reconsider what we could do next.
And with everything that I encountered so far I just knew that we’d have some fucking born again klansman out there with us and we’d cut lose upon returning.

So yeah I fucking quit and my conflict is that I want to call the companies hr hotline because that was the absolute most unprofessional place that I’ve ever encountered in my life but I’m afraid that it’ll be perceived as me being disgruntled.

So what do y’all think? Am I?

48thRonin 8 Jan 11
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6 comments

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Ok so I lucked out and the company has a 3rd party reporting group so now I know that it won’t be shelved.
And like I said I believe that we should be able to joke about anything because it’s a sign of acknowledgement of a problem and our coping mechanisms are different.

But at work I believe that it’s not a fucking comedy club and where it should end especially coming from those in a position of authority. It’s where people go to so that they can support themselves and/or families and shouldn’t be made to feel anyway other than a part of that company’s success.

Someone said something about a lawsuit. That’s not me I just wanted this guy to no longer have the ability to behave in a manner that’s disrespectful and unprofessional especially since because there is such a demand for drivers it has seen a surge in diversity and we need everyone we can get and they should feel appreciated for wanting to risk their lives everyday.
And hopefully this company will do the right thing.

So thank all of you for your input and support and I’ll gladly be there for any of you if needed.

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Disgruntled? Yes. Why do people think that's such a bad word? Lol

I would be upset too. I would have shot back at that prick if he told me to shut the fuck up like he did that other guy. Unprofessional and a jerkoff! The only problem is if HR would even care. They might have the same mentality.

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I filed a complaint against my manager for racial and homophobic remarks and even had 5 people testify to his hostility toward certain workers. After 7 months, HR said there wasn't enough evidence to go forward and dropped the whole thing. So don't put to much faith in HR, but do write everything down and include dates and times if possible. Also print out any e-mails that may be helpful in the future. Be discreet of course. Fortunately for you, you're a truck driver and they're in extreme demand and there's a huge shortage. Also, I work in the bible belt so I will not discuss religion or politics at work and will repeat that ad nauseam when pressed. Kinda like taking the 5th. And no I don't think you're disgruntled, just disgusted. Whatever you decide to do, make sure to never badmouth your previous employer or why you left in future job interviews. That really looks disgruntled.

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Yes, let HR know the reasons you quit. They should know, at least for the record.

It obviously still bothers you and you should unburden yourself. You might seem "disgruntled" if you were suing or wishing to cause the company harm, but it seems to me that you simply want to air what you observed and experienced, so the environment could be monitored and improved going into the future for existing and future employees.

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Sad that this confirms every stereotype I've heard about truckers. When I was a kid, they were referred to as "knights of the road." Now they're just redneck know-nothings who take pride in their ignorance and bigotry. Yes, of course you should report them to HR. If enough people do that, maybe something positive will result.

Trust me when I say that what I just encountered is actually not a commonality especially since last year when they put computers and cameras in the trucks to keep us legit.
I believe that this guy decided to go the route of a trainer to avoid being controlled and the company that I’m trying to go back to is the definition of professionalism and I should’ve never left.

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Call the HR hotline or go directly to HR. There are laws against this regardless of what redneck state you are in.

I would have quit too and gone out in a blaze of glory.

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