e d i t o r i a l

Doug Condra • Editorial Director
Editorial

When ‘Free’ Training Isn’t

Carriers who bend the truth to lure drivers are just asking for trouble.

It’s no surprise: The pressure to hire and retain enough truck drivers to handle today’s booming freight demand has spawned a multitude of promised extra benefits by driver recruiters.
     In addition to recently improved earning potential (higher mileage rates, bonus programs, loading/unloading pay) and spiffy new equipment, today’s recruiting ads tout a host of goodies. They include life and health insurance, 401(k) plans, meal allowances, first-in/first-out dispatch, no-touch freight, liberal passenger policies and furnished uniforms. One carrier even promises “No New York City” trips.
     They’re all legitimate items of interest to a person who’s going to spend most of his or her time on the road, far from home.
     But a few carriers — some of substantial size — are pushing the envelope too far. They’re advertising “free” driver training that isn’t really free unless the student signs a contract to stay on with that carrier for a year or two after completing training.
     A driver who jumps ship or drops out of trucking before the time limit is up gets charged for the training, which can run to several thousand dollars he or she probably doesn’t have.
     Such “free” training ads have raised the ire of the Professional Truck Driver Institute of America, the Assn. of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools and the Commercial Vehicle Training Assn. (see story, page 49).
     They say the ads in violation flatly claim that the training is free; no fine print or special conditions noted. They also say that when a driver leaves the fleet before the time limit expires, the fleet may refuse to acknowledge that it trained him or her until the bill is paid.
     That can make it impossible for the driver to hire on with another carrier. The industry loses another qualified driver, who after this experience will probably never come back.
     It’s sad that any company feels it has to resort to fast talk and contracts that amount to blackmail (you’ll work for us or you won’t work in our industry) in order to hold on to employees.
     If your pay and benefit packages are solid and you treat employees right, you shouldn’t have to use indentured servitude to keep them.
     In fairness, these are the days of 100%-plus driver turnover in a lot of fleets. New drivers are especially vulnerable to being attracted to a competing carrier — or to just dropping out of the profession, when after a few trips they find life on the road too tough.
     But there are no excuses for false advertising and contracts that bar a professional from making a living in his or her chosen profession.
     If yours is a company that uses these tactics, you’ve been warned by the three training-related organizations. Their members will be reporting you to state attorneys general.
     This may be a good time to look into your recruiting department’s practices.While you’re at it, we suggest you keep one special practice in mind.
     It’s called ethics.