After a six year tenure, I watched a company go from one of the finest run trucking companies, to one of the most upside down trucking companies, in a short period of time. Confusion and total lack of communication as well as high employee turnover rates in all departments and extremely low employee morale has taken it's toll. The company has seen two different investment groups in a relatively short period of time.
As a local driver based at the Morris, Il. terminal (headquarters), I began to regularly deal with long delays in the yard due to equipment shortages (primarily trailers) and railcars being pulled from one track and switched to an adjacent track while we waited and long waits to get to the scalehouse. The tank wash is also very slow to turn trailers around. All of these things cripples a local driver, especially when you're restricted by e-logs.
I listened and waited patiently for two years, as management told us how much they wanted to improve the company operations and driver's salaries. They finally announced two different pay package improvements, neither of which was helpful to a local driver. Finally, I was forced to make a change after I watched my income steadily decline and I was getting nowhere voicing my concerns to various terminal management and corporate management.
The management comes almost entirely from large dry-van and reefer companies (Schneider, Swift and Prime etc..). Very few, if any, have dry-bulk experience and it shows. It's my impression that they would like you to believe that they're listening to your concerns and complaints but based on the employee turnover rate, they clearly aren't. I believe that there are much bigger changes ahead for A & R, sadly, I don't see any of them being positive.
