Fired from FEDEX

T

TOMW

New Member
Was fired after 18 years of working at fedex freight.at age 60...for less then other drivers have done, too many incidents in 5 years.they stated...regarding safety issues but none of them had anything to do with a safety issue..damage to eqiupment but far less then at least 4 other drivers which are all at least 10 years younger then myself..my issue is this why would i be singled out if others have had worse infactions they myself and worse..??? I'm aware that the state of Illinois is an at will state,but how can one person be singled out for the same mistake others have done and there still working there...NOT FAIR!!!
 
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Fair is where we ride the merry-go-round and eat cotton candy. Didn't your Mama ever tell you life wasn't going to be fair? You're old enough to know better, anyway.
 
TOMW said:
Was fired after 18 years of working at fedex freight.at age 60...for less then other drivers have done, too many incidents in 5 years.they stated...regarding safety issues but none of them had anything to do with a safety issue..damage to eqiupment but far less then at least 4 other drivers which are all at least 10 years younger then myself..my issue is this why would i be singled out if others have had worse infactions they myself and worse..??? I'm aware that the state of Illinois is an at will state,but how can one person be singled out for the same mistake others have done and there still working there...NOT FAIR!!!
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Sorry, the employer gets to decide what punishment is meted out to those in their employ.
Seems they gave others a pass, and they gave you the boot.
Good luck.
 
Because all it takes is one of your Supervisors or Bosses to decide to fire you for those accidents. If you are near Chicago, try YRC or ABF. They will appreciate your skills. Expect to spend your winters on UI and spring through fall in a pajama wagon at either until you retire. If you and your partner are willing to turn the barn, you can pull down $70k per year off the bottom of the board. The safety dept at Fred Ex said hiring me was not an option because I needed a bottom of the board accommodation because I cannot do any lifting or tow motor work and the bottom 10 slots were load and turns at the barn I was interviewed one year while on UI for the winter. If you have never run in a pajama wagon, remember you can get killed asleep just as easy as when you are driving down the road.

I once had a defective 5th wheel that latched on a set of empties, which I took to Toledo. Picked up a light van and had a problem getting the 5th wheel to latch, but it did and I figured I had my angle off. Took that up to Michigan and hooked a heavy set of pups to return. Yardman witnessed me visually inspect the 5th wheel was latched. Before I made it onto the road, dropped the trailers. wrote up the 5th wheel, reported to supervisor on duty the defect, he PM'd my boss. The next day a guy from Cinci was given the same tractor in MI after their mechanic said the 5th wheel was OK. He dropped his set before making it to the road. Supervisor PM'd his boss and he was fired immediately. Next day, MI city driver hooked up his van to peddle and dropped it coming off the dock. He was not punished, I was not punished. Middle guy was fired. Mechanic was not fired either.

I also had a brake malfunction on a wet down slope. Newer trucks have computer override braking on tractors by law. Computer braked the tractor causing a jackknife. Once I knew it was gone, I first kept it from going through a guardrail (destroyed about 30 feet) into a ravine saving my butt, then rode out the slide for about 400 feet knowing I was going to hit a Jersey Barrier backwards and that hitting the brakes on the trailer might kill someone if it swung around. Totaled the tractor and trailer, my boss forgot to fire me within the time outlined in our CBA because he knew I was one of his assets. Only times I ever called road service was for tires, because I refused to risk someones life over a shredder. Did hundreds of temporary road repairs with shop approval and carried basics in my bag to do them. I paid for the tractor and trailer I totaled in road repair savings.
 
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BTW, both of those TM's (ABF and YRC) are great guys you would be happy to travel the distance with, even though the Supervisors in between can sometimes be a pain.
 
Did the others all have as many infractions as you, even if not all were as severe? Did the others all have the exact same job, similar seniority and the same supervisor you did? Were your offenses actually significantly more minor or do you just feel that they are not as severe? If these were different offenses entirely, you are going to have a real problem because the employer is the one who gets to decide which infractions can be handled in other ways and which mean termination, even if you don't agree.
 
Thanks ElleMD for your reply,YES they did have as many infractions,the exact job,all with less seniority,and the same supervisor...My offenses were significantly less severe..they all had to do with the same offenses..
 
Elle, trying to rank the severity of infractions in the trucking industry is difficult to quantify. One infraction can mean nothing, another cause death. What is clear is OP was the final employee in line to catch errors and is required by Federal law to catch them before operating defective equipment. If he would care to share his errors and their dates, I will rank them for the HR specialists to determine his case.



ElleMD said:
Did the others all have as many infractions as you, even if not all were as severe? Did the others all have the exact same job, similar seniority and the same supervisor you did? Were your offenses actually significantly more minor or do you just feel that they are not as severe? If these were different offenses entirely, you are going to have a real problem because the employer is the one who gets to decide which infractions can be handled in other ways and which mean termination, even if you don't agree.
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None of the infractions were severe.or an accident involving another vechicle or an safety issue.the most questionable one is an overhead wire..on a state road which are suppose to be 15'(max.ht.of our trailers are 13'6") according to Illinois state law..came across some low wires,was able to clear one going forward in order to have enough room to turnaround (would of not cleared the 2 in front of them)had to back up not realizing,the top rear of the trailer hit the wire,taking it down.....was told that if it was taken down going forward it would not of been a problem,but since I was backing up it would be a chargeable..this is the one that got me terminated...my issue is why would the direction of travel determine this outcome..if I continued to go forward there would of been more damage done ..but I guess I would still have a job,i think somebody wanted me gone period..
 
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Because you should have gotten out of the truck and visibly assessed the proper steps to take. You chose not to do so and tore down an overhead wire. That is the most basic rule taught in truck driving school. 90% of driver fault accidents happen when backing. If you think something is there or you cannot see something you know is there, you get out and physically assess the situation to avoid a collision. Also, some state routes, even in IL are posted no trucks because of low wiring and bridges. Was it one in the truckers atlas or was the route signed no trucks? IL has plenty of them.
 
Maybe you supervisor determined that was a significant & a termination infraction. (& you had other infractions previously also)
 
TOMW said:
probably because none of them were as old as me or had the time on the job...think about it
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Or, alternately, because you'd been on the job longer you were held to a higher standard. Length of tenure can suggest greater responsibility to know what to do and how to do it. Which is not illegal discrimination and is, in fact, a valid and legal reason to fire someone.
 
I did get out of the truck and assess the situation,the only thing I can think of is when I repositioned the trailer to back up to the turn around that the wire was at a slight angle,that I didn't notice,....probably because of an big tree that the wire was connected thru to from the other side wouldn't be in this spot if I did....did not notice any signs posting no trucks..
 
There are drivers with more years then myself that have had serious accidents RE:tearing off trailer roofs,rear end collsions,accidents with other vechicles,that are still there???
 
If they are overlooking accidents of those older than you, then your age isn't the issue. It must be some other reason. You conveniently left that part out.

None of us work there so none of us know why they are letting you go. Could be any number of reasons but now the most likely illegal one doesn't seem very likely. It could be that they just don't like you. Not fair, but entirely legal. Nothing you have shared is pointing to a reason which would be illegal or provide you legal recourse.
 
Apperciate your time&effort on this,i was the 2nd oldest driver out of 55 working there,was referring to drivers with more time on the job not older then myself,got along with everyone there..don't think I would of been there 18 years if they didn't..I liked working there...really miss my job..
 
Just as I was not terminated for the issues I mentioned, each employee's assessed a value. Mine fortunately was very high. In fact, I have been on ESL for 2.5 years and have not lost my job.
 
Also, if you go to Holland, they will run you in vans, keeping you out for the week until your hours are shot, running in circles. Then you get your time off. When it is busy, some elect to stay in the hotel on the companies tab until they pickup hours and keep on going during the summer.
 
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