Smurf Trucking - 1946 - 2016

Ok not really but I am not allowed to say who I work/worked for including the color of the truck.. I can say we have been called smurfs before because if the color ;-)

On July 1, 2016 the takeover of the company I hired on to was completed. I was called into the office to sign 3 documents. Two were normal but the third I objected to. They wanted me to sign my name that I was given the new employee handbook even though they admitted they won't have any copies for three weeks. The company I hired on to handbook was 38 pages, the new one is 72 pages on standard 8 x 11 paper. They had a in house copy that I thumbed through.. Full of legalese , including agreeing to not going to court but an arbitrator of their choosing if a dispute arises, the right to change the company policy retroactively without notice and...

They told me I would be fired if I didn't sign that day. I said go ahead. By  law they must let you know what the initial policy is so it can be followed. Just common sense really..

 My boss took me outside and stated although I annoy him at times he appreciates me being legal, a clean safety record and he didn't want me to leave the company. The first time in 5 years I truly felt appreciated..

He also knows that once I get a chance to read it there is a 99% chance I will agree to it because more and more companies are going this way..

So I was given time until they could give me a copy and it was agreed to that I follow the previous handbook till then..

Yesterday I had a lot of stuff spinning in my head about my career, where it was going, how it would end and... Experience means a lot but older drivers generally have more medical issues, need more time off, and... So many companies are hesitant to hire because of that.. That is why I blipped what I did yesterday...

I want to thank this truly awesome, caring and fabulous community for the support you gave me yesterday.. Driving this smurf mobile as long as I can....