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My Driver Manager's Boss said that yes the company owed me money, and even their billing department agreed they owed me money, however, I was stuck with the bill my company, who insists "they care about their drivers more than anything else" refused to pay for the rework' on my truck. Since they control my maintenance account I could do nothing but sit and watch them virtually commit theft from my escrow. This falls under unethical and deceptive business practices according to several lawyers I have spoken with, however I have yet to find a single lawyer that will even take the case because $1001 is not large enough for them to even consider. However, my family could have done a lot of things with those thousand dollars.

In my understanding, Team Drivers are a huge asset to any company; they can go coast-coast without stopping or ensure a dispatcher that a critical load gets to its destination on-time. It seems to me this would be leverage for higher or equivalent wages to that of a solo driver at the very least, yet, everyday I watch team drivers roll down the road next to me and I just have to shake my head in disbelief. How anyone could drive the same amount of miles and hours they did as a solo driver and agreed to be paid half as much just amazes me. Seriously, think about that one. You may have another driver on the truck, but those two drivers still individually drive the same amount of miles as any single solo driver on the road. Why would anyone in their right mind even consider this?
This unethical business practice also forces married couples who drive as a team to either split up to make the same income two solo drivers would make or deal with the lower wages. There is no shortage in companies willing to exploit your labor.

Most people don't even realize the danger they are in every single day when they get into their car and drive down the road next to a big rig, because if they did, they would be screaming to get us off the road. We are the professionals that deliver their goods and ensure their safety as part of our job description. We are the professionals who sacrifice a majority of our personal, social and family lives to do this, yet we continue to be treated like trash. In the last baseball strike, a major factor in the negotiation of the players contracts was compensation for how long they were away from their families, and they are playing a kids game we, on the other hand, cannot afford to play kids games out here, because playing games

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