I don't have a lot of time to go into this issue here. The purpose of this report is to expose the reality of how things go at CRST.
I went to a CRST sponsored class A driving School. Two weeks and no more than about 10-15 hours behind the wheel, it's make or break training. After I graduated and passed the DMV Exam I was Assigned to a 28 day over the road driver trainer. This person was highly intelligent, and competent but also had nothing good to say about CRST. I was required to drive 11 hours a day then attempt to sleep the remainder in a moving truck while my driver trainer drove, not an easy task. Most days I was on the verge of falling asleep at the wheel. Moving on to the subject of pay, in a nut shell you don't get any pay. So if you have rent, car payment etc, you will default on all these obligations as the company does not accurately and clearly state how much and when they are going to deduct. Furthermore the 22 cents per mile split pay is equivalent to minimum wage, and keep in mind you will need to eat at truck stops which is fairly expensive. The plan they offer is OK if you are homeless, have no bills and want to live in a truck. Remember you cant just walk off the job when your in a unfamiliar state, with no money, as you have no pay coming from CRST. So your traped. CRST has no interest in providing a income for anyone, there game is to make them money, and to exploit the ignorance of persons interested in becoming big rig truck drivers. You might ask how I can say this...well lets start here. If I own a company and hire employees out a of a certian state, say california. I know the cost of living in that state, I know most persons need to make a definite amount of money each week in order for them to meet there financial obligations. So part of my responsibility would be to offer a pay schedule that met the need's of the employee.
Thousands of company's operate this way, and retain employees for years. This is not the case with CRST, they fail to disclose at the at the outset of employee employer talks the true and accurate pay you will receive as a driver. By doing so... this causes the applicant to make a decision based on misrepresentation. If your family is at home waiting on a pay check to pay for, food, rent, etc. you will be in dire need of help and your employer will have no interest in you problem. I could go on and be more specific, but... your better of working at a fast food joint for 6.50 an hour, at least you will gat you pay at the end of the pay period. I would like to invite CRST to a meeting to discuss how they get away with this fraudulent practice. Luckily for myself, I had several other trades I had experience in, I am also a Emergency Medical Tech. so I had a way out. I took the job offer based upon making more than the 750.00 a week I was earning as an EMT. What I got was about 1/3 of that a week minus expenses. Less than minimum wage.