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www.morningstarco.com
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| Dear Applicant, | ||||||||||
The purpose of this letter is to provide candidates for the position of truck driver for The Morning Star Trucking Company with the information necessary for a clear understanding of what that position is and what the job requires. Please read this letter carefully before your interview. Any questions that arise may be cleared up during the interview.What is The Morning Star Trucking Company, and what do we do?
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Tomato
Season Preparation
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| Each year, months before the harvesting begins, work is done to get ready for the harvest season. Market demands and our production capacities are analyzed. Contracts with growers are made to provide tomatoes at specific times during the harvest season. Maps to fields are drawn. The processing plants go through extensive maintenance to prepare to run 24 hours a day for 80 to100 days or more. Boxes, barrels, cans, and plastic bags are shipped in and stored on the plant property. Arrangements are made with tractor leasing/rental companies to provide the required number of late-model truck tractors. | ||||||||||
| Forklift drivers, plant mechanics, truck shop personnel, yard personnel and dispatchers are hired and trained. The dispatch centers, grade stations and shops are set up. Trailers are inspected--the lights, brakes, frames, and connecting devices (fifth wheels, tow bars, safety cables, and pintle hooks) are checked for roadworthiness. The truck scales are inspected and certified by County Weights and Measures. Each trailer is weighed to obtain its tare (empty) weight. | ||||||||||
| Driver Colleague Acquisition | ||||||||||
| The process for hiring a driver starts when a candidate fully completes and submits all required application paper work. If all the requirements are met (good driving record, a willingness to commit to working the full season, and the ability to get along with others when working long hours), the candidate is scheduled for an interview. The interview is an opportunity for candidates and Morning Star Colleagues to talk openly about the job and its requirements. Following a successful interview, candidates will be asked to commit themselves to a deadline for obtaining a commercial vehicle Driver Instruction Permit. Candidates must have an instruction permit before they can begin behind-the-wheel training. Obtaining an instruction permit prior to the interview not only carries extra weight in the interview, but allows accepted candidates to immediately schedule behind-the-wheel training. | ||||||||||
| To obtain an instruction permit, candidates must pass a federally required physical examination and the written test given by DMV. To prepare for this, candidates may pick up a free copy of the California Commercial Driver Handbook, a DMV Report of Medical Examination (DL51), and a Medical Green Card (DL51A) form from any office of the California Department of Motor Vehicles. It is necessary to study the material in Section 1 Introduction, Section 2 Driving Safety, Section 3 Transporting Cargo Safely, Section 5 Air Brakes, Section 6 Combination Vehicles, Section 7 Doubles and Triples, and Section 10 Pre-Trip Test. For purposes of employment with Morning Star Trucking, it is not necessary to study Section 4 Transporting Passengers, Section 8 Tank Vehicles, nor Section 9 Hazardous Materials/Wastes. When the physical is completed and the written examinations are passed, DMV will issue an Instruction Permit. The fee for the permit is currently $64. It should be noted that the DMV will probably also require passage of the Class C (automobile) written exam at this time, so we strongly recommend you study your automobile driving handbook before attempting the exams for the Class A permit. | ||||||||||
| Drivers can complete their training in anywhere from two weeks to two months, depending on how much time they put in and their ability. Candidates are strongly encouraged to complete training as early as possible to avoid impacted training schedules. The instruction takes place in Williams or Los Banos, California. The training consists of approximately 16-20 hours behind the wheel and 8 hours in the classroom. The behind-the-wheel training is scheduled in two-hour time slots. More than one two-hour time slot can be scheduled per day. Time spent training is more effective if at least one two-hour time slot is allowed between periods of training for rest. Most of the 8 hours of classroom training sessions are scheduled to take place in a single day. Candidates are also required to complete some home studies. When candidates are ready they are scheduled for behind-the wheel practical exam, administered either by the DMV or by a qualified Morning Star examiner. Upon successful completion of the test, the candidates will receive their Class A (Commercial) Driver's License. At that time, candidates can request a work location and shift time. The sooner training is completed, the more shift choices candidates will have. | ||||||||||
| To meet Federal requirements, at some point during the training process candidates will be required to submit to a pre-employment drug screening. All commercial drivers are subject to random testing for drugs and/or alcohol during their employment as truck drivers. | ||||||||||
| Driver Compensation | ||||||||||
| A straightforward system is used to calculate driver earnings. Drivers are paid a percentage of the load value (income generated by hauling a load from the field to the factory). 21% for new drivers and 22% for those with previous tomato hauling experience. Longer runs pay more than short runs. Drivers are also paid for spotting trailers (bringing an empty set of trailers to a field and returning bobtail [with no trailers]). Driver pay is generated strictly by freight haul. Only in very rare circumstances will hourly pay be available. The latest 3-year driver earning history for 16-hour shifts shows that drivers averaged $1,266 per week. For 12-hour shifts, the 3-year average has been $995 per week. This year, most drivers will be on a 12-hour shift. We estimate potential earnings for a 12-hour shift will be $850 to $1,100 per week, depending on effort. A portion of the earnings comes in the form of a bonus. The bonus is based on the driver's total freight haul value accumulated during the season. Drivers become eligible for an additional 6% of total freight haul when they work through at least their contracted employment ending date and meet safety goals. If this date is reached, 4% of load value bonus will be paid if driver does no damage to equipment or property, or causes no injury to any individual through irresponsible/careless action. Another 2% will be paid if the driver receives no moving violation tickets while on duty or is not observed by qualified Morning Star colleagues engaging in unsafe driving practices. The damage/injury portion of the bonus will be calculated by subtracting dollar-for-dollar the cost of any damage caused by drive,r and adding 4% of load value. To help drivers keep things in perspective, consider the following: If a driver causes an accident that produces $80,000 in damage, Morning Star will not pay a bonus to this driver. The cost of this accident far exceeds any bonus the driver would have made, and Morning Star will have to cover the rest. Morning Star would much rather have paid the driver his/her full bonus and had no accident. Morning Star and driver would have been much better off. We very much want all drivers to receive their full bonus-a win-win situation for all. Also, keep in mind that the bonus is just that-a bonus. It is not a withholding of earnings. It is additional compensation for achieving certain goals. | ||||||||||
| The following are examples of a few tasks included in the driving task commitment, even though these tasks may not involve actual driving. Just prior to the season, drivers will be asked to drive one of the truck tractors from a tractor rental company (located in the Bay Area, West Sacramento, or Fresno) to one of the work locations (Los Banos or Williams). This can take either a few hours or most of one day. During the season, drivers may be asked to move sets of trailers around the yard or in or out of the shop. Usually this will take only a few minutes. Each driver is expected to clean and fuel their truck at the end of their shift so it is ready for the next driver. At the end of the season, each driver will be assigned a truck to completely clean before driving it back to a tractor company. Please read your employment agreement thoroughly and have all your questions answered before the season starts. | ||||||||||
| Work Locations and Shift Assignments | ||||||||||
| Often several weeks or even months will pass between the time a Class A license is received and the season starts. We realize that refresher training may be necessary. After candidates have reported for work and settled in, they will review with a trainer what was learned during training. Then, once we start operating, a candidate will drive for one or two trips with an experienced driver along to explain the routine. Only then are candidates, now driving colleagues, on their own. Rather, they are on their own but not alone. A radio puts a driver in immediate touch with the dispatcher or other drivers if advice or help is needed. Morning Star expects colleagues to "self manage" rather than be "managed" by another person, although a few colleagues are responsible for technical training and providing drivers with information and services needed to maximize their earnings. We want all drivers to have a successful season. | ||||||||||
| Most drivers are assigned to a regular shift that begins at the same time each day. A few drivers will take slots that cover the days off of other drivers. The cover-day-off shifts may start at slightly different times each day. Usually drivers that cover days off are the people who are the last to complete their training. Often they are worked into a regular shift as the season progresses. The last people to complete training may be put on a waiting list and must wait for an opening sometime during the season. | ||||||||||
| Sometimes drivers will not quite work a full shift because there may not be enough time to make a round trip before their shift ends. There will be times when drivers will have to wait to be dispatched, or wait for an empty trailer to become available at the plant, or wait for a harvester to load a set of trailers in the field. Drivers may have to wait at the beginning of their shift because their truck was held up in the field and is late getting in. Sometimes the plant will have mechanical problems and slow down, forcing harvesting to slow or stop. Successful drivers use these slow times as opportunities to do their laundry, shop for food, or get some sleep so they can be ready when things get busy again. Occasionally, drivers will be assigned to work at one of the other plants for a few days or a few weeks if the need arises. | ||||||||||
| Driver's Daily Itinerary | ||||||||||
| Each driver starts a shift by inspecting his or her truck tractor, which should be washed and fueled by the previous driver. They inspect the tractor to see that it is in good condition, then hook up to an empty set of trailers. After they inspect the condition of the trailers they report to dispatch and are assigned a load. Maps in dispatch give them the location of the load and the best route. There are copies of all of the maps in a map book in each truck tractor. Only when drivers are sure where they are going and what route to take should they leave the yard. To help a driver find the fields, "Morning Star" signs are placed at strategic locations to mark field entrances. The driver brings the empty set of trailers to the pad (a level area at the edge of the field). The driver drops the empty trailers and hooks up to a loaded set, inspects the loaded set of trailers, then pulls them to the plant. At the plant the driver stops on the truck scale. The truck is weighed, then driven to the grade station. At the grade station samples are taken from each trailer to check the quality of the fruit. It takes about three minutes to grade a load of tomatoes. The loaded trailers are then dropped in a nearby parking lot. The drivers then hook up to another set of empty trailers. After they inspect them, they are ready to be dispatched again. A round trip will take anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours or more. By the way, the loaded trailers are moved by a yard truck (shuttle truck) to the flumes for unloading into the processing plants. | ||||||||||
| Harvesting | ||||||||||
| All harvesting is done by machine. The driver of a farm tractor takes an empty set of trailers out into the field from the pad. The tractor pulls the trailers next to a moving harvester, which picks the tomatoes and loads them into the trailers. The loaded trailers are then pulled back to the pad and exchanged for a set of empties. It takes 30 minutes to an hour to harvest approximately 50,000 pounds of tomatoes and complete this cycle. We make every effort to have the loads waiting for drivers when they arrive at the pad. Cal Sun and Lucero Farms harvesters are equipped with radios. If there is a delay in harvesting, they are able to notify the dispatcher. Often, the dispatcher will be able to re-route the driver to another field and avoid an excessive wait. | ||||||||||
| Equipment | ||||||||||
| Our equipment begins in top shape. It is up to our driving colleagues to maintain that top tractor condition. The truck tractors are not older than three years, and most of them are current year models. Each plant has a shop open 24 hours a day. Any time there is a mechanical problem, the equipment should be brought to the shop. Most problems are fixed within a few minutes. Sometimes a spare truck is available if the problem is time consuming. We do not want a truck to be on the road if it is unsafe. | ||||||||||
| Situations That Require Patience | ||||||||||
| There are many situations that could frustrate a driver. "Down-time" is one such situation. The load may not be ready when the driver arrives at the field because mechanical problems caused a harvester to slow down or stop. The driver may be forced to wait for the load (a "field-wait") because there are no loads close enough to make re-routing the truck to another field practical. If the paste plant is operating slowly or completely stops because of mechanical problems, there will be a shortage of empty trailers. In this situation, drivers will experience a "trailer-wait," waiting for an empty trailer to take to the field. A driver's truck may not be ready at the beginning of the shift because it was delayed due to heavy traffic, a field wait, or mechanical problems. A driver might come to work and find that the truck is not available because the shop mechanics are working on it. Several trucks may have mechanical problems at the same time, and any spare trucks might already be in service. A driver may be forced to wait several hours for necessary parts to arrive before a truck can be repaired and made available. It may be necessary for a driver to switch trucks several times during a shift to accommodate truck servicing or driver scheduling. Dispatchers, mechanics, growers, people that work at the grade station, people doing the harvesting, as well as other drivers may feel stressed, impatient, or frustrated because they are also working long hours. This may be an added source of frustration to drivers. Ability to handle these situations maturely and calmly is a must for any successful driving colleague. | ||||||||||
| Housing | ||||||||||
| We provide drivers with free housing. Housing at each plant consists of a bed, a shower, a laundry, a driver's lounge, and a cooking facility. Under crowded conditions, two drivers will share one bed. While one driver is using the bed, the other driver is on shift. There are separate sleeping areas for male and female drivers. | ||||||||||
| Thank you for taking the necessary time to review this information. We look forward to answering any questions you may have during the interview. | ||||||||||
Respectfully yours,
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| The Morning Star Trucking Company | ||||||||||
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