Recently, flatbed driver Marcus Yarbrough, a graduate of WorldLink Truck Driving Academy, returned to the school in North Little Rock, Arkansas to speak with current students. Yarbrough, who completed the four-week program and earned his CDL this spring, has been working for Jordan Carriers since April. During his talk, he emphasized the importance of staying focused and following instructions in order to succeed as the next generation of truck drivers.

Through their partnership, WorldLink and Arkansas Baptist College hope to replicate Yarbrough’s successful entry into the trucking industry. This collaboration aims to diversify the pool of truck drivers by promoting the academy to students enrolled in the HBCU’s Adult Education Program.

Yarbrough, with 27 years of experience manufacturing military-grade weapons for Lockheed Martin, is still getting accustomed to his new life as a long-haul trucker. Despite being on the road all week, he is able to make it home to Camden, Arkansas, in time to spend his weekends with his wife, Demetria, daughter, Kyana, and 1-year-old granddaughter, Kyari.

“The most I’m away from home is two weeks at a time,” Yarbrough said. “Getting adapted to not being at home every night, that’s the only hard part about it … not being able to touch them. We FaceTime and talk, but it’s just different than touching your family. That’s the hardest part right now.”

Federal Funding Supports Trucking Recruitment at Arkansas Baptist College

Arkansas Baptist College’s Adult Education Program is utilizing federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding to connect low-income residents with job opportunities in the trucking industry.

In addition to training aspiring commercial truck drivers (CDL applicants), the program also offers support for those interested in becoming medical assistants or welders, according to Adult Education Director Debra Baker.

The program has already seen success, with one graduate from the partnership now actively searching for employment. Two more students are currently being considered for enrollment at WorldLink, while three others have received TANF funding to attend Pine Bluff Truck Driving School.

“Our goal would be to have eight of them complete the program in the next year,” Baker said.

A Successful Business Pivot and Some Valuable Advice

WorldLink founders, Gladys and Gary Godley, initially ventured into the world of entrepreneurship with a single-truck carrier operation. Despite facing the common driver retention challenges in the industry, they made a significant decision to tackle this issue head-on. In 2021, they established an academy aimed at boosting the driver pipeline.

“We decided to pivot,” Gladys Godley said. “Rather than have a trucking company, we decided to go into a truck driving school and train drivers.”

In a bid to entice more individuals into the world of truck driving, Yarbrough proposes a critical examination of wages.

In a bid to entice more individuals into the world of truck driving, Yarbrough proposes a critical examination of wages. He recalls how an offer of $1,100 a week as an inexperienced trainee sealed the deal for him at Jordan. Impressed by the company’s commitment to fulfilling their promises, he remains a loyal employee.

“From my experience with Jordan, what they say is what they do,” he said.

Source: Trucking Dive

Photo: Marcus Yarbrough

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The WIT Index, developed by WIT, serves as a benchmark for measuring the percentage of women in critical roles within the transportation industry. In this year’s index, WIT has included a new metric – whether participating companies have a formal DI policy.

The results are promising, with 56.4% of companies confirming that they have a formal policy in place, a significant increase from last year. Additionally, 19.3% of companies are currently developing a DI policy, showing a commitment to improving diversity and inclusion.

Another positive trend highlighted by the 2023 WIT Index is the increasing representation of women in leadership positions within transportation companies. Currently, 31.6% of C-suite executives, 36.9% of company leaders, and 28.4% of board directors are women.

“In recent years, many companies in transportation have made their DI policies publicly available not only to provide transparency to potential job seekers on the importance of gender diversity to their corporate culture but also for customers and business partners,” said Jennifer Hedrick, president, and CEO of WIT. “As a result, diverse and inclusive workplaces earn deeper trust and more commitment from their employees and key stakeholders.”

The WIT Index is a comprehensive report on the transportation industry. Based on data voluntarily provided by companies in various sectors, including trucking, shipping, and technology, the WIT Index offers valuable insights into industry trends and performance. The latest edition, the 2023 WIT Index, is the result of confidential data collected from over 350 companies operating in the trucking industry.

Source: The Trucker

The post New Report Shows Rising Diversity Policies in Transportation Sector appeared first on Truck Drivers USA.

After an OMB review, the guidelines will undergo a public comment period before being finalized. With these new regulations, individuals facing harassment at work will have the tools they need to hold bad-actor carriers accountable.

“In November 2017, the [EEOC] voted to unanimously approve a new harassment guidance, but that document was never finalized or published,” an EEOC spokesperson said. “Since that time, some notable changes in society and the law have occurred, including the #MeToo movement going viral and issuance of new court decisions that required additional updates to the draft guidance.”

While the 2017 version laid the foundation, the updated guidelines are not yet available to the public. The previous version, however, included five key principles that have proven effective in addressing and preventing harassment. These principles are:

1. Committed and engaged leadership
2. Consistent and demonstrated accountability
3. Strong and comprehensive harassment policies
4. Trusted and accessible complaint procedures
5. Regular, interactive training tailored to the audience and organization

To further combat harassment, the EEOC recommends concrete steps like dedicating sufficient staff time to prevention efforts and implementing bystander intervention training.

The 2017 guidelines created by the EEOC took into account real-life examples of harassment discrimination. One such example involved Contonius Gill, an African-American truck driver who was fired from a North Carolina-based trucking company after complaining about racial harassment.

In the fiscal year 2018, the EEOC filed 66 workplace harassment lawsuits, with 41 of them involving sexual harassment. This marks a 50% increase in sexual harassment suits compared to the previous fiscal year. Among these lawsuits were cases against Prime Inc. for not taking sufficient measures to prevent sexual harassment of a female truck driver, and Alliance Ground International for neglecting complaints from multiple women about sexual harassment by a male supervisor.

Recent EEOC harassment and discrimination lawsuits against trucking companies include a settlement of $45,000 from Pinnacle Logistics for failing to address sex-based harassment that caused a female worker to resign, and a settlement of $1.25 million paid by R&L Carriers to prevent future discrimination against female job applicants.

Desiree Wood, the head of REAL Women in Trucking Association, commented that updates to EEOC anti-harassment and discrimination policy are necessary in a male-dominated industry that has been resistant to societal changes.

“From where I sit, a lot of the trucking industry doesn’t feel like they need to comply with any of this stuff,” Wood reportedly said in an interview with FreightWaves. “As far as they’re concerned, they’re satisfied with a couple of lines on the bottom of their websites saying they don’t discriminate. But for many of them, they don’t actually follow through on a lot of that stuff.

“At the end of day, it’s not like there are sinister trucking CEOs out there saying, ‘Let’s discriminate against women.’ It’s a culture change, and the time and effort it takes to do that, and that costs money.”

Source: FreightWaves

The post Cracking Down on Workplace Harassment: New Guidelines Empower Women and Minorities in Trucking appeared first on Truck Drivers USA.

“ATA is leading the charge to make the trucking industry more diverse, and part of that is recognizing carriers and companies that are doing their part to create welcoming, equitable workplaces for their employees,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “The Change Leader Award identifies industry leaders that are taking the important steps to provide equal opportunities from behind the wheel to the boardroom.”

The Diversity Equity and Inclusion Change Leader Award, presented by Tenstreet, is aimed at inspiring ATA members to establish or enhance their diversity equity and inclusion programs. Nominations are evaluated based on program development, improvement efforts, and the ability to foster a thriving culture of acceptance and inclusivity. In the previous year, ATA celebrated the achievements of nine outstanding companies dedicated to building diverse and equitable workplaces.

“It is our hope that by recognizing industry leaders and their commitment to diversity, this award will encourage other ATA members to follow suit to ensure all people regardless of gender or ethnicity have the opportunity to enjoy a career at all levels in our industry,” said Marilyn Surber, head of industry relations at Tenstreet.

To learn more about the ATA Diversity Equity and Inclusion Change Leader Award and seize the opportunity to apply, visit the official application page.

Award recipients will be honored during the American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference and Exhibition in Austin, Texas, from Oct. 14-17.

Source: TruckingInfo

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