Discrimination in the Trucking Industry

[Anonymous <no_email@fake.address>]

I am a 40 year old woman and have been working in the trucking industry for almost 20 years.  I can run circles around most men holding upper management positions, but have been continually kicked down more times than I care to remember.  I have even been discriminated against by other women.  That hurts.

I began working for a truckload carrier in November of 1998 as a Safety Administrator.  Two months later the Assistant Safety director had a massive heart attack and would not be able to return to work for several months.  The Safety Director told me that he was very impressed with me and he wanted to hire another person to do my job and I would take over the responsibilites of the Assistant Safety Director.  The Asst. Safety Director was a driver brought in by previous management and the current Safety Director did not feel he was cut out for the job.  The Asst. Safety Director eventually came back, but they did not give him back his responsibilites.  They gave him "busy work" to encourage him to think about going back "on the road".  I was given much praise, verbally and written about my job performance.  The Safety Director was eventually promoted to a different department.

A new director came in and things continued as they were.  Again I received praise, both verbally and written, about my job performance.  Again I was told that as soon as the Assist. Safety Director stepped down I would receive his title and proper compensation for my job.  In February of 2000 that day came.  The owner, (another chavanist pig story of it's own) refused to allow me to have the position.  They brought in a driver, 10 years my junior, that used to be a security gaurd, and gave him the position.  I had to train him.  I stewed about it for a f   ew months. In April I expressed how betrayed I felt and told my thoughts about being descriminated against.  

I was promptly fired.  No severance, no nothing. I repeatedly asked, "Why am I being fired?".  I was repeatedly told, "No comment." I had just purchased a house and am a single mother.  I do not have room to tell you what hell it has been since then.

I have been reading labor laws and know I have a clear cut case, but can't qualify for a pro-bono lawyer and don't have the money to go after them.  They win again.