I went to C R England to get my cdl and become a company driver. I was one of very few women there. Other women were either with their husbands or boyfriend. During the first week I was there I had no problems. Other students would try to touch me or harass me at the hotel but I was able to fight back or just keep walking. I was very close friends with a now truck driver by the name of Damien DeAngelo Moore. That helped to keep a lot of the men off me. Greg was the asst. Director of the program and he assigned everyone to their instructors. He put me under Marcus. There were two other men in the truck as well.
One day he allowed me to drive to the first stop (a gas station in downtown dallas). The other two guys got out of the truck and he told me to stay in and he would put on the parking brakes allowing me to practice gear shifting. I went through the gear changes and asked for permission to go to the restroom. He said yes but when I proceeded to get out of the truck he grabbed my arm. He told me, "When i helped females in the past they would give me a hug". I told him I didn't want to.
When we got back to the school I went to Greg's office and told him what happened. He said "that's not considered sexual harassment". I told him that I just did not feel comfortable being in the truck with Marcus anymore and asked if he would place me under another instructor. He said yes. I was then put under Mario Castro (that might have been his last name) who was in charge of my road evaluation. If you did not pass this evaluation you were not allowed to go to the dps office to take a driving test. He said he would help me on this test by putting his hand on top of mine to help me shift the gear. I told him that would not be necessary and I would do it my self. At the first stop sign he put his hand on mine anyway. He rubbed his hand over mine at the stop and said "Don't be afraid to touch it. I know that its big", and when I looked at him his eyes were fixed on his pelvic area. The truck stalled several times and thats when I realized when he put his hand on mine I did not return to the proper gear.
When ariving back to the school I asked Greg once again could I be placed under another instructor. He put me under Alberta, one of their female instructors. She asked me sbout the problems I had with the other two guys and I told her that I was sure I wouldn't have these problems anymore. I did good from that point on but by then Greg decided that I should stay back a week for more practice. I told him I could use the extra drive time but I did not need anymore instructiuons. I was told by Alberta that my driving was good enough to get my cdl. She must have told Greg differently because he said that I wasn't cut out to be a truck driver and set me up to be sent home. When I asked her about my report she said to me "Don't come here talking about sexual harassment trying to get other people fired". When I reached the hotel I told one of there company drivers why I was being sent home. He said he'd seen it before and that Greg purposely put me in the truck with those two guys to see if I would give in to them and if I had then Greg was going to be next.
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