18 minute read
Tow Boss
Legalized Marijuana and your Business
by Randall C. Resch
OK, get ready to push your eyeballs back into your head. According to an article in “The Cannabist,” in the first five months of 2016, Colorado marijuana sales allegedly reported around $486 million in profits. In 2015, profits reportedly reached $996 million for twelve months. Legalization of marijuana for personal use is changing the country; if it’s not legal where you are yet … it’s only a matter of time. In addition to recreational use, mega-pharmaceutical corporations are researching the medicinal potentials of cannabinoids and terpenoids in treating myriad diseases, like Huntington’s disease, Tourette’s syndrome, various cancers, Pediatric Epilepsy, and PTSD among others. There may be good to come from legalization, but that’s another topic. So, what issues does legal marijuana present for the towing and recovery industry? Regardless of your personal views for or against marijuana, recognize the potential employee-related problems of use or abuse. Our industry demands the ability to think clearly and make the right decisions to avoid mistakes that could potentially lead to disaster, injury or death. Drugs and alcoholic beverages have no place in our industry’s work environment, but what someone does on their own time and away from the facility is their business. Shortly after I was hired as general manager of a sizeable and reputable tow company in the 1990s, it became painfully obvious that one of the drivers was selling marijuana from the company’s tow truck. Suspicions were confirmed by discovering marijuana paraphernalia and seeds under the truck’s seat during random inspections. The problem needed to be addressed immediately, especially when other drivers shared their observations and concerns. When it all came to a head, as many as six drivers, ultimately quit or were dismissed for cause and dereliction to duty in violating the company’s zero-tolerance policy. Losing six drivers in a day was a tough hit for the company’s operations and schedule, but it sent a solid message that possession, use and sales weren’t tolerated. The owners stood tough on a very difficult decision that enabled the company to get back on track. Imagine one of your drivers or facility personnel was selling marijuana from your tow trucks. If an undercover officer arrested that employee, it could result in warrants being served on your facility and/or seizure of your truck. Could you survive the hit in attorney’s fees to (hopefully) get your truck back and the news spreading like wild fire that one of your drivers got busted? For instance, a North Carolina tower was arrested when an officer observed him conducting an illegal tow; at around the same time, the tow company’s owner had informed local police that he suspected the driver was stealing items from towed vehicles. When the tower was stopped, the inside of his vehicle smelled of marijuana smoke and police observed numerous stolen items within the vehicle in plain sight. (It’s unclear whether any of the items came from cars that were being towed.) Subsequent to arrest, police performed a sobriety test on the driver and also found marijuana in his possession.
As the legalization of marijuana becomes more widespread, stay ahead of the game with your company policies on tolerance regarding employee usage. Today.com image.
On the Web Colorado study on the impact of marijuana: • www.rmhidta.org/html/august%2 02014%20legalization%20of%20mj% 20in%20colorado%20the%20impact.pdf
Ultimately, the driver was arrested under numerous charges, including driving while intoxicated and possession of a controlled substance.
Bigger Tax Base?
Taken from another angle, a Colorado tow company owner posted a video on a towing forum concerned for his state’s regulation of marijuana regarding the increasing costs of commercial property values. Denver has allegedly become one of America’s largest pot-growing centers. Marijuana manufacturers actively seek commercial and raw properties zoned for growing and appropriate use. Accordingly, legally licensed start-up marijuana businesses are said to be aggressively driving up the costs of commercial properties for rentals and purchase. There are many key issues regarding legalized use of marijuana. Its presence is huge and should be important to all tow owners.
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Medical vs. Recreational As of late 2016, 29 states and the District of Columbia legalized marijuana for medicinal use and several also for recreational use. Each state has its own individual laws regarding use and possession (marijuana remains illegal according to the federal government as of press time). The following states have legalized medical and recreational marijuana use: • Alaska • California • Colorado • District of Columbia • Maine
What’s Your Take?
Tow business owners must monitor their employees as it relates to the company’s professionalism, reputation and desire to serve. Remember, you (as owner) set the tone for your company. I believe there are many focus areas to consider when reviewing your company’s drug, illegal substance, alcohol consumption, or marijuana use while at work, on duty, on call, or when driving company vehicles. There are several topics that should be covered in your employee handbook and spelled out for all: • Reputation and standing within the community. • Massachusetts • Nevada • Oregon • Washington These states have legalized use of medical marijuana: • Arizona • Arkansas • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Hawaii • Illinois • Louisiana • Maryland • Michigan • Minnesota • Montana • New Jersey • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • North Dakota • Ohio • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • Vermont Source: www.governing.com/govdata/safety-justice/state-marijuanalaws-map-medical-recreational.html.
• Some tolerance vs. no tolerance. • Open Door policy to solicit employee awareness. • Dismissal policy if violated. • Active enrollment in pre-hire drug testing. • Drug testing programs for preand post-accident investigations. • Contract requirements—an arrest of tow company owner or operator may result in being removed from contract operations. • On-call requirements for afterhours drivers. • Driving operations and takehome trucks. • Insurance company policies. To turn a blind eye to possible or suspected employee use on the job and changed behaviors could eventually result in a job-related accident, incident or untimely death of an employee or other individual. Business owners need to take a proactive approach to their company’s policy regarding use of marijuana as an undesired substance based on the requirements of municipal contracts and law enforcement. One of my carrier operators called the dispatch office in a distressed
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voice, stating he had accidentally raised a new Merecdes into the overhead canopy of a drive-through dealership resulting in $4,000 damage to the vehicle and another $9,000 to the building. Although he readily admitted smoking weed while on the job, his actions resulted in him being fired in violation of company policy. (He filed for unemployment, but was denied as my company’s employee handbook maintained a zero-tolerance policy and the driver signed a prehire statement that he was aware of the company’s policy.) For the future, if it’s not specifically spelled out in your company’s rules and regulations and you dismiss an employee for casual or involved use, anticipate being sued for wrongful termination. Can you defend (with accuracy) that marijuana use had an effect on a dismissed employee’s work abilities? What justifies an employee’s dismissal if there’s no specific narrative or guidelines to prohibit marijuana use in the workplace? These all are considerations that must be in place prior to experiencing the repercussions. As legal marijuana looms on the horizon across the nation, it will be an industry issue that can’t be set aside.
Operations Editor Randall C. Resch is a retired California police officer and veteran tow business owner, manager, consultant and trainer. He writes for
TowIndustryWeek.com and American
Towman, is a member of the International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame. Email Randy at rreschran@gmail.com.
Miller, NSD Donate to ITRHFM
The International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum (towingmuseum.com) recently announced separate donations from both Miller Industries and Nation Safe Drivers. Miller Industries (millerind.com) donated $30,000 to the museum, where the company holds a Rotator School twice yearly in its Learning Center. Proceeds from the school are donated to the museum. *** Nation Safe Drivers (nsdmc.com) donated $5,000 to the ITRHFM’s Survivor Fund that provides financial support to families of those lost in the line of service. “The Survivor Fund helps provide immediate financial help to families affected by tragedy in the line of service and Nation Safe Drivers is proud to support this effort,” said Patrick Nahoum, Network Manager for NSD. “Our goal is to raise funds and awareness about the dangers faced by towing professionals across the country.”
Kenworth Expands Branded Merchandise
The Kenworth Merchandise Collection recently added more than 50 licensed merchandise items for customers interested in purchasing products that represent Kenworth (kenworth.com). The new Kenworth items now available include a Carhartt Signature tool bag, DRI DUCK flannel lined jacket, 12-in-1 hammer/multitool and more. The comprehensive line-up consists of more than 300 items available at ShopKenworth.com.
TowShow.com
Pictured above, left to right, are Richard Saward (Freightliner), Michael Bergin (Freightliner), Kipp Felice (Miller), Dale Earnhardt Jr., Will Miller (Miller), and Vince Tiano (Miller). Below, Dale Earnhardt Sr. promotional photo for Century.
New Century Carrier for Dale Jr.’s Team
Keeping a family tradition alive, Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently took delivery of a new Century 12-Series LCG car carrier from Miller Industries (millerind.com), much like his father Dale Earnhardt Sr. did in the early 1990s. The new Century 12-Series LCG carrier sits on a Freightliner M2 chassis and offers Miller’s patented Right Approach option that uses a hinge-based system to improve the angle of the deck for vehicles with low ground clearance. “This carrier is ideal for Dale Jr. and his race team,” said Kipp Felice, Miller VP of Marketing and Business Solutions. “The patented deck design and side-mounted winch provide a couple of great options for loading and off-loading the team’s racecars.”
Weego Adds Sales Manager
Weego (myweego.com), innovator of portable jump starters, jump-starter accessories and rechargeable battery packs, recently added Todd W. Roberson as the company’s new national sales manager. In this role, he will be responsible for business development and sales management for the automotive, marine, outdoor, powersports, e-commerce and industrial channels. Todd has 35-plus years of experience in the automotive aftermarket industry, implementing many successful new products and programs to the market. “We continue to see explosive growth in Weego products, so adding to the Weego sales team we are able to effectively take on more opportunities—particularly in the automotive aftermarket,” said Gerry Toscani, CEO of Weego.
To the people around American Towman headquarters who see him come by now and then, he limps about on a bad hip looking like he could use some more meat on his bones. It’s like he gathered his bones at dawn and stuffed them in his clothes before stepping out. Hence his nickname, “Old Bones.” When he smiles and talks, one senses a gentle soul that God keeps stitched together for one main purpose ––song. These days, those songs are about the road and the strange lot of the towman. Recordings and performances have earned him a unique place in this industry, and the world of music. He has won the hearts of thousands of towers across the nation with songs that salute their work and dedication, often capturing aspects of the towman’s life as in “100 Years,” the song celebrating several generations of a towing family. It premiered live this past November at the Centennial Celebration in Baltimore. Mike Corbin first appeared on the towing stage in 2011 with the debut of the first recording ever dedicated to the towing professional, the original Towman Ballad titled, “The Road Calls.” The ballad’s story follows a tower who leaves his wife and kids twice one night to take the call:
Another day of wrecks and strife
Lay me down beside my wife
Paces from the road I keep
Tense this wire rope, need sleep
The old lady turns I hear the page
Start a cussin’ whispering rage All too soon he follows a car that careens off the road and down a slope. The lyrics portray how fate sometimes casts the tower in the role of hero, while the music captures the drama and emotion of the moment. Said one tower of the song, “I listen to it all the time. My drivers listen to it with me.” Another tower’s six-year-old son says he plays it over and over. At the Centennial Celebration in Baltimore, two men came up to Mike as he was packing his guitar. One said, “I’ve never heard of you before this night. I was listening to these songs and they nearly brought me to tears.” His friend chimed in with the same sentiment. Corbin’s fans stretch across the country. Jim Eads, a tower in Ohio has sent Mike several messages through Facebook about the various Towman Ballads that have been released in the past several years. He’s been hooked since “The Road Calls.” Towers have traveled to the Expositions in Baltimore, Las Vegas and San Antonio just to hear Mike perform. As a veteran singer, songwriter and musician, his heart is touched when these towers come up and tell him how much his songs mean to them and their families. These encounters further inspire him to create more music about those who he considers the “most amazing service professionals” he’s ever known.
Corbin is the quintessential real deal who never caught the big break. Early in his career, he performed in several well-known bands while recording his own songs; you can still find his music on an old compilation album with an up-and-coming Bon Jovi. He was an aspiring rock star who worked to make it happen, once traveling cross-country to the home of the legendary Bob Dylan, and once jamming with Joe Cocker at the legendary Abbey Roads Studio in Liverpool, England. The younger Corbin, born and raised in Atlanta, Ga., and then Boston, hoped he might catch stardom when a British record producer signed him to a five-year contract, only to see the producer sit on the contract for its entire term (a common story in the music business). “Right after he signed me he signed Joan Jett and I was toast,” Mike said. “They wouldn’t record me or release me from the contract.” Mike later suffered a life-threatening incident when a truck hit him, putting him in the hospital for most of a year. It may be one of the reasons why you can feel his emotion when he sings “Booms in the Sky,” the song that pays tribute to those towers who have fallen, struck by a passing vehicle; or when he sings, “I’ll Return,” which captures the uncertainty surrounding a first responder’s departure from his family each day. In spite of his own hard luck, Mike
soldiered on, marrying, raising two boys and supporting his family through construction work during the week and performing in music halls on weekends. Even now Corbin is playing that dual role with American Towman. His woodworking skills, along with his love of towmen, recently earned him the job of custom-building the ceremonial Spirit Casket that will be relayed by towmen across the country. After all, who better to build it than the man who sings their stories. Mike has started work on the casket with the same drive for perfection that he puts into cutting records in his home music studio where he plays guitar, piano and harmonica while doing all the digital arrangements and
Mike Corbin at the American Wrecker Pageant in Baltimore.
Spirit Concert in Vegas will pay tribute to brave towers.
The Mike Corbin Band performing "100 Years" at Towing's Centennial Celebration. Below, Mike Corbin, carpenter by day, began work on the Spirit Casket in January.
mixing. You hear one mean harmonica in “The Road Calls.” But the instrument that stands out in all the recordings is Corbin’s voice. Various listeners suggest it’s a crosshybrid of Bruce Springsteen, Neil Diamond and Johnny Cash. If those names don’t mean much to the young folks, let’s just say he comes across with gritty, heartfelt vocals. In certain refrains of the many Towman Ballads, it’s a haunting sound. While he’s building the ceremonial Spirit Casket, Mike will be sawing, shaving, and knocking together wood all the while playing musical notes in his head, intending to carve a song that will pay tribute to the Spirit Ride, as he prepares for his next Towman gig, the “Spirit Concert” booked for Las Vegas on May 11.
Editor’s note:
Mike Corbin’s music and the Towman Ballads can be found on Youtube.com, Amazon.com and iTunes, as well as other Internet music outlets; and distilleryroadmusic.com.
New Trucks Set for Work Truck Show
More than 100 exhibiting companies have announced plans to highlight new products at The Work Truck Show 2017 (worktruckshow.com), including Chevrolet Commercial Vehicles, Cummins, Ford Commercial Vehicles, International Truck, Mack Trucks, Mitsubishi Ford Commercial unveiling from the 2016 show. Fuso Truck of America and Ram Commercial. The Work Truck Show runs March 14-17 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. There will be new medium-duty trucks powered by gasoline, diesel fuel and electricity, as well as hybrid fuel systems. A variety of technology for improving fuel utilization, power distribution and driver safety will also debut. Hear what 14 of the leading commercial vehicle OEMs have planned for 2017 and beyond directly from their representatives at exclusive chassis update sessions. During each presentation, company representatives share technical information about their latest chassis specifications and designs, and review body and equipment installation options. They also provide insights into their future plans related to the work truck industry.
AD INDEX
February 2017
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AAA 67
Access Tools 69
Advantage Funding
18 Agero 33 Akins Body & Carrier Sales 77 Allstate Roadside Services 17 American Safety & Supply 21 American Wrecker Sales N 84 Anchor Graphics 21 Atlanta Wrecker & Sales S 83 Atlantic Emergency Solutions N 85 AT ShowPlace Las-Vegas 22, 23 Austin Hinds Motors S 85 AutoReturn 70 AW Direct 25 B/A Products 57 B & Z Sales S 84 Beacon Software 3 Casanova Towing Equipment W 83 Chevron Commercial 73 CTECH Manufacturing N, M 87 CRASHFILM 26 Crouch’s Wrecker Equipment & Sales 79 Danco 73 Deep South Wrecker Sales 72 Detroit Wrecker Sales 66 Don Jackson Carriers & Wrecker 30
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