Eastern Freightways North Brunswick, Nj DRIVERS BEWARE!! STAY CLEAR OF THIS OUTFIT!!! Company offers .38 mile and 40.00 family health plan to get you in, what you get is no logging over 550 miles per day, a fuel card with 400.00 per 24 hours limit, a whole lot of lay over with no pay and no miles, and management that treats you like you are beneath them and ignorant. Thier tractors are 7 yrs or older with very small sleepers, no room for anything you must use suitcases for your clothes and move them to the front seat off the bed to sleep. Picture an old time sleeper thats what they have for you, then they want you to lay around for days in it with no pay. When you find out what they are and after they screw you over then they wont route you in to return the truck, and if you come in mt they want to charge you for theft of the truck, they try to manage-control you by antimidation and threats when you go against them. Last but not least good luck getting paid, they just cant seem to get your pay check to you they float it all over but to your house, and they will not initiate direct deposite for 3 weeks after you start. They have a real time at paying you. This outfit is owned by shevelle group, same company that ownes NEMF (new england motor freight) except eastern freightways is the scab sleeper outfit in the shevelle group. This company has the dirtiest worst maintaned equiptment Ive ever seen from a company its size. (150 trucks) Save yourself and your family the hardship of getting involved with this one, they talk #### to get you in, then they use abuse and take advantage of you untill your smart enough to quit.

Wow that is a terrible report on Eastern. Too bad I have been employed there since june of 2001 and have a completely different take on the company and the personnel. Lets try to have a balanced account of what went wrong with Eastern.
Fact 1: Eastern Freightways is a non union truckload carrier owned by the Shevelle Group. They are in fact loacted in North Brunswick Nj. This is the only full fledged Eastern terminal the company has.
Fact 2: The company is a northeast truckload carrier primarily. This means the average length of haul is about 300 miles. The Northeast pays better freight rates than the midwest and south so they tend to shy away from these operating areas.
Fact 3: The insurance offered is Blue Cross/Blue Shield of NJ. It used to be free for the driver and his family but due to increases in insurance premiums the company execs started charging the driver for a portion of the premiums which in fact is $40.00 per week for family coverage as you stated. This is very reasonable as compared to similar coverage offered at other companies.
Fact 4: The company equipment consists of old Freightliners (pre 2000 models), Volvo's (varying in age from 1997 to 2006 models), and a couple of test Internationals (2007 models). They have purchased 50 new Volvo 610 road trucks and they are parked at a Nemf terminal in Vt.
Fact5: The older volvos are basically day cabs with a twin sleeper behind the seat. I drove several from 2001 thru 2007 when I was given 1 of the newer automatic volvos, a 2006 model with a hundred thousand miles on it.
Fact 6: We operate as a force dispatch system which means you go where you are told and if you don't it is grounds for dismissal.
Fact 7: Eastern is a regional truckload carrier that attempts to get their drivers home every weekend. They do expect their regional drivers to be out all week and service the customers as needed.
Fact 8: drivers that refuse loads are customarily parked until another load comes available.
Fact 9: layover is not paid until the 2nd day of sitting without a load. This has happened to me 3 times in 6+ years here and only for 1 day not 2 so I have never received layover pay here.
Fact 10: the company pays for the truck and the fuel. So is it no wonder they might get upset if you use their fuel to drive the truck "unproductive empty miles?"
Fact 11: Direct deposit is available and it may take 1 to 3 weeks to set up. Most are done within 2 weeks so long as the routing number and account numbers match up. Delays more than 3 weeks are usually due to errors on the drivers part regarding the routing info.
Fact 12: Eastern Freightways was a teamster organized company during the 70's and into the 80's I beleive. After some bad blood between the Union and Management (and a suspicious suicide). The company was basically shut down for several years.
Fact 13: Eastern Freightways assets were purchased by the Shevelle group and re-opened as a non-union truckload carrier to expand the companies operational base. Carrier Industries is also under the Shevelle Groups banner as is Apex Logistics.
Fact 14: Older equipment is used at every major trucking company out there especially for local drivers, look at any major ltl outfit for proof of this.
Fact 15: New drivers have an unreasonable expectation of new equipment and telling management what they are going to do and what they are not going to do. I leave it to you to decide if this applies to you or not REELTYME.
Fact 16: Eastern Freightways offers paid holidays, sick days, personal days, vacation, 401k, breakdown pay, detention pay after 2 hours plus disability, life insurance, and AFLAC (if you want it).
Fact 17: Eastern is actively hiring team drivers paying .50 cpm for long hauls out to Ca and Fl. They are putting the teams into brand new Volvos (610 models only so far)
Fact 18: Eastern is attempting to expand their operating areas to accomodate drivers more oriented towards the long haul end of things. This is occuring hand in hand with Nemf's expansion into the Chicago Il area, Columbus Ohio area and Richmond Va area with partnerships with Oak Harbor freight in Ca and AAA cooper in NC and GA.
Fact 19: The company has within the past 2 years gone with EFS fuel cards for drivers to fuel "off site." the card does in fact have a $400.00 per day limit as you stated but what you neglected to say is drivers are encouraged to fuel at a NEMF terminal to save the company money (as this fuel is purchased in bulk and is already paid for). We have access to every NEMF Terminal (some 20+ terminals I beleive) in the company from South Portland Maine to Miami Fl to Columbus Ohio and almost every state in between. Many companies do not even allow their drivers to fuel at truckstops due to the cost yet you complain about a 400.00 per day limit? WOW!

I have no idea how long you were employed with Eastern Freightways but last I heard we only had about 100 trucks actually in use. No company is perfect but considering the money I earn here (about 1300 to 1400 per week on average) with home time every week and excellent insurance that has kept me out of the poor house I am content.
As for respect I am treated well and although every day is not a "cake walk" I am compensated for difficulties (breakdowns, delays etc).
I have only worked for 3 other companies in the past 15+ years so perhaps I am naive. The fact is no other truckload carrier I worked for (JB Hunt, Trans-States Lines [was purchased by Burlington Motor Carriers and now defunct], and Shaffer offered paid holidays,sick days, break down pay, and benefits for 40.00 per week. The best I ever got for pay from any of these outfits was with JB Hunt in the 90's where I was making about 1200.00 per week. Compare that to the 70+ grand I make here at Eastern and I think you will reconsider your opinion. There are many other drivers here with several years of experience that paid their dues with the older equipment and breakdowns and are still here because of the hometime, pay, benefits, and even respect.
Best wishes to you regardless though. I hope you find a carrier more suitable to you.

Sounds like Eastern is worth checking into. I'd go in with an open mind, but I'd go in.

Sounds like a damn good company, actually.

__________________
--Paved Dudley--

Yeah I drive a Swift truck
And that means one thing
It means she's slow
It's a typical company truck
It's just all show and no go

I'm gettin' passed by Yella
And even Overnite
I'm gettin' passed by ever' body in sight
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight

No, my hometown's nowhere in sight
And if you think I'm pissed off
You're right
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight


Love pissing off those trucking company insiders.

"jlkklj777” sounds like a "company man" touting the unrealistic virtues of a rundown company. He's either a recruiter/representative in disguise, or a driver who used to be homeless and lived in a refrigerator box so he now thinks receiving mere crumbs are the Lord's bounty. I'm REALLY not so sure I would believe in the 60-70 grand line either... Most of these large companies are identical in their treatment of drivers. It’s possibly not as bad as "REELTYME" put it, but after 16 years in the business, no one could ever get me to believe the entire crock of 18+ facts that "jlkklj777" espoused. I suppose if they are a decent company, it's somewhere in between... which "ain't" too good.
The real facts are, slavery still exists - and is actually flourishing - within the trucking industry. It’s a simple matter of doing the math. Sit down and add up all the hours you spend being responsible for the truck, inspecting the truck, driving the truck, waiting to load, waiting to unload, loading, unloading, doing paperwork, traffic, breakdowns, poor weather, DOT nonsense, driving around looking for someplace to park just to rest. Only 14 hours in a day… yeah, right! Then, in addition to all this ‘working’ don’t forget to put a dollar figure on sleeping, eating, urinating, defecating, and the extremely small amounts of relaxing you do during the day in the truck. All the sacrifices you make in having precious life itself slip through your fingers because you’re “on the road.” You’ve lost irreplaceable time with your family, friends yourself. Life has passed you by because you were bouncing around in a truck someplace in Kentucky when you should have been home in bed in MA, sleeping like a human being with your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/husband etc. Just do the math… you’ll find that you’d be WAY ahead if you worked the fryer at the local McDonald’s for minimum wage! You’d maintain a bit more of your humanity, sanity, and wouldn’t have the deranged state of mind that rationalizes sleeping in your own bed every night as a ‘privilege’ that you’re happy to have. You'd get to spend the time you deserve in the house you pay Go ahead… divide last week’s check (gross) into the 120 hours (based on only a 5-day week in the truck) you spent with the truck. I personally made $950 gross last week for 5 days (120 hours+) work. That comes out to $7.92/hour. Nice eh?

I am still here working at Eastern Freight ways. I have no need to embellish the truth about what I am paid for or how much I have earned while employed with Eastern. If you would like an exact breakdown seanoleary1979 I can give you a list of everything I have been paid for item by item year to date but it would be for a team and an unfair comparison to a solo's earnings.

I know you do not know me but I can assure you I am merely a driver who has found a decent company to work for that treats me well and pays me better than any other company has to date. I was lucky to see an advertisement for the company back in 2001 in my local paper offering paid benefits, a grand a week minimum, PLUS home every weekend.

I have trained my brother and my wife (who has joined me on the road as a team mate). While my brother decided after 18 months he wanted a local job instead of the road life my wife is still here with me at Eastern. My brother is a good driver and used his experience earned here at Eastern to help him get a local job back in Maine.

A few things have in fact changed since I refuted Reeltyme's post. They include the following;

The older Freight liners have been (mostly) sold off. There are a few still being used by local drivers as needed but I do not believe any road drivers are using them anymore.

All the new 2006 Volvo 610's have been rotated into the fleet and are assigned to road drivers.

About a dozen former Jevic Volvo 660 (670?) model trucks were purchased at auction and have been assigned to the cross country teams instead of the smaller 610 models.

Eastern Freightways no longer offers Blue Cross/ Blue Shield insurance as of January 2008. We now have United Health care instead at the same $40.00 per week fee for family coverage.

I believe they have discontinued paying new drivers for "every stop, every drop and every hook" and have elevated the mileage pay for new incoming drivers. Senior drivers such as myself still collect the accessories pay under the "old pay scale."

We have had some personnel changes in the office lately. Our ops manager moved on and a couple new dispatchers were hired. 1 was a former Eastern dispatcher/load planner that left for a couple of years but decided to come back.

As for my personal history before working at Eastern I offer the following time line;

1988 Graduated High School
1987-1991 worked at McDonald's, resigned from management 11/91 to go to Northeast Career Schools Manchester NH.
11/1991-01/1992 Attended Northeast Career Schools.
02/92-06/98 worked at JB Hunt. Was a top performing driver and driver trainer for over 3 years.
07/98-03/2001 worked at TSL as a lease operator. TSL sold out to Burlington Motor Carriers and I resigned. Burlington Motor carriers went out of business shortly thereafter.
03/2001-06/2001 worked at Shaffer National out of New Kingstown Pa. The company was very slow paced and the pay was insufficient for my needs so I resigned after 90 days.
06/2001-current Working for Eastern Freightways as a regional driver at first, a driver trainer, and finally a team driver with my spouse.

As you can clearly see there is no period of "homelessness or living in a cardboard box" anywhere in my adult life.

I am unsure why you would choose to challenge me or my veracity. It appears to me that you are a jaded individual who does not "like" YOUR job or the treatment you have received from YOUR employers.

I have always been highly regarded by my employers for my work ethic and professionalism. Respect is a 2 way street my friend. I paid my dues and have earned the respect I have based on hard work and "integrity."

A love of the open highway is a siren song to many and a curse for others stirring up equal amounts of joy and frustration to the person in question.

I adore my wife and we spend every day together now. She was a stay at home mom for 18 years while I worked to support the family I created. I chose to be away to provide her and my children with a better life than I had growing up.

To be perfectly honest this job is the EASIEST job I have ever had. For me this is like child's play and I actually get PAID to do it!

It is said; "If a man loves what he does and gets paid to do it then he need never work a day in his life."

My suggestion for you Sean is to find a different line of work. Something that you "enjoy." Trucking ain't for everyone.

__________________
Adapting to an ever changing world.

Dude!

It's obvious you hate trucking. You hate the lifestyle, the job, the pay. You probably hate the industry itself. And after 16 yrs of doing something
you hate you must be one miserable mofo.

Instead of making a judgement on a company you've never worked for and disparaging a driver who actually has worked for this company, why don't you just stay off this board and find yourself a career that doesn't make you hate life so much. As they say "trucking ain't for everyone."

I have personally never heard of a job that pays you to sleep, eat, urinate, or defecate.

So called "normal" workers have to get up a couple of hours before their scheduled shift time to urinate, shower, get dressed, eat, get in the car and commute to work. All unpaid activity last time I checked.

As for waiting sure that is part of the job. What you do with that time is entirely up to you. Take a nap, watch some TV, play on the computer, have a meal, talk on the phone, read a book. I do all these things and more while "waiting."

Paperwork and computer work takes me (maybe) 15 minutes a day. About the length of a typical smoke break at a "normal" job.

I sleep better in the truck than I do at home as a matter of fact. I am not deranged in any way. When I wake up I am at the job site. No wasted time commuting, no money out of my pocket for gas, and no stress fighting traffic to make it to work "on time."

Of course the time spent between loads waiting loading or unloading in my case is very minimal. Drop and hooks take about 15 minutes at each end and I get paid $5.50 to drop and $5.50 to hook a new trailer. $11.00 for 15 minutes of work? not bad IMHO.

Cruising down the highway at 65 to 70 mph with the cruise control on, Satellite radio playing in the back ground listening to my favorite music and programming, watching the countryside fly by and making over $30.00 an hour while the truck does the work is AWESOME.

Like I said before; You're either cut out for this line of work or you're not.

Having my wife with me makes our downtime very interesting and exciting. Oh and if you see the truck rockin' don't come a knockin'!

__________________
Adapting to an ever changing world.

you havnt got a clue as to when you are getting screwed by the very same people you are sucking up to . This company is nothing but a bunch of SCUMBAGS , there is ZERO LAYOVER PAID AT ALL .they have no solid frieght . They can not keep drivers BECAUSE THEY ARE A SCUMBAG COMPANY.These so called dispatchers arent dispatchers at all . Some moron load planner scrambles to get a load from a broker and tells the so called dispatcher what to do . I have been driving ... no let me corrct that SITTING around for this company for 7 months , I have not seen not even close to 2000 miles in one week since Ihave been here . I sit more then anything else . I take home between 300 500 a week . I am stuck here until Jan . there is no frieght yet they are hiring drivers . and as fast as they hire they quit . They are still holding on to a few Super 10' and knowone wants to drive them because they are #### . ALL OF THE EQUIPMENT IS #### You negleted to say they you and your co driver SPLIT that .50cpm I met one brand new driver the otherday and he was sent home because there was no frieght and he only had a few houndred miles for the week . They give you a load that is to go to Ohio or Chicago from here on the east and when you are loaded and thinking you are on your way , they have you take it to one of the NEMF yards and drop it and then you sit while they scramble to get something else that will only net you a 200 0r 300 miles . I can sit here and go on and on but its really not worth it . Most of the new hires stay on average of two weeeks . STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE YOU WILL STARVE TO DEATH . They are going under fast . I have been sitting for a week now . I sat in NC for 4 days with not even a message or a phone call . I cant wait to get out of this place . STAY AWAY . i live in that truck because I cant get enough money together to get a place to live and if I do manage to scrap the money up , I have to worry about paying the rent , car insurance and house hold bills . If you are making 1200 a week your under someone desk .
Most regional drivers get at the very least 2500 miles a week , here you will be lucky if you see 1200 miles a week . 11.00 to assit unload .. average is 50.00 supossed 22.00 congestion pay NYC BOSTON I have never seen that . 11.00 stop pay -the first and last stop .average stop pay is 20.00 even half decent companies pay 100.00 to go into NYC .
STAY AWAY

Sorry you are having it rough bkrnj. As for layover pay Eastern does in fact pay $88.00 after 48 hours without a dispatch. I just collected it 2 weeks ago for sitting in Atlanta Ga from Sunday night to Wednesday morning when I got reloaded from McIntyre Ga up to NJ.

Freight is dead bkrnj. We have been laid over for at least a day each week for the past 2 months, every time we go to Ga it seems we get stuck. Apparently Roadrunner (our normal back haul) does not have the freight to ship either.

Based on the fact THOUSANDS of trucking companies have gone out of business this year alone and the economy is in the worst recession since the Great Depression, I am grateful we STILL have a job and am still working. Like you I am concerned that there will not be enough freight for all of us and so the wife and I are pushing harder and driving more miles (when we have a load that is) per day than we normally would. We used to run the truck about 18 hours per day and stop so we could both get decent rest. Now we are pushing through to get the loads delivered faster for fear of losing our job and run to a hungrier more desperate team.

As for having regular customers I believe you are correct. We do not right now. The stuff we are hauling is ltl freight from NEMF to AAA cooper in Ga. We are doing broker loads to get back north each week for another run.

Yes my wife and I do in fact split the pay. We actually split .48 cpm plus the accessorial pay. Drops, Hooks, Stops, Layover, Breakdown, Detention etc. Together we will earn about $126,000.00 this year. This is because we are a team and worked hard for most of the year, racing back and forth from Camp Hill Pa to California and back at the beginning of the year. Now (because we were not going fast enough to Cali and back to satisfy the RR Donnelly customer on the return leg) we pull NEMF loads to Ga 2 to 3 times per week.

The company has treated me well for over 7 years and I have made more money per year here as a solo driver for the first 6 years than I ever made at any other company as a solo. My brother did in fact tell me his miles were dropping off drastically as compared to last year several months back. He chose to resign and get a local job in Maine instead. He figured if he could not make money on the road it was better to be home and make $12.00 an hour delivering fuel oil each day to customers.

Would I encourage anyone to join Eastern at this point in time? NO. This would simply reduce the amount of available freight to the current driver pool. I think we ALL need to hunker down, be grateful we even have a job right now, and try to cut expenses anywhere we can.

By the way the parent company NEMF has actually laid off some of their drivers and office workers over the past couple of months. The pain is being felt everywhere by everyone from what I have been reading and hearing.

__________________
Adapting to an ever changing world.

So you worked 120 hours+ in 5 days? Seeing that theres only 120 hours in 5 days time, I find that hard to believe.