I am very sure of this...


and as my post says ((( this spring )))

a new teamster may MAY get laid off for a few months their first year or two - (I never was) - but the easiest way to combat this is to hire on early in the year - then when things slow down in the winter you will at least have a few under you...

funny thing is lets say you hire on with jb on jan 1 and your buddy hires on with roadway on jan 1 (we dont hire in jan usually but - for sake of comparison...)

ok so you work all year with jb - bust your butt and you are away from home 90% of the time...

you make about 25-35K for an entire year as a newbie

your buddy works 8 months at roadway - and is laid off for 4 months

he will make 45-60K

then after a few years the chances of getting laid off are even slimmer - and you make more and more etc etc...

I chatted with a couple of our guys last night who were laid off last month... for most of them they made more working spring summer and fall than they did with their former jobs...



THE TRICK is to be able to manage your money....

most people - if given their entire years pay in one lump sum would blow it or wind up short in just a few months time...

as a driver you HAVE to manage your pay - or you will never gain ground on debt or get ahead...

someone living paycheck to paycheck making 20K a year will likely live pay check to paycheck making 100K a year...

self control and common sense !!!


anyway - back on topic...


we will be hiring in the spring most all teamster jobs will be - we have a new contract in the works and a lot of freight to move...

Good post latanea. I have a friend who works union, and in the slow period (around Christmas and New Year) he capitalizes and drives taxi... imagine that, his slow period at his real job slows down when the taxi industry is desperate for more drivers... win win situation in my opinion!
Rather than just worry about being laid off for a couple of months, maybe look at the options available to you while you are building up your seniority in a good union operation.

__________________

we have several guys who run locals in their own rigs during slow season.

a lot of us keep old tractors and junk trailers handy for such times...

I like to use slow season to visit family and vacation - I also use this time to finish up projects I had started in the summer...

some guys I know also work in body shops - or get under the table jobs with small outfits nearby.

LOL, this cracks me up! Get a real Job! and be Happy!


Unions are a Joke

ohhh - these are real jobs. very much so.


just that in some areas your first year can be hit or miss as you build seniority and grow some whiskers....


the point was you dont have to do anything else in your time off - (and still make more) .

But if you "have" to stay busy - you can find something.


and as for jokes - here is a funny one __-- A guy I work with was diagnosed as having stomach cancer, his medical bills ran up over 230K...

his share of the bill was 7800$.


with your insurance - at your REAL job - what would your share be?

here in memphis fedex drivers earn $8.00 p/hr less than yrc abf and no time half after forty. so what's the big deal? well that's $320. p/wk less or $16,640 p/yr less or $499,200. less over 30 yrs! and that's if the fedex driver never worked over 40 hrs. p/wk. and btw fedex is the best non-union job to work. another question to ask would be, what would happen to those fedex wages if there was no yrc abf to compete against? i guarantee you if fedex only had other non-union competitors the same thing would happen to the wages among the ltl and package carriers as happened when there was no longer union competitors in the truckload industry. the wages would tank. truckload and ltl paid the same till the early 80's when the non-union bottoms feeders invaded trucking. my driver pay in 1983 was $.3225 c/pm and $13.15 p/hr for all non-driving work (ie. loading, unloading, weather delays, breakdown, terminal time, etc.) i worked for interstate motor freight of grand rapids, mi. at the memphis, tn. terminal. yes! under union contract you are paid for all work. you can log legal and earn a decent living!

knighton5,

You are entitled to your opinion and I have no trouble with it. I only have a few questions for you. What trucking company do you work for? What type of position do you hold in that company? How long have you worked there?

Please try to be specific when you answer these questions. There are probably many drivers on here that would be interested in seeking employment where you work.

Drive safe

i am 61 yrs. old and recently had to go on disability. guess the too many miles caught up with me. still haven't sold my tractor and trailer though. i was an union owner operator for 23 yrs. and a company driver before that 17 yrs. i am 3rd generation truck driver, father, grandfather, cousins, second cousins, brother-in-laws, uncles,second uncles, sister, wife, etc that are or have been drivers. my grandfather bought his first commercial cattle truck in 1946. i did study transportation/business at fairleigh dickinson in early 60's. i had several transportation law courses that enabled me to have a broader view of trucking issues, but the well being of the driver and his family is my paramount priority. guess you might say,"i've seen and heard it all". i was never a "died in the wool" union person (remember i studied management) but from my and my broad based family's expirience, working under union contract still offers a much better chance of sufficiently providing for your family. for me it was just a better way to do business. it's a sad commentary on trucking management. the non-union employers with turnover of 200%+ (the real truth) blame drivers, and unionized (and nearly unionized ie. fedex, overnight) employers have approx.4% turnover and we want to criticize union contracts. it's too bad, but it's always been that way. only difference is now there are fewer unionized jobs because non-union employers have been telling more effective lies since deregulation. the many magazines that perpetuate these lies is actually a recent phenomenon that influences drivers. what most drivers don't know is that these adds are dreamed up by advertising people that have never worked in the industry! i personally know many of these people. btw most of these lies the non-union employer tell, i've heard since i was kid sitting on a stool in a truckstop before me and my sister's feet even touched the floor! same lies just new people falling for them. i will add that at one time there were many good non-union trucking jobs, but those employers, such as overnight and fedex today, kept their pay, benefits, and working conditions very similar to union jobs, to keep the union out. so the fear of the union benefited non-union drivers. the driver that wrote regarding how to survive to gain seniority made some very good points. i would advise anyone considering hiring on a unionized job to study his points. it can be tough in the begining because not many people quit union jobs. it takes a plan, because when freight slows down the unionized employer will lay off because of the cost of benefits, but remember the non-union employer will leave you sit for days in truck stops thousands of miles from home. being layed off at least gives you a chance to earn an income another way till you get called back. every year this should happen to you less, if you can survive the slow times. my advice has always been don't change your standard of living for 3-5 years despite the $1,500 - $2,000. pay checks. when your new, your lucky if you don't hit lay offs. well, i hope this has been of help to other drivers and their families. drive safe!

just look at "some" peoples post in other forums and you get the real scoop on how great their jobs are...


continious bitchin' about delay time and how bad they are treated...



like I have posted many times before - if any non union guy needs help finding a job - email me... I will bend over backwards for them...


and if anyone is in my area loading/unloading or laid over - email me - I will swing by and take you to lunch and we can talk about getting you on a better set of rails towards a real future.

knighton5,

We are all still waiting for your responce from the question I asked two days ago. When you have time, please post your answers.

latanea,

That is a very nice gesture on your behalf. I hope you get many offers and show them that there is something better if you look for it.

Drive safe