LTL Start Times

With FedEx freight most city drivers have bid start times that stay the same for the life of the bid, however, company policy states that the time can be changed one hour either way depending on business needs. Bids are seniority based. The bottom of the board may be on call and can run either city or line haul. There is a call block that they are called by everyday so these guys do not have a set schedule.
Line haul is bid based also and seniority based. Start times depend on the run so senior guys might start after junior drivers. For example a 350 mile run may leave at 2200 and is taken by a more senior guy than the 275 mile run that leaves at 1830. There are also extra board drivers that do not have a set schedule. The top extra board drivers are usually pretty senior as they get offered the long runs first.

 

I work for SuperValu, which obviously isn't LTL but we have some similarities.

First, we bid a work schedule. Then we choose our runs that have assigned start times corresponding with the days we're working. We have an "AM" board with runs starting at midnight to 11:59, the majority of those start between midnight and 6. We also have a "PM" board with runs starting from noon to 23:59, the majority of those runs go from 14:00-20:00. Drivers can not bid from both boards, AM drivers must take AM runs and vice versa. We bid twice a year, but the company has the right to open the bid at any time providing they meet with the Union Committee before doing it.

Start times are virtually guaranteed. In the event of a combo or canceled run, the driver gets to choose, by seniority, any available work. Contractually the company can adjust your start time an hour each way (for instance a bid time of 3:00am can be changed to 2:00 or 4:00) one time per week, unless by mutual agreement.

Extra board drivers are on call and can work any shift at any time.

That's how things work in my barn, hope it helped.

 

Dayton P&D drivers bid on start times, awarded by seniority of course. The most senior drivers generally want the early start times, which gives them the best trucker approximation of "banker's hours." A senior driver could bid on a later start time if he's not a morning person, but I've never seen it happen. Linehaul drivers bid on specific runs or open slots, and each one has a specific cut time (but most are 2100 at my barn). In both cases if the trailer isn't ready by the driver's start time or the run's cut time, the driver can clock in anyway.

 

Some additional information that crossed my mind after reading the other responses -

"AM" dispatches are generally completed by 16:00 on the previous day, so any adjustments or rebids are known at that time. "PM" dispatches are generally completed by 10:00am the same day.

We get paid for any and all waiting times if our loads aren't ready (this generally only happens on holidays, but there are exceptions). We don't "work the dock" at all, the warehouse selectors and loaders are also Union. Truck drivers drive at our place, that's it.

 

Start time? I wish I had something even close to that. Not only do I not have a start time but I don't even know if I'll work. I could be off for an entire week and not know every day if I'm working. I can be called in from 5pm-1am and 4am-9am these are my on call hours that I can get a call and must show up.

I am bottom of the linehaul extra board.
I work for Reddaway.
I'm looking for a new job.

 

I left last year but it may help

1. P&D
2. No
3. Yes
4. Had to call in every morning before 6 to get that mornings start time. "On Call" at my terminal (NEMF) meant calling in for start times, not calling in to see if you were working. Job was easy and mgmt was great to work with which is sometimes rare with a Union shop but the unpredictability was just too much and I was loosing a lot of time with my kid and I wasn't going to let that happen.