Old dominion or abf

Yup. I leaned towards ABF for a bit and their pension was a huge part of that. As you said...the retirement plans with most carriers are a joke. Most civilian employers (other than trucking) match 100% of employee 401k contributions up to 3 or 4%. Trucking companies...including mine...tend to have their matching set at 50% up to 3 or 4%.

I think ABF would have been a good fit for me. I'm just not quite sure what was going on with their hiring process. The terminal manager (and posts here) said to expect a 30+ day hiring lag. Is that because of the union? I just found it odd that I never heard anything back from them (it's been almost 60 days now).

 

no, ABF has an insane background check, as do a lot of bigger companies anymore. US Foods took over a month to get me in, 3 years ago, even though they are constantly hurting for drivers....

and yes, the pension thing is huge, as like you said, most of these 401k setups are a joke. to get the return of even Central States Pension fund, which isn't that big (3300 a month or so) you have to put a LOT more than just 4 or 6 % in.

if these companies wanted to really attract drivers with a brain, someone should match a 401k up to 10% or AUTOMATICALLY contribute to the 401k per hour, just like a pension...

 

Their is no excuse bubbagumpshrimp . The Terminal Manager should of kept you informed on the progress.

My First go around @ ABF. Did the On line App for my AO. Few days later had a interview with the TM. He told it like it was, It's going to take a while for HR to do there thing.
HR contacted me and the TM was CC'd in for the emails. Lot's of information was exchanged. Total time hiring on 24 days.

2nd and current go around @ ABF.. 8 days.


Someone is dropping the ball. Recheck everything and go down the terminal speak with the manager.


The Union never contacted me until i was eligible after probation. well beyond my pay grade understanding the behind scenes if anything due to the union.

 

I agree. I followed up with him via email (as we'd discussed) following the interview and he didn't even respond to that. I took that as a sign that the guy wasn't all that interested in hiring me. With my background (my last job was an 8-5 office job)...both the ABF and SEFL terminal managers asked me the obvious question..."why is it that you're wanting to become a truck driver?" For all I know...the ABF terminal manager decided that he didn't want to take a chance on me. He seemed happy with my answers, but who knows what he was really thinking.


The guy couldn't be bothered to respond to an email (first paragraph). When I didn't hear anything at all within two weeks, I just figured they weren't interested. I believe in being persistent when it's appropriate, but I decided that wasn't warranted in this case.

 

Just a wild guess, Sounds like the TM was not currently going forward with you. Could of had several reasons why, Slots were filled ( Quota )
No Experience ( current events not enough time to speed you up ) Etc etc etc. Who the heck knows, It's management and always keeps us minions in the dark.

Screw it, Already employed, Wouldn't even bother with ABF going forward. Any company ( TM ) ignored me like that is on the back burner.
SEFL sounds like a great company, wouldn't lose sleep over driving ugly green units.

 

That wouldn't surprise me. From what he said...it would likely be a while until he would be able to get me into the P&D training course. He might have just decided that he'd be doing me a favor to not take me on.

Yup. I can't complain (too much, lol). I've got a good deal.

 

yep, keep it up at SEFL for a while, and if you want some good retirement numbers, get hooked up over at UPS Freight, those guys get ot after 8, free bennies, and a good pension. and they aren't going ANYWHERE, being connected with UPS....

 

UPSF looks great on paper, Free ( better choose your plan wisely ) and Management can fall into a volcano for all i care. Don't forget to file those grievances lol.
https://myteamcare.org/ups/freightMembers/index.html


- Former UPSF

 

yep, it still sucks since its a job, but its the highest paying one out there right now, and you cant get fired for taking your breaks!

 

I'm following this debate with interest. I wonder what the original poster ended up doing?

I'm looking at LTL currently myself. All the big carriers, along with a few regional ones, are in my area. I applied to them all and have been talking to the terminal managers at the specific locations. Most of them would be glad to take me with my experience and record. Not to mention good looks. JK but seriously, I know every terminal has it's own pay package and so on, so these numbers vary from place to place, but my problem with the union shops is that they make you start as a casual at a very low rate. YRC offered me a job at $17/hour. After the probation to get into the union, I'd get, and I'm not making this up, an 11 cent raise. UPS Freight also had openings, but they would start me at $16/hour and have me working whatever start time the manager needed to fill that day. "Do the right thing for 4 years," the manager told me, "and you'll be at $28/hour -it's the best deal in the industry!" No thanks. If I had started there years ago and worked my way up it would be different, but I got my experience elsewhere working just as hard, and they should't be so snotty about that. I'm a grown man I'm not driving a tractor trailer for $16/hour, just because in a few years it would suddenly turn into $28. The non-union shops on the other hand, won't pay OT, and don't have the same protections, but will start you at $22-25/hour on the shift you prefer. (Linehaul is probably better money up front no matter where you look, I'm only looking at hourly work during the day.)
I see that I should have been better at lining up a job with long term potential when I was younger. Believe me I'd rather have the seniority and benefits I would have gotten by having all my experience at the same job in a union. Hats off to you guys who did that. But I'm a family man looking to change jobs and get paid appropriately for his experience now, not someone looking to get experience and someday down the line have it pay off. I'm surprised the union even allows anyone to drive a tractor trailer for $17/hour. Maybe that's appropriate salary to ride a forklift, but nobody should take that little for Class A work, even if it's just to get a foot in the door. IMHO. Anyway, complicated choice for some of us.