Decision,Decisions

Dock work is mainly forklift driving, and throwing decks. Decks are arrangements of aluminum beams and plastic plates used to build shelving in the trailer in order to fit in more freight. It can be pretty chaotic depending on how busy your particular barn is. How fast you move up the board will vary--you never know when people will quit, retire, get canned, or whether they're going to expand operations in your area. I was lucky enough to start out at a relay yard, which is 100% linehaul, but those places are generally in the middle of nowhere. (Curiously, being the easiest and most lucrative places to work, they also seem to have the highest amount of drama and turnover. Go figure.)

As for insurance, it's around $75/wk for me and my wife, and they've tried their best to keep it affordable even when the whole O-care fiasco started. They do value their employees, especially the ones who show themselves to be positive and responsible.

 

They're VERY different from one another. Ground is the red-headed stepchild of FedEx. Express is supposed to pay well, but I don't know how they run the big trucks. Those are both package divisions, but Express uses airplanes and their trucks pull vans - no doubles. Freight is LTL freight. They are all separate, and run very differently from one another.

Make sure you know who you're talking to. Take a Ground job only as a last resort. You'd be much better off (and paid much better) working at Saia.

 

I'd be very leery of FXG. They advertise HARD in Memphis and most only want 6 months experience to start with D/T endorsement. Can't trust that. I have a buddy that's been there YEARS and is still making .54 cpm.

I've jumped 2.1 cpm in 3 months where I'm at. Started at .565, now .586. in 2 months it's going up for my 6 months in and again it's going up Oct. 3 my hire date. I love Estes lol.

That third option sounds great, but I'm not the flatbed type.

 

Thanks for the insight there. It doesn't sound too difficult and regarding insurance, I guess the quote I got from my own shopping around doesn't seem THAT bad at 90-100 a week for full family coverage for my wife,son and myself, if I end up going with option 3.

Understood. I usually differentiate the FedEx freight from FedEx ground by looking at the colors used on the trailer. From my understanding, Orange and Purple is Freight, and Purple and Green are ground. At least that's how I think it is. You're right, I would of had better pay and bennies at SAIA, but it would of been a nightmare for me with the DFC's and policies, and I'm glad I passed it up at this point in time. After hearing reviews etc, option 3 continues to look better and better lol. Any of you know anything about the ground terminal in Robinson (basically Hewitt?) The TM is a fella by the name of Randy S, which is who I will be interviewing with on Tuesday.

Yea I wish I wouldn't of waited those few days to get on at Estes, even if it was for the combo position. But I hadn't gotten the full scope the situation at SAIA yet, and I was putting my focus towards them, unfortunately. I happen to love pulling a skateboard by the way for some reason. I'm pretty active in weightlifting and used to compete, although I do still lift quite seriously. So throwing heavy chains, traps etc, is fun to me strangely enough.

Dave

 

FedEx is changing ALL the logos to orange now. As if we weren't having enough problems being mistaken for Ground...!

 

No worries. We'll all still be able to recognize Ground drivers by how they slither down the highway with their tail trailers a-swayin'. My working theory is that Ground drivers can't pull doubles because they've never done so before they got in the contractor's truck. The training consisted of handing them the keys and informing them they'll be 1099. I'm not scared of a fellow linehauler pulling those red and purple trailers, but when I see green and purple, I'm looking for exit ramps.

 

A little update, as I mentioned a couple of days ago I have my "face to face" interview with fedex ground for line haul tomorrow at 11. I'm assuming based off the projected mileage I'd supposedly get each week, I'd be getting a hefty amount of dock time. I'm still waiting to hear form the small time guy about the completion date of the truck, although after reading quite a few posts form other members in the past, 1099 seems like it's slanted quite heavily towards the driver, which leaves me feeling a bit disillusioned with the position although it's right in line with my likes. (You just can't win for losing)

I also just had a phone interview with YRC out of Waco for the combo driver position. Supposedly it's 50% driving and 50% dock. I'm sure it's similar to the Estes position in the essence that the hours are not guaranteed and I'll be on call. The only plus with Estes, is if I was on call, I'm only 5 miles from the terminal. That didn't work out so these are my options. Starting pay at YRC is 21.78 an hour with supposedly 40 hours. The only downside is the lack of guaranteed hours, and the fact that the YRC terminal is 45 miles away, (I thought wrongly that it was in the same area as Saia and FedEx which is about 25-30 minutes away) so if traffic is flowing decent you're looking at just under an hour. I say that because in my neck of the woods the construction on I-35 from Temple to the north side of Bruceville Eddy is a nightmare. Regardless of the time of day, it could flow well and what's supposed to be a 45 minute drive, turns out to be just that, but if for whatever reason it's not, that 45 minute drive could turn into a 2 hour drive real quick.

If I'm not mistaken YRC is union correct? If that's the case, aren't your benefits paid for by the company for both you and your family? Is it difficult to get a bid run or something somewhat structured at YRC for those that are in the know? How are they with policies compared to the strictness of say, SAIA? Driver facing cam's etc?

I've also been researching the 1099 deal as I mentioned earlier in this post, but it seems as if all of the benefits of write-off's are really only doable if you actually OWN the truck? It gets confusing when you start dealing with all of that tax junk. I know you're on the hook for your portion of the taxes, plus those that are typically paid by the employer when your paid via W-2.

I've seen various numbers thrown around, in terms of what you should "put back" out of each check. Everything from 20% all the way up to 33%. At 30-33%, you're taking quite a hit each week out of your paychecks. I know when I'm paid via W-2, with the deductions I'm allowed, I only see about 7% taken out of my checks becasue I like having a bigger paycheck, vs having a bigger return at the end of the year. I figured that would play into your deductions on a 1099, but I'm not really finding a clear answer on that.

I was thinking of just asking the guy if he'd entertain the idea of paying W-2 but I don't know if that's a realistic situation, since he's just starting up down here, and I have no idea what the costs are for someone to pay via w-2 when it comes to accounting and everything of that nature. I've also tossed around the idea of contacting someone that does taxes for a living and seeing if I could just pay for a 30 minute conversation regarding this topic. Are there certain places that deal directly with trucking taxes, or who should I contact in the tax world that could put me on the right track if I were to go with the 1099 deal?

Dave

 

Yes YRC is Union. Benefits are free and one of the best. That’s pretty much the upside with them. They are going to be in contact negotiations at the end of the year. Everyone wants a raise not sure it’s gonna happen. I’m surprised their not busy. A lot of YRC barns are slammed with no one to pull their loads. Mostly understaffed.

I drove for FXG. No benefits. On my off time I tore my ACL completly. Never got it repaired properly cause i had no benefits. No money. Probably eventually gonna have to get it repair or knee replacement. I wouldn’t go without benefits.

 

Gotcha thanks for the insight Radman. All I was told was the figure of 21.78 an hour, not sure if they pay you differently for different duties such as city delivery, line haul or or dock work like Estes. The benefits are very enticing for sure and if offered the position, that alone would be hard to pass up even with the commute. You say they are going into contract negations at the end of the year, wasn't their a big strike with the union companies not too long ago? Is that a valid concern when considering such a company? I'm not 100% familiar with the whole union deal to be honest. I guess I should do some reading up on that.

So no benefits at FXG? As in they don't even offer them at all? If that's the case, I had no idea it was like that, and seriously changes my prospective on the job entirely. I'd prefer to run for the 1099 guy and be free to do as I please and pay for my own benefits, as opposed to working for FXG and dealing with corporate polices etc, only to end up paying for my own benefits anyway. Interesting.

Dave

 

I’m not 100% sure if FXG has no benefits ever since the employees sued FXG they might have em now provided by the contractor. But I’m sure it’s not cheap. I was there around 08 so it might of changed.

YRC could go on strike at the end of the year but I don’t think they will. Workers aren’t willing to sacrifice and will likely just sign the contract offered like they did last time in fear of losing their job cause YRC closed its doors.