Eastern Freightways North Brunswick, NJ

Freight God , to be honest , I have nothing against you at all and I really think you understand why I feel the way I do about things . jikklj , I feel sorry for you , you havent felt the sting enough yet and your affriad to open your eyes . you wont get a clue until you are left with absolutly NOTHING . HOPE is a great thing ,but whether you choose to except it or not ,The United States Of America has let greed and corruption distroy us . LV GN people like you just make me laugh .
Freight God , you are right , MS is greedy and he does have billions in cash , and you can not dispute the fact that people like you , me and everyone who has ever drove a truck for him put that money in his pocket . THATS WHY I GET SO PISSED , with out us .... what would he have ? Freight God , I am extending an offer to have coffee some time . You acually have a clue .

 

Considering I have been driving for a little over 17 years now and began with JB Hunt back in 1992 I am well aware of how things in the industry are. Believe it or not I am not naive nor stupid (as some have suggested).

Perhaps a little history will help illustrate my point of view;

While with JB I was not only one of the highest performing drivers but one of the highest paid as well. Making over 60 grand a year back in the late nineties and home every weekend plus a few times thru the week. I "believed" I was not only respected and valued but recruited many other disgruntled company drivers from the competition through my interactions. When challenged about my actual pay I would always show them my stack of pay sheets (I carried in the truck) to prove it.

Fast forward several years.......After having an accident on a foggy morning in the summer of 1998 I was given the bums rush out the door. It did not matter that I was traveling below the posted speed limit and was being passed regularly. Suffice it to say it was a chain reaction accident in which I became involved.

It made no difference who I knew in East Brunswick NJ or how good I was at making the company money each week. I was damaged goods and considered a liability to the company lawyers in Lowell Ar.

It was tough getting restarted after the accident. 3 weeks later (and 30 applications later), an outfit named TSL (Trans States Lines Fort Smith Ar) gave me a second chance. Since my second chance I have improved my skills, my attitude, and my sense of commitment to my employer AND my job performance.

I know I am replaceable. I know WE are all replaceable. Whether it be a newbie fresh to the industry looking for his first job or a veteran driver with Millions of miles under his belt. All it takes is one bad accident and our career is OVER.

As long as I am still making money and have the respect of my employer I will stick it out and try to work to improve things from the INSIDE.

 

Some days are a real test of patience (even for me).

Kim and I were asked to recover an NEMF day cab from Miami Florida over the weekend. We have recovered other units for Eastern in the past so to recover an NEMF truck was no big difference to us.

It was not an abandoned unit from a disgruntled driver. It was an extra truck that was no longer needed down there due to the down turn in the economy and the past layoffs.

Apparently it had been sitting for most of the summer and for a 1998 International daycab it needed some work (to say the least).

After doing a pretrip on the unit I found some minor issues such as no air conditioning (it was 93 in Miami at the time), no cruise control (had been deactivated per NEMF management a year ago), and no interior dash lights.

Oh well, Old school truckin!

During the trip north I found that the dash lights had some kind of a loose connection and would come on periodically. The truck would only go 65 mph so it took a bit longer than we anticipated to make the trip.

We ran out my hours and shut it down for the night. The headlights had been gradually fading during the night driving so I figured there must be a charging issue as well.

Sure enough, come morning the truck would not start. No biggie though seeing we were at a truck stop with a shop. $35.00 in cash got it started with a jump from the service techs machine. The batteries were pretty corroded and I "should have had them changed on the spot." I did call Tommy at home to let him know what was going and he left the decision to me as to whether I felt they should be changed. I figured the truck made it 500 miles so far and we only had to go about 450 more to get to Richmond Va (where we were told to drop the unit) so I would roll the dice.

During the trip north Kim got tired of following me and decided to lead for a while. Pretty easy to do when she was driving our Volvo which has a stronger engine and will go 70 mph with the cruise on. Too bad for me when the truck I was driving decided to stall out on the highway. She made it all the way to our fuel stop in Florence Sc 60 miles away before she decided to stop and find out what happened to me (if we had 2 cell phones instead of 1 this would not have been an issue but alas I had the only 1). After talking to her on the phone I told her to go to bed (she wasn't feeling well anyway) and wait for me.

The fuel tanks had been full when we left Miami (150 gallons) and it made no sense that I would run out after only driving 610 miles. I called Carlos at home (NEMF emergency road service contact) and asked for help. I explained the truck was broke down on I95. I asked for more fuel to be brought out and a truck to jump start me.

4 Hours later I get help from the T/A truck stop in Manning Sc (which was only 9 miles away but was apparently too busy to get to me sooner). The service tech put 10 gallons in each side (could not dip the tanks due to anti siphon device in filler necks) and jump started the truck. The head lights would not come on at all at this point so I decided to drive to the T/A in Manning to get new batteries.

I barely made it into the truck stop parking lot with it coughing and sputtering due to the dead batteries. I could not even make it into the shop before it died.

The service writer informed me they could not jump start me because the road service guy still had the machine and the truck was out on another call. Asking him to do the work in the parking lot was a no go either. Apparently there is some prohibition against them working on trucks on the lot.

Rather than wait several hours for the service truck to come back I decided to do the work myself. Of course I had to buy a flashlight and a set of vice grips (could not borrow the mechanics tools) to remove the batteries and tie downs. 3 batteries and an hour later I had the batteries replaced. It took me another half hour to get the headlights working again.

Of course I made several calls to Tommy and Carlos during this "trying time" to kvetch about old equipment and doing "favors" for the parent company. After venting a bit and letting Tommy know I could not meet the expected delivery times on our loads I was assured it would not be a problem. He thanked me for my hard work and told me not to worry about the delivery times.

After getting the truck running I raced up to Florence and filled up the truck. Surprise, Surprise, it only held 70 gallons! add in the 20 gallons I had the road service guy put in while on I95 and it was clear to me I had not run out of fuel after all (a typical rookie mistake for which I was beating myself up for). It was all due to the bad batteries! Talk about a Homer Simpson moment! DOH!!!

We dropped the NEMF day cab in Richmond Va by 0330 with no further problems and made it to Camp Hill Pa by 0800. No grief from anyone at NEMF about the late loads.

Kim and I will both get paid for solo miles from Miami Fl to Richmond Va, and then team compensation for the additional miles to Camp Hill. Added into the above will be 6 hours of hourly pay for the break down (at my rate of pay) plus the drops and hooks.

A rough weekend with no 34 hour reset but a profitable weekend none the less despite the difficulties.

This is just the latest example of what I do for this company and why I am respected by management.

I was given a lemon and made lemonade out of it.

 

Where do you think you are going to go? Some communist Utopia Geez dude sounds like the Good ole USA wont miss you one bit

 

Keep it friendly please!!!!!!

 

i have learned over the years that, people who belittle Americans who choose to live in another country , have never takin the chance to talk to , learn about or interact with people from other countries . All of us, during our life time have been led to believe that The United States is the greatest country on earth . Maybe we were at one time but , if you have the ability to be honest with your self , you will see that we have become the laughing stock of the world . Very sad ,but true . Truck drivers in other countries over the last few years ,stuck together and demanded a change and, because they stuck together , they got the changes they asked for . Austrialian truckers are treated with the ut most respect .Truck drivers here are treated like pure dirt , we are seen as the most vile people on earth . We are not protected by labor laws , we are blamed for all of the accidents that ever happen involving 4 wheelers,we are paid what amounts to be minimum wage or less ,depending on who you work for , O/O's at one point made absolutly fantastic money and now even O/O's are being paid less and less . We have a book of rules and regs that only serve to make millions for the Feds and the states . We have something called DAC that is the most unfair,unregulated ,money making , black balling weapon there is . Its purpose ... there is no purpose . Someone saw a chance to make money and it was off and running . The excuse . SAFETY ............. what a lie . Some of the most experianced drivers have had their careers distroyed by one person who did not like them or the driver reported saftey issues with equipment , did not run illegally,was charged with a preventable accident when there was no accident ,and the list goes on .We are lied to , cheated ,ripped off at truck stops and harrassed by DOT . I know what you are going to ask , Why do I or we continue to do this . Simple , the majority of us out her just love these 18 wheels .So we put up with all of the above and hope things will get better but yet even though we have all the power we need to change things , we dont . We supply every Americans wants and needs. They talk about cutting the amount of trucks on the road and replacing us with rail , but that is just crazy talk . It will never work . We are expected to give our lives when some stupid 4 wheeler does something stupid ,and if we servive , we are blamed .We are living in a time where Big Business thrives on greed.Their bottom line is FAT POCKETS NO MATTER WHO THEY KILL TO ACHIEVE A BIG BANK ACCOUNT. I GOT MINE THE HELL WITH EVERYONE ELSE .If they get hurt while working , oh well we can replace them , no big deal . If they want better working conditions , a fair amount of pay , THE HELL WITH THEM WE CAN REPLACE THEM .Our elected officials are bought and sold by corporate thugs on a daily basis and more and more polititions are jumping on the band wagon . Its sad and I , or anyone who can comprehend has seen that there are other countries were they can live a good life , be treated with dignity and live comfortably, and not have to go through what honest , hard working Americans are going through .I believe its Germany where , it is the LAW that every working man and women get 4 weeks PAID VACATION i thinks it every year .We are the only industrialized nation that does not have universal health care .The majority of other countries that do have universal health care . IT IS HIGHLY ILLEGAL FOR A INSURANCE COMPANY TO BE FOR PROFIT .
What the media does not want you to know is , thousands of Americans are moving and have moved out of the USA .
Mike S. has just completed a 5million dollar home in the Hamptons ,yet he is crying broke . He has billions of dollars but NEMF/Eastern drivers had to take a pay cut. WHY ????? there is only one answer to that question... GREED Just like 95 % of the trucking companies out here. The ones who are honestly hurting ,are hurting because of this economic mess that has been created .
So, when someone spews off to me about wanting to leave America , I just laugh. Call me what ever you want , say what ever you want . I know I will have a wonderful home , health care when I need it, I can have a business if I choose and the Gov wont take every dime in taxes , property taxes are very very very little , income taxes dont leave you in debt . I can send my daughter to school and get a better education then she will ever get here .I will be able to live a nice comfortable life . I really hope things do turn around here but , a hard look at reality shows it will not get any better .i dont know what just happen to my font but ,jlkklj, you are the only Eastern driver that seems to adore this company and thats fine . Me , I have ZERO respect for a employer who lied to me from the min I walked in the door .I am still working here because like many , i have no choice . I network everyday looking for something better just like I did today and may have found something really good . I have to make some phone calls and investigate .
If people choose to stay here and, be degrated , starved , robbed ,thrown into the streets through no fault of their own , thats their choice .I do not harass them, belittle them or talk down to them , I wish them well .I have been with other companies where I was treated just like we are being treated here and I have wrote the truth about them as well .
Bigchuckie , I dont give a dam who misses me or doesnt miss me here .If you are doing well , I am very happy for you , if you like it here ,I am happy for you , if you choose to not learn about or interact with people from other countries thats fine too .
I stand by everything I have said about Eastern , Its a dirt bag company and when another door opens , I will simply close this one .
Oh by the way , being that I am one who welcomes the chance to learn about other people in other countries is how I found out about the trucking industry in other countries .
Be safe Ladies and Gentlemen

 

you certainly have a lot of anger. You probably had it before coming to eastern. They could definately make it worse. Its not an easy life driving for a living but we do what has to be done. Its only going to get worse in this country. I feel bad for my kids. vI grew up in the sixties and seventies. We had fun. No more fun now. we had our Vietnam and oil shortages and drugs but we had JOBS, good JOBS. Obama wants us all to be dependent on him. If his agenda gets thru, watch out America, there will be class warefare like never before.

 

I do not blame the current administration for our societal woes. It has been a progression downwards since the implementation of NAFTA.

Thanks to our political leaders we have lost entire industries to foreign nations. Through excessive regulations, taxes, and in general, bureaucratic red tape, we have made it more profitable for companies to not only outsource factory jobs but IT jobs as well. Add into the mix the government programs that allow foreign workers to be hired in place of American workers (under the guise of: "we cannot find sufficient workers to do the job we need them to do, at the PRICE we are willing to pay"), it is not hard to see how we have arrived at this point.

It is now cheaper to build vehicles, clothes, and consumer goods of all kinds over seas, send them back to the US for sale, at a lower over all price.

The transportation costs are dropping steadily as well. Ships lines are idling huge freighters. Trucking companies are parking trucks by the hundreds. Mexico is building one of the largest deep water ports in this hemisphere in Punta Colonet. This port located off of baja California will absorb many shipments currently coming to American ports. It will also give scores of Mexican truckers jobs that American container haulers currently have...

BK has a pretty good grasp on what is happening within this country. He has a lot of courage to even consider taking his skills to a different country. I am not sure how the work visa, taxes, and general residency requirements would work or how well an American worker would be accepted into the trucking industry in Europe.

I truly hope you find what you are seeking BK.

 

Has anyone looked at the new CSA 2010 safety ratings for all drivers ? we are getting screwed once again and what are we doing about it ?????
NOTHING AS ALWAYS
Me I started writing letters as soon as I found out about it but, like i have said many times before , it cant be done by only a few it has to be all , but , that is never going to happen . we would rather bend over and take it rather then stick together and do something . Due to this new Safety rating program , thousands and thousands of drivers are going to be forced to give up their CDL and will never be permitted to drive for a living ever again . And because of the use of DAC , its only going to make it easier for scumbag companies to totally distroy a drivers life .I have had this happen to me . The use of logs was brought about by a driver who was tired of being over worked and our wonderful Government saw a chance to control us and it was off and running . it wont be long before the trucking industry in the USA will no longer exist . The government will run with this as long as they can ,until they figure out they have made a very big mistake and by then , the death rate will have increased to record levels due to total lack of experience and new drivers being pushed out because of the lack of decent pay,and horrific working conditions . Out of the 50 or so drivers I have asked about CSA 2010 , 4 knew what it was . That is sad . I am still amazed that the amount of drivers who dont even know what DAC is . OOIDA took DAC to court and lost and nothing has been mentioned about it since . I lost contact with the guy who was prepairing a report for congress about what is being done to us drivers.Chances are , he was silenced .There many factors ripping our lives as drivers apart but the biggest one is Greed .One of these days , those of you who who dont understand , will relize why not only me but thousands of people want to leave here . Just go online sometime and do a goggle search on people leaviing this country and why .I watched things change in this country from the time I was in my early teens and i made predictions and so far they have all come true . As for trucking , we still have a chance to turn things around but time is running out . Oh by the way JLK I am not going to Europe and I will not be driving a truck where I am going . I will have my own business .

 

this will get the bad apples off the road! and the rest of us will be in demand and paid even better. no one cares where your going. bad mouthing america is just wrong. and dangerous! doing it from behind a keyboard is just being a coward! leave now! good riddin's.