Calling all ABF drivers

Just wait until FXF offers a driver apprentice program.

 

Bingo.

 

They already do a dock to driver program

 

They mean wait for an opening to be posted for that job.

 

I wanna say I love reading LTLAnonymous's posts. You are a very kind, helpful member and extremely knowledgeable at the same time. You and Chinatown are my two favorite posters here on this forum by far. I love Chinatown, but I love LtlAnonymous as well.

Anyways, I have a question for LtlAnonymous and anyone else who is currently or has worked for ABF Freight in the past. I am very seriously considering working for ABF Freight in the very near future, it sounds like a great company. The fact I am not married, have no Children (and I am the world's biggest Dallas Cowboys' fan) and thus am able to work 70-75 hours per week, every week, 52 weeks per year for the first 3-4 years I drive, in order to pay off some massive Undergraduate University and Graduate School Loans and save up for a nice home as well, then after about 4 years of working (75) hours per week Nighttime Linehaul for ABF Freight (hopefully), bring my hours down to only about (65) hours per week until I retire from Nighttime Linehaul CDL A driving at about the age of 75.....yes I can work Nighttime Linehaul until I am 75 as I lift weights 5 times per week (I am extremely passionate about weightlifting and Bodybuilding) and go for a 65-70 minutes jog 7 days per week.

I am rambling....here is my question....I understand ABF Freight does not have a 401K which stinks. But they do have an employee Pension plan. Assuming that ABF Freight endures long-term and does not ever go bankrupt in my lifetime (perhaps wishful thinking ??), how long do I have to work for ABF before I become Grandfathered into their Employee Pension Plan? 15 years? 20 years ? And how generous exactly is their employee Pension Plan ? LtlAnonymous, do you have any idea approximately how generous their Employee Pension Plan is?

Thank you.

Let's go Cowboys !!

 

5 years to be vested, if that's your question

 

Well thank you for the kind words. I'm just trying to pass on what's been taught to me.

So ABF has a 401k, firstly. They just don't have a match. The money that would have gone into the 401K match goes into your pension instead.

How long until you are vested in the pension depends on your local union. Generally it is 5 years. Your local union will also determine your retirement benefits once you are done driving.

If you hit it hard, you could definitely have those student loans paid off within four years.

Also, in certain areas where LTL companies are having trouble attracting employees, they're starting guys off at scale, or only making them wait one year until they reach scale. That makes life a lot easier in the beginning. You may not work everyday, but you will make money any day you work.

Sorry for the delay in responding, but my house is quite a chore this week. Lol

Any further questions, just give me a little while to respond. See ya!

 

We just had a 16 year road driver leave ABF to go to work for UPS. The main reason was that UPS will match the number of years that you have paid into the BANKRUPT Central States Pension Plan. for example if you had 10 years paid into Central States they will add 10 years into to the UPS pension if you work at UPS for 10 years.

You will need to check to see which pension the Texas drivers pay into. If it is Central States, it is expected to have paid out 100% of its holdings sometime in 2025. If it is Western States they are around 94% funded and you will have a pension. If it is in SouthEastern states I don't know how well it is doing. These are multi employer pension plans and many of the employers have gone bankrupt and are out of business. Therefore most of what ABF pays into the pension goes to support people that NEVER worked for ABF.

You would think that 16 years of seniority would keep a driver at their current employer but having a pension that is not bankrupt is important to many drivers. This driver was around 52 years old so can have a 20 pension with UPS at age 62.

 

I am curious if this is something new that UPS is using to attract other seasoned drivers? I realize things change but my Central States time at Teamster employers prior to my UPS time hypothetically will be paid from Central States (if they are still alive). My time at UPS in Central States (prior to the UPS pension formation) will hypothetically be paid from Central States. Lastly my time at UPS in the UPS pension will be paid from the UPS pension.

 

Article 34 section 1 is the only thing I could find close to this. It was my understanding years ago that they were only going to supplement my years in Central States while employed at UPS. I won’t hold my breath for my other years to be supplemented, but I would take it when Central States dies.