how is kennedy to work for

Where is this company

 

I saw this thread and thought you were talking about Ted Kennedy.

 

I think he was talking about L.J. Kennedy
I am looking around here for some info on them myself.
I know you need 2 years exp, which is usually a good sign. Also they wrote the most widely used book on load securment for flatbed.

 

I am currently working for LJ, and I'll be honest it is the best job I ever had. I started as a system driver which is basically long-haul. I was on time or early on all my loads, then they needed me to work locally out of Bristol,CT. Those drivers were paid hourly, but LJ changed them to mileage which made them quit. I am doin alright wit it so far. But my whole problem is that I am single, and I dont wanna be home everyday. I am quitting soon, so if u have any questions about the company please fell free 2 ask

 

what about their pension and how much time you have to put in for it

 

i honestly dontpay too much attention to that, which I really should. But i'm pretty sure its a year. I'll get back to ya on that. They recently closed their Kentucky terminal cuz they lost the customer they were ealin wit there. I think they're closing their PA terminal soon. Havent heard much on that. Their equip is alright. Got rid of most of the internationals. Now all they have are the freigtliner columbias, volvos, and macks. All are automatic. I personally hate the volvos. Everyone is very friendly and professional. If u ever need help tarpin,strapping, wutever,you're pretty much guaranteed to get help from another LJ driver

 

I worked for them for just about 2 years, left last feb, due to a pay Decrease and a drop in milage, Now keep in mind that my milage drop was probably due to a drop in my performance, I was dealing with a health issue which was killing me,,,When I started they were giving me 40 cents a mile basically, they also gave 100 dollars a week for layover pay on your com datd card, which was nice, the benifits at this comapny were awsome, not sure if that has changed, You basically got the same ins, sick time, pension etc: as the union guy's but paid a bit more for it, but the cost was the best I had seen in a long time,,,Equiptment was good never Awsome but You never will end up in a total #### box, I had an 06 columbia, it was ok, not my idea of a good flat bed setup but whatever,I will say I loved their work and the lanes were great, there is allot of upstate NY work and You will find yourself near pittsburg quite a bit,and they will keep You busy not allot of down time waiting, as a matter of fact I would say 95% of the time I was preplanned, which was nice, and they are still using paper logs which is good too. The dispatchers are good and for a company the size of LJ very personable. If You like to work, You will do well, keep in mind they only use full Lumber tarps 8ft drops on all loads so You will have to deal with that, which sometimes can be a bear, I don't know the pay structure Now but I know it is less than when I was there, but I am sure it is competitive and they watch! so if You are a good worker I ma sure You will upgrade quickly, there is a ton of preloaded freight like Dry wall, so that stuff i Drop&Hook, which is nice. Again unless it has cahnged their benny's are awsome, and it is a good group of people, be prepared to stay out some weekends, even though they might tell you otherwise at interview,..I would say even though they dont run super trucks and some of te equiptment is basic they make up for that is pay and especially benifits,and again a great bunch of people,IE: when I left, dispatch and management were not too fond of me due to my performance not being what it was when I started the previous year, as I said I was having some pretty tough health issues which they were not aware of. When I left I did give a notice but lets say they were not dropping tears that I was leaving, I didn't burn a bridge but definately broke a few cables, a year later I approached them as an owner operator, and yes dispatch was weary of having me back, remember they did not know I was Ill at the time, but after a meeting they(dispatch) and especially the driver manager in Kearny agreed to take me on as an owner operator, that manager went to bat for me,for no other reason than being a good guy and so did dispatch, as far as I am concerned in today's industry You can't find that anymore, unfortunately I didn't go back,I got what I thought was a better deal through the carrier I was with, and I will say what a mistake that was. I miss that work and wish i did things differently.....SO YES in my opinion it was a great place to work, in today's trucking industry. Good Luck

 

I gotta say it is the best job I ever had. I was goin to quit soon. I thought I found a better dealwith another company but they didn't accept my application. No big deal though;Kennedy is great. I am still on the local runs out of CT, but I will be getting back to normal soon as a system driver. It is tough in the economy now anyway to try to look for something else when there's nothing wrong with this job. That layover pay is definelty something I miss. Being home everyday is killing me.

 

Lyon4343....Steve is that you???