Eastern Freightways North Brunswick, NJ

You can't help but giggle when you read stuff like this... Some individuals have the wonderful ability to find a silver lining inside of a cesspool (note: these individuals are what the industry thrives on) while others opt to call it as they see it, experience it, and watch hundreds, if not thousands, of others go through identical situations. Of course, all of our personal experiences are colored with personal subjectivity. jlkklj777’s claim to be “as informative, open, and honest as I can” although well-intentioned is EXTREMELY subjective and one-sided. I PRAY for the ability to happen upon a pair of rose colored glasses the likes of those jlkklj777 wears. One would automatically assume such a perspective is due to the decent treatment he's received by Eastern. It’s entirely plausible that his naïve perspective is borne out of all of the little $ perks Eastern placates him with in contrast to the proverbial beating he sees/hears/smells others taking in this industry. jlkklj777 seems to find himself so lucky that in order to perpetuate his self-fulfilling prophecy, nothing but accolades for Eastern flow from his pie-hole! In his favor, I suppose I would possibly be ‘in love’ with my company for tossing a ton of little crumbs my way because we all know that collectively, those crumbs eventually become a loaf! But, for some strange reason I can’t help but suspect he as well as others who support such a rosy view of trucking in general (and Eastern in particular) along with their regular marginalization and degradation of those who think $6.00/hr is NOT equivalent to slavery, may not have been in the industry very long! Hell, they may have had (gulp) even HARSHER jobs previously! By listing all of his little perks after 5 whole years, jlkklj777 also detracts from the fact that rather than hoping and praying one can endure to the 5 year mark to get such ‘wonderful perks,’ some drivers consider piloting a decent and livable piece of equipment as paramount and preeminent. Perks such as a large condo, APU, a plush, quiet, and gentle riding tractor with all the amenities is what lures some drivers to companies that offer such because after all, isn’t THAT where we spend EVERY SINGLE MOMENT eating, sleeping/relaxing, and WORKING??? I realize it’s up to the individual driver to decide which is better. I realize some guys are Vikings and would rather drive an Eastern-type 7 year-old underpowered base model tractor with steel wheels, spring ride, and a pill box sleeper for a few extra buckaroos. But for me – even with my Marine Corps experience - as many of the comforts of home as I can take along being that I’m out there for a week or two at a time is what I’m after! I have no problem admitting that leading the austere life of an ascetic is NOT my bag! Life is short… VERY short. A few perks in the future, or many perks right now… whatever you can swallow.

Additionally jlkklj777, I see the struggle you undergo when words come from YOUR mouth, therefore it would be greatly appreciated (putting it nicely) if you did not put words OR thoughts in MY mouth without my permission. I never stated this industry sucks… I actually enjoy trucking and have thus left my job as a guidance counselor in the Bronx, NY many years ago to pursue a career in trucking. But yes, there are elements in this industry that equate to indentured servitude as extremely well put by TurboTrucker in “An open letter to the trucking industry” quite some time ago. The only sensible analogy it seems you can grasp in one borrowed from my wife – a black woman – whose parent’s frequent use of this was prolific. Here, jlkklj777 always takes the perspective of the ‘house Negro’ while I assume the perspective of the ‘yard Negro.’ For edification the difference being; the house Negro lived in the house with ‘Massa’,’ and so took on ‘Massa’s’ persona and objectives. A perfect example of this is when “Massas’, house caught fire, the house Negro yelled, “Massa! Look! Our house is on fire! Let’s get Missy and all the kids out, hurry, quick!” Alternatively, the yard Negro stands outside with a big grin on his face and laughs, “Look at that m***** f*****’s house burnin’ down… ha ha ha!” From this historic example we see ­­­how jlkklj777 (and others) become the proverbial “Uncle Tom” of Eastern. There’s a host of pathos festering within individuals who sympathize with their oppressors. Submitted to a freshman Psychology 101 class all would have to admit it appears jlkklj777 and his ilk suffers from acute Stockholm Syndrome. But, rather than “beating a dead horse” I’ll support his myopic choice to not only remain in a company that throws you crumbs for driving crappy equipment for less than minimum wage overall, but to extol, glorify, and revere them as well. Cornelius Shea, Daniel Tobin, Dave Beck, and Jimmy Hoffa are rolling over in their graves.

Replying to this thread is fast becoming a terse chore. I anticipate the well inculcated jlkklj777 replying with a Hoover Dam’s worth of: Eastern’s tractor specs, contrasting other company’s pay/perks/benefits lists, trucking is a godsend for me, look at what I make (give me a break!), seanoleary1979 is wrong, other companies waste their money on large fancy terminals, the best companies have crappy equipment and pass the savings on to drivers (whew!), they all walk to a different drumbeat, disenchanted individuals, I am an objective super-trucker with 100 years of experience who knows all, beating dead horses (talk about played out metaphors!!!), harping on ‘angles’, I try to focus on the positive aspects of my job (huh?), blah, blah, blah – ad nauseum.

 

It is truly sad that Seanoleary1979 has once again attempted to denigrate my contributions to this thread with his close minded attitude and the obvious use of blinders when it comes to even attempting to consider an alternative point of view.

I have offered a complete breakdown of my pay for the entire year to illustrate why I believe Eastern is in fact better than the other major truckload carriers out there. I have given a breakdown of every job I have had. Why? Because I felt it was important to show that seanoleary1979 post' was completely off base and without merit.

The key to success at any carrier is hard work and a symbiotic relationship between the office personnel and the drivers. Some drivers understand this and believe (as I do) that my success and profitability as a driver is directly related to the success and profitability of my employer. To that end I give all I have to keep my position within this company. I know there are others that are ready, willing, and able to take my job and dedicated run in a heartbeat. I KNOW I am replaceable and have no delusions otherwise.

Eastern has its warts just as every other carrier does. The difference is I have learned to adapt and they no longer bother me.

You want to talk about naiveté? Some drivers "think" they should get paid to eat, sleep, and even go to the toilet while on the job. Some drivers are so naive that they will drive for .20 cpm provided they get an owner op type truck that will run 100 mph, has a bunch of chrome on it, and has no satellite tracking so they can look good flying down the highway. I say; "show me the money instead! Pure and simple."

Sean goes on to say; Additionally jlkklj777, I see the struggle you undergo when words come from YOUR mouth,...

( BTW, the only struggle I have is to remain polite to individuals who clearly do not deserve it)

...therefore it would be greatly appreciated (putting it nicely) if you did not put words OR thoughts in MY mouth without my permission. I never stated this industry sucks…

Thats funny Sean because your post dated 12/05/08 (#4 in this thread) did an admirable job of spelling out just how you "perceive this industry" as well as making some pretty offensive remarks directed toward me;

He's either a recruiter/representative in disguise, or a driver who used to be homeless and lived in a refrigerator box so he now thinks receiving mere crumbs are the Lord's bounty. I'm REALLY not so sure I would believe in the 60-70 grand line either... Most of these large companies are identical in their treatment of drivers. It’s possibly not as bad as "REELTYME" put it, but after 16 years in the business, no one could ever get me to believe the entire crock of 18+ facts that "jlkklj777" espoused.

Face it Sean you entered this discussion, attacked me personally from the start, and then after I refuted each one of your attacks diplomatically you mysteriously "disappeared" from the conversation. Now you're back to attempt to discredit me one more time??? You have some serious mental deficiencies apparently and clearly are WAY out of your league when it comes to debating me "sir."

I must apologize to the other readers of this thread. Sean apparently has some Axe to grind and for some unknown reason has chosen to attack me and insert his own rather lame arguments about "slavery" into a thread that was supposed to be specifically about Eastern Freight Ways.

seanoleary1979 relies on obfuscation and has attempted to side track the conversation into something he clearly enjoys; "ridiculing" an industry that does not pay him for the following; (quoted from post 4)
"Then, in addition to all this ‘working’ don’t forget to put a dollar figure on sleeping, eating, urinating, defecating, and the extremely small amounts of relaxing you do during the day in the truck."

I leave it to the the rest of you to judge who has remained on topic and respectful every step of the way.

 

great honest image of the ''new breed trucker''...Someone buy this irishman a beer...lol..

Very true words spoken here.Only one thing is wrong with this post..I have to say that 80% of trucking is a cess pool of homeless people,being treated as servants and working as slaves for slave wages..

My own opinion is the ''UNION'' trucker is were it is at.They are treated with all the good stuff.

As far as these dime a dozen driver mill bottom feeder companies you are right on..Which IMO make up about 80% of this cess pool business for the homeless..

If you are ''lucky'' you can land a good deal with a respected company.Which is not easy,to say the least.

Trucking has turned into a HOBO life,filled with new people that are coming from a very low and desperate point in there life.This business has become a life for the ''desperate'' as being the last house on the street before ''homelessness''.(lol)..

 

I agree with you to an extent. I don't want to beat a dead horse but, listening to others around you and grasping (or understanding) what drivers go through is not the same. He or she finishes there work day leave the office (or workplace) get in the car and drive home. A truck driver on the other hand drives for 11 hours or so and either pulls into a crowded truckstop in hopes of finding a spot or pulls to the siding of an exit or entrance ramp, shuts the truck down, climbs behind the seat he or she has been sitting in for the past 11 hours or so and calls it home. I'm sorry! that's not the same as going home.... and it is far from just "grasping" the concept of what it's like out there.

Anyone who has never been a driver (OTR) is totally clueless to the stress or what it's like, and to those who feel they need to voice there opinion; get your license and hit the road for a year or two then you have the right to conjecture, until then you have no opinion. To all you "want to be drivers" out there, you wouldn't make it because you don't have what it takes to be a truck driver. You can talk the talk... but can't walk the walk....

 

Let's not be taking shots at each other in here!!!!

 

I worked for Eastern Freightways out of No. Brunswick, NJ from the end of March, 2008 to the beginning of August. Jim was head of operations, and he treated me with absolute contempt. I could never get a shower, because most of the NEMF terminals did not have shower facilities for women. But yet, the company would refuse to reimburse me for a shower out on the road, since I couldn't fuel at any truck stops if I were within 50 miles of an NEMF terminal. I would lose so much time getting routed to a NEMF terminal.....I worked over 70 hrs a week, yet could not net a living wage, and ate up most of my savings trying to eat and survive on the road. I liked Brian, but the s*** rolled downhill in that office, so, he was only doing what he was told to do. Yes, the equipment was absolute garbage, I got DOT'd four times in 4 months...more than I ever did when I ran local for JB for 5 1/2 years. I rarely got any miles. It was just a nightmare, and even though they tried to beat the love of trucking out of me, it didn't happen. I worked local for TLC, but the freight dried up...all they have is work that is too physical for me to do. Out of work since last Oct of 2008, and having a hard time finding a job. I was only 1 gal who drove solo for them, and if you don't think that gender discrimination is not still an issue in this industry, in this day and age, then you need to really open up your eyes. I left Eastern on what I thought were good terms.....I thought that Lee and I were in agreement that if things "didn't work out" with the new job opp. that I left Eastern for, that I could come back. Eastern also denied me unemployment bennies, and Bellino said that "my performance was less than satisfactory", yet Brian always told me I was "doing a great job". If, on a rare occasion, that I ran late for a load, they were immediately informed by me, and with valid reason....(DOT inspection, equipment failure, loss of time trying to pull hilly areas, etc) Nothing in my employee file was negatory! I am thrilled to hear that Gaven is gone! I'm just sad that he wasn't fired and kicked to the curb. I liked Richie, but he pushed me to run illegal. I also liked Gary, and he was well aware of how dispatch would push you beyond your limitations, and the current HOS. I was hired on at .40 a mile, but could never get close to 2000 miles in a week. I still maintain that this is not a good company to work for. I have a video up on YouTube...."truck bunk shot and a little complaining", for when I drove for them. It was the absolute worst company I have ever worked for in my 12 years of T/T driving.

I worked for Eastern Freightways out of No. Brunswick, NJ from the end of March, 2008 to the beginning of August. Jim was head of operations, and he treated me with absolute contempt. I could never get a shower, because most of the NEMF terminals did not have shower facilities for women. But yet, the company would refuse to reimburse me for a shower out on the road, since I couldn't fuel at any truck stops if I were within 50 miles of an NEMF terminal. I would lose so much time getting routed to a NEMF terminal.....I worked over 70 hrs a week, yet could not net a living wage, and ate up most of my savings trying to eat and survive on the road. I liked Brian, but the #### rolled downhill in that office, so, he was only doing what he was told to do. Yes, the equipment was absolute garbage, I got DOT'd four times in 4 months...more than I ever did when I ran local for JB for 5 1/2 years. I rarely got any miles. It was just a nightmare, and even though they tried to beat the love of trucking out of me, it didn't happen. I worked local for TLC, but the freight dried up...all they have is work that is too physical for me to do. Out of work since last Oct of 2008, and having a hard time finding a job. I was only 1 gal who drove solo for them, and if you don't think that gender discrimination is not still an issue in this industry, in this day and age, then you need to really open up your eyes. I left Eastern on what I thought were good terms.....I thought that Lee and I were in agreement that if things "didn't work out" with the new job opp. that I left Eastern for, that I could come back. Eastern also denied me unemployment bennies, and Bellino said that "my performance was less than satisfactory", yet Brian always told me I was "doing a great job". If, on a rare occasion, that I ran late for a load, they were immediately informed by me, and with valid reason....(DOT inspection, equipment failure, loss of time trying to pull hilly areas, etc) Nothing in my employee file was negatory! I am thrilled to hear that Gaven is gone! I'm just sad that he wasn't fired and kicked to the curb. I liked Richie, but he pushed me to run illegal. I also liked Gary, and he was well aware of how dispatch would push you beyond your limitations, and the current HOS. I was hired on at .40 a mile, but could never get close to 2000 miles in a week. I still maintain that this is not a good company to work for. I have a video up on YouTube...."truck bunk shot and a little complaining", for when I drove for them. It was the absolute worst company I have ever worked for in my 12 years of T/T driving.
I am sorry to hear that they let Tommy, the Russian mechanic, go. He was the best mechanic over there!
Their equipment is absolute garbage, and the DOT guys rub their hands w/ glee when they see an Eastern Freightways truck approaching. I loved Jose, he was a great guy, and even got a porta-potty for me to keep in the truck. A real godsend for a ladytrucker. But even the worst job is better than no job, and after I went out to Ohio for orientation w/ US Xpress, and they cut me on my third and final day of Orientation, and left me stranded out in Ohio, (they didn't pay my return bus fare back to NJ), I told Lee, "lets keep the door open, in case things didn't work out"....and he agreed. Yet, when I called Lee to come back, I was denied. WORK FOR JB HUNT BEFORE YOU WORK FOR THESE PEOPLE!

 

PS: Trucking IS "the last American sweatshop"!

 

What this driver is saying is 100% CORRECT!!! I was there when 9 or more drivers quit in ONE WEEK!!! I noticed because there were so many bobtails parked behind the mechanics shop, so I asked Jose what had happened, and HE TOLD ME that a whole mess of drivers got fed up and quit! Their new pay scale is also garbage, because you can't get any miles! I would get excited when I thought I finally had a decent run from NJ out to Chicago...instead, I would be told to bring it to the Camp Hill NEMF terminal in PA and then I would sit, unpaid, waiting for them to scrape something up for me.
Maybe the drivers who lived in other States, like SC, or GA fared better, but the NJ drivers who ran regional were out there killing themselves, and still starving. And forget about getting a shower....The MEN can grab one at a NEMF terminal, but what about the WOMEN drivers????? Our hygenic needs are even MORE crucial than a man's. I spoke with four male drivers who claimed that they got reimbursed for showering at a truck stop, (where you couldn't get fuel), but I never got re-imbursed ONCE! If you want to be treated worse than a dog, then work for this company. I have never worked so hard, for so little, then when I worked for Eastern Freightways out of NJ.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDnxt0j-Bdo&feature=channel_page
If the link does not display, then just go to
my YouTube channel, NJKatwoman, and look
for the video, "truck bunk shot and a little complaining"

 

NJ Katwoman,

I must say that was a well put together video. I am sorry that things were so rough for you here at Eastern. The old equipment that is still being used is a tragedy (IMO). I know how small they are because I did drive several of them for the first 3 years here at Eastern.

Shower receipts, scale tickets, toll receipts, additives, in short ANY receipt you send in for reimbursement is placed into a file with the drivers name on it (in payroll). When the driver requests reimbursement then an efs check is issued through your driver manager for the total amount of receipts you have accumulated up to that point in time.

Personally I do not ask for reimbursement until either Christmas time or if I really need it for something else. Normally my reimbursements are over a hundred dollars at a time.

The shower facilities at NEMF terminals are indeed horrendous and I have only used the one in Camp Hill once (it is above the shop and you must get a key from dispatch to even get up there). I know there is one shower each at the North Brunswick terminal in the restrooms. Those are barely adequate and I doubt they are cleaned daily.

To be perfectly candid the past year here at Eastern has been a struggle to keep a positive attitude about continuing to work here. The good things have been a semi dedicated route and one of the newer 2006 Volvo's set up with a double bunk. With 2 of us in the truck we do have to shuffle our clothes from the bed to the front each night when we shut down which is a hassle. We were given a chance to get one of the Blue Volvo 660 models (old Jevic trucks) several months ago but my wife did not want the manual transmission. She loves the automatic so we kept our old truck which has well over 400,000 miles on it already.

I have been speaking with many new hires and they are all complaining about low miles per week, older raggedy equipment, and even being cheated on miles in some cases. Breakdown pay and detention pay seems to be more difficult to collect lately as well from what I am hearing.

I am watching them like a hawk lately and they are getting very "sloppy" with the pay and extra pay messages. So far I have only caught a few "errors" on my pay and they have been "fixed." How many other "mistakes" are they making inside though?

I would not advocate ANYONE applying with Eastern Freightways at this point in time. My brother called and asked me to try and get him back in but I told him to wait until Spring, at least then the freight SHOULD be cycling back up.

Do not think just because I am one of the senior drivers here and run team for them that I am above being stuck waiting for a load or stuck covering a crummy 240 mile load for them just to get into position for a better run. We have been layed over several times in the past few months. 2 to 3 days normally over the weekend down in Atlanta Ga. The wife and I have even been contemplating renting an apartment down there so at least we will have a place to go instead of sitting at the Pilot for 2 or 3 days.

Of course part of the problem here is these K-Beam trailers that are heavier than a standard 53 foot dry van and have limited cube space for high stacked freight. I have lost 3 loads in the past 4 months because the shipper could not fit their freight onto these trailers. My complaints and suggestions are falling on deaf ears. NEMF uses them to ship their ltl freight to AAA cooper and we have to use them after they are empty.

The management within Eastern seems to be taking a turn for the worse from what I am hearing (in person from other drivers and here on line). For the time being I intend to hang onto my job as long as possible.

Realistically what alternative is there?

If we quit, we then have to prove ourselves at a different carrier, work our way up the seniority ladder for better runs, better treatment, and better equipment.

Heck even becoming an owner op doesn't look good due to the economy.

Like you said NJ Katwoman; "At least we have a job."