Eastern Freightways North Brunswick, NJ

Stepping on toes is not what I want to do. I have to work with Ray and Tommy on a regular basis. Rocking the boat at this time is not the smart thing to do, in my estimation anyway. I will bide my time and keep good records. I will use this information at a later date (if needed) to get something I want. Quid Pro Quo.

Considering the alternative; which is being unemployed or having to start all over at another carrier, Eating 180 miles to earn $2328.32 (4759 paid miles plus drops and hooks) per week is simply not worth fighting over (right now anyway).

In the current economy carriers all over are cutting expenses including laying off drivers, freezing driver pay, and even dropping driver wages in some cases. Even the union companies are making concessions.

I would rather discuss these things openly and show that I do not "sugar coat things" so that readers of this thread may get a look behind the scenes at Eastern. Discussing the good AND the bad will hopefully give others a balanced account of not only Eastern but the choices other drivers may also have to face in order to keep their jobs.

 

I respect your ethics and your convictions. Doesnt just get to a point that you boil over when you keep getting the short end and you bring it to peoples attention in a nice way and they just fluff it off? Maybe you havent reached that point yet but as you get a little older and a little less patient with things you find that bottling in all this tention all these years has taken a toll.

 

One of the best threads on here, and more then a few characters, keep with it,

 

glad you enjoy reading here. who you drive for? you familiar with NEMF and Eastern???

 

Back when I used to drive van, I would drop off the over/extras or damaged items at NEMF when in the New England area, the stuff I hauled always had overs on the order. I was hauling zinc out of the local mine dedicated to valleyfield/Dorion, (Montreal) Quebec, till the mine shut down, have my own truck, just waiting till things improve then head back out flatbedding it

 

I have done my fair share of growling and snarling with Eastern personnel. I have had words with Brian, Lee, Tommy, and Charlie over the years. I will defend my position strenuously UNTIL PROVEN wrong, thats just my nature I guess. Normally my conflicts are resolved before they become heated because I take the time to present my arguments without emotion (very tough at times though). When emotion enters into a conflict tempers do tend to flare, things will be said that can not be erased and will not be forgotten despite what the other person says. Better to avoid the emotion completely and stick to the facts when possible.

Perhaps I am too young (39) to be totally disenchanted with Eastern. Having only worked at 4 carriers I definitely have limited exposure to "every carrier" out there and with only 17 years of driving I sure don't know everything there is to know about every carrier out there. Based on my conversations with other drivers over the years (and from what I have been reading at forums such as this 1) NO carrier is perfect. We all just need to find a carrier that pays us well and gives us time to be home to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Haven't gotten to the the "normal" home time level yet though!

On a personal note; Having Kim with me now on the road makes the job much easier on me but it is a strain on her. She is willing to stick it out on this dedicated run (as long as her health holds up) until we get our finances under control again. She does not like to drive and can barely handle 6 hours behind the wheel. She has told me several times that without me she would not do this job at all.

She is a breath of fresh air to me and is reminding me on a regular basis there is more to life than just work. Perhaps the time will come when I become tired of the road and will ask for a local route so I can get home each day and still make a decent wage. I know that so long as I remain here at Eastern that will be an option down the road.

 

Four companys in 17 years years must mean either your very easy going or have the paitence of Job

 

I am nothing special. I like what I do and the job is relatively easy to me. For those that are curious about my back ground here is a list of my prior jobs;

First job was JB Hunt 02/92-06/98 Was a driver trainer for 3+ years, received many safety awards as well as Trainer of the Quarter awards, helped out in the safety department in East Brunswick NJ reviewing logs, test driving/checking 2nd seat drivers for upgrade etc.

Second job was Trans States Lines 07/98-02/2001 Was a top performing driver and tried their lease purchase program in 1999. The program was a bust and they sold out to BMC in 2001.

Third job was Shaffer 03/2001-06/2001 Very nice people and decent equipment (was given a BRAND NEW truck after 4 weeks) but was a bad match for me. Reefers were more time consuming than dry vans on many levels. I am a hustler and Shaffer's slow pace (800 miles trips with 2 to 3 days to deliver) was insufficient to pay my bills so I resigned after 90 days.

Fourth job Eastern Freight Ways 06/2001- Today. Have been a driver trainer for Eastern as well as a top performing solo driver (best earnings were a little over 75 grand as a solo) and now a Team driver with my wife for them on a dedicated route. I have no desire to switch companies again. Eastern isn't perfect but I am working to improve them!



As I see it Eastern could improve their image by first getting rid of all the older pre 2006 trucks. Order a dozen full size Volvo 780 trucks for the teams and the rest either the 670 Models or 730 Models for the solo drivers.

Change all paid time off to a percentage scale rather than hourly based. having to wait five years to be eligible for the percentage rate is simply too long. If the owner appreciates the work we do we should be compensated fairly. 40 hours paid (1 weeks vacation pay) at $15.00 an hour is a slap in the face to a regional driver that is gone all week and burns up 60 to 70 hours while on the road.

Install Apu's on the trucks to be compliant with anti idle laws around the country.

Reimburse all driver receipts automatically rather than saving them in a file until the driver requests a payout.

Be sure to pay drivers to get to their domiciled terminal regardless of whether they are loaded or not. Eastern advertises home weekends so lets be sure that the drivers do indeed get home for the weekend.

Put every road driver on the same pay scale. Eastern was paying for every drop, every hook, and every stop when I started back in 2001. This is what separated Eastern from the competition and IMO was better. Publish the mileage rates in a new driver handbook and be sure to acknowledge prior experience in the hiring rate offered. It should not take any more than 5 years to make it to the top pay scale.

Keep the paid days off, Holiday Pay, breakdown pay, detention, congestion, monthly compliance bonus etc.

The accessorials are comparable to a union shops pay scale (if a bit lower) and head and shoulders above the normal truckload carriers offerings.

EFW could become one of the most sought after jobs on the east coast if the above were implemented. Especially if they can continue to grow their freight base and keep the drivers productive.

 

could work at that but they dont have the right people in place. Only out for themselves. They feel the company owes them a living. there are very view dedicated people around anymore on either side of the fence. Not like the old days. Take a person like Pat. Shes the perfect example of that. She deserves better than working in that hole in the wall.

 

dude you sound like a recruiting ad and I see those broken down trucks they run on the East Coast all the time. The equipment I see on a DAILY basis they operate is junk. Also 38 cents per mile for North East regional is a rippoff.