I thought lumpers were to keep the union out, so that if the lumpers organize the warehouse could just fire the lumper company and hire new lumpers. I could be wrong about that. I have paid lumpers using com-data comchecks and efs checks and the lumpers are just fine with that.
What the lumpers are really steamed about is the company that I just quit in February. Their rules require that you get either the name, address and social security number or tax ID number from the lumper. The lumpers have apparently not been reporting their income to the IRS and have been making out quite fine. Now that they have to pay taxes on the income, they are not happy and will attempt to make your life miserable by unloading you last and by not un-hooking you from the dock when you are unloaded.
Lumper????
Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Whiplash2008, Apr 1, 2009.
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The lumpers at most shippers/receivers actually work for a lumping company. All that is required by the carrier is the tax ID # and name of the lumping company, not the individual workers info.
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I went to a car dealership and haggled with a salesman about the price of a vehicle for several hours. When we finally came to agreement, I went to the finance officer to sign contracts. I noticed that one contract had a $1500 delivery fee and a $250 processing fee.
I asked the guy what were these fees for. His answer on the delivery fee was all the car (car washes, maintenance...etc) that they do to maintain on a car until it sells. The processing fee was for their secretary.
So, I got up and walked out. The salesman and finance officer came running after me inquiring whether or not I want the truck. I informed them that if we agreed on a certain price for a car, THATS WHAT I'M PAYING (plus taxtagtitle) and nothing more. Pay your own yard jockeys and secretaries.
Had the same problem with lumpers. I'm not paying anything to get someone else's freight off my truck. In fact, I want nothing to do with it...I wont even fill out a t-check.The load pays me so much CPM. A foodservice driver (like Sysco or Monarch) is paid to unload the truck. If stuff is prearranged with the shipper and the carrier for -
hi my name is matt im looking to upgrade my cdl b to a class a i was wondering being im a green horn and a newbie what is the best company for newbies right out of school i have read alot of bad stuff about swift werner cr england im looking to get into a solid company any advice the old timers can give me is appreciated
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OK, here's the lowdown on lumpers. When a consignee orders a truckload of washing machines/dog food/ hiking boots/t-bone steaks/cat litter etc, the carrier must deliver the product to the consignees dock. It is not the responsibility of the consignee to unload the product. And it is not the responsibility of the carrier either. It is actually the responsibility of the shipper to unload the freight. So whoever pays the lumper gets re-imbursed from the shipper. It is usually figured in with the rate or the price of the product. A manufacturer that regularly ships his product to the same consignee will almost always have an agreement, such as palletizing the load or stacking it so high etc. You can bet that the carrier is not absorbing the lumper fee, especially since they are hauling the load for peanuts anyway.
As far as having to wait to unload, it just isn't a perfect world out there. Screw-ups happen, equipment breaks down, people call in sick, the load arrives early/late, The product is too much this or too much that and you have the consignee wanting to refuse the load and the shipper not wanting to get it back, so it takes them a few hours to 'negotiate' a reduced price and the consignee agreeing to accept the load. Of course, the driver knows nothing of this and only knows that they are taking forever to unload him. Also some warehouses want to put the product directly on another trailer, with out actually receiving it into their inventory. Besides, have you ever really observed a warehouse operation, Can you say $^*(&^%$# ? -
So let me get this right??? The driver actually pays the lumper to unload his truck, then gets reimbursed by the co.?
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HOPEFULLY he will get reimbursed by the company. Some outfits are better with it than others are.
First outfit I worked for, (now out of business) asked me to "do them a favor" and make local drops in Denver because their local driver was "out sick."
They said, "We will give you drop pay, and pay for the lumpers." So being the naive newby that I was back then, I went ahead and did it. Paid for the lumpers with company comchecks.
When I got my settlement from the company, not only had I not been paid the drop pay, some of the lumper fee had been deducted from my salary. I was then, (and only then,) told we have a limit of x number of dollars per truck load for lumpers. You paid more than that, it is out of your pocket.
When I asked about the drop pay, I was told, "we don't pay drop pay."
Needless to say, that was the last run I made for them. -
Lumping is usually done at warehouse receivers, or redistribution centers(one and the same?)
The main reason is to palletize the load to fit the receivers requirements. It is always to sort the material by one item, but it may also be to get the load to fit on the racks in the warehouse or cooler. I hauled a load of steel wool to a distribution center one time that had to be put on double the number skids at about half the height of the skids on the load to fit on the racks.
The mixed load may be dozens of products that may be partial pallets, 2 to a dozen or more items on a pallet, lumping in this instance is to sort and verify what is actually received.
Finally, there is the rejection of damaged goods, the main reason for a driver to not lump brokered loads or loads sent to a facility noted for rejecting incoming goods.
There are also places that require a lumper because of liability issues and that don't allow drivers to operate powered equipment.
My company will restack partial skids and load them on top of another partial skid, making the load prelumped, but unable to be palletized easily at a facility that won't allow a truck driver to operate a forklift. I have heard of company issued forklift licenses but I don't know of any now.
Lumpers can cost dearly, I won't pay cash lumping for a brokered load, I want the company going after the broker that stiffs them for lumping. Loads to regular consignees aren't as big a problem, in my experience. -
I made 2 runs to Newport New,VA a few years ago hauling Coleman coolers. They only put 700 coolers in the trailer. On the first run I paid a lumper $400.00 to unload the coolers. It took him 8 hours and I missed my back haul because of it. On the second run, my wife tagged along and we unloaded the truck in 2 hours and put the $400.00 in our pockets and made the appointment for the back haul with ease. A lot of companies will pay the driver the same price that the lumpers charge to unload if the driver wants to do it. For me, it depends on how much restacking is needed and how long it will take me to do it versus how long it would take the lumping service. Most times I let them do it because They don't pay me to put their orders together at the receivers. Mcclanes is bad about that. I've also been paid to have the receiver remove 1 pallet off the truck with no re-stacking. Sometimes ya gotta love Walmart. LOL I told Walmart that I would pull the pallet off my self and keep the $50 the company gave me for a lumper. The pallet was right on the end of the trailer so that I could not get the ramp in, so the forklift operator:biggrin had to pull it off while I just stood there smiling.
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