Anyone want to share insta - seniority stories?

I think it depends on the outfit. I worked linehaul for a company that is known to be "bottom of the barrell" for the freight companies (central transport). Within about 7 months I was #4 of 12 night drivers. When I left after a year and couple months I was #2. The #1 guy left a couple months after me.

Regardless of the company, it was sweet to have a dedicated night run with no dock run after only 6 months haha.

 

Usually when you get injured, you don't lose your seniority and have a certain amount of time to come back...up to a year depending on company policy or Union agreement. They'll have Casuals or Extra Board to cover the work. At my barn, there is no time limit on when you can come back. You can be out for 5-10 years or more and never lose seniority. I don't necessarily agree with this policy, but...Meh...it is what it is.

 

I worked at a grocery warehouse as a driver. YRC Logistics had the transportation contract. Even though I was near the bottom of the list in seniority, I made the most money of all the 125 or so drivers there. They didn't like it at all and complained all the time about it.
My secret was, I never bid on runs and refused to. I only did extra-board and got the long OTR runs that no one else wanted. When the bid runs were posted, the other drivers would pressure me to sign up and I refused, which really enraged them.....lol.
I did a lot of Florida and Texas runs; loved it and never was stranded in either state.

 

When I did food service it was the same thing. The guys who made the most money were the extra board runners.

But don't get me wrong, they ran HARD. They took everything. "how many hours do you have?" How many do you need? Team, solo, day runs, night runs, shuttles, out of states, whatever, they just said "yes".

But they were making bank.

Of course, our DC was so short that you could have bid runs and fill them in with anything you wanted. Want to make more? work more. Want to make less, just run your bid.

 

Same thing has been happening to me o started at a drop yard 4 years ago I was number 18 now I'm number 8 out of 15 but the guy ahead of me has 14 years in so I'm basically at a stand still for a little while. It seems the only guys that are willing to stay are the guys that have a lot of time invested

 

Those drivers ahead of you are just one physical away from being high on the seniority list.

 

This top 3 guys have 30 years in all they do is run relays over night they ain't going anywhere anytime soon till retirement

 

An interesting thread. I took a medical/disability retirement recently after 42 years in the trucking field. My 'dream job' would have been American Marine Transport, the local drayage division of Crowley Maritime out of Jacksonville, FL. Worked for them about three years during the mid '90s as a casual - Teamster shop. Stayed busy during the fall until just after new years then the calls were few and far between. Whenever they did call I always showed up as I also held down a very flexible Customer Service job during this time frame.

Older guys, there over a decade were still casuals but often received full time schedules year around. These guys told me they would probably never make full time status but that I might have a shot at it if I stuck it out. Moved to NC during the fall of 1996 after being invited by a family attorney to come up and occupy an elderly relatives' very nice home for free after she was put into Assisted Living.

My final employment was a real hoot. Original roster was around 1600 or so, before they started spinning off business to upstart companies and outside contractors. Roster was around 630 when I left with my number under the 200 mark. Lasted 13 years. During the early years, the company kept 'performance charts' of the 'field employees' (me) vs. 'shop employees'. The usual stuff: miles driven, jobs completed, accidents, damaged equipment, customer service 'malfunctions', etc. I was always in the top 20% from the beginning. As my health began to fail, I was still able maintain every category except for 'total jobs completed' and 'mileage driven' as I just couldn't keep up the fast pace anymore.

I attributed it to just 'getting old' and did nothing about it until I ended up in an emergency room on the west coast in the middle of the night a few years back. That's when i began to understand the depth and breadth of my health issues. Found out I had some orthopedic issues at were 'most likely' employment related but I had failed to report as they gradually had snuck up on me. Since they weren't a specific injury(s) at a specific location on specific dates I was paddling against the current without alot of support.

Contacted a Worker's Comp law firm very early in the process, salvaged my case, received a settlement with continuing medical care.

I actually went back to work after the first episode that kept me out for many months. Realized that I could no longer do the job at the pace that was expected; the harassment and suspensions started in earnest. One more serious OTJ injury put me out for good last year. Glad to be finally done with the job as it's a young man's game.