Deregulation and Unionization

UPS aside, the deal with the Teamsters was to get on with and an LTL Carrier that was under the “Master Freight “ contract. Always the top pay. I don’t even know if there’s such a thing anymore. Probably, but only a few Companies left. Really only one that’s somehow survived, that’s ABF. Once upon a time, most LTLs were organized. Even small Mom and Pop type companies. The big one the Teamsters never could crack was Overnite. My one and only LTL Teamster job in 1996 paid $17.32 hr. OT after 8. BCBS was free, with $500 family deductible, $10 office visits, $5 prescription card. Along with Delta Dental that covered 90% of my wisdom teeth being pulled. Those were the days!!! Working 60 hrs. in 5 days every week, paid 70 hrs. Union dues were 2 hrs pay per mo. $34. Well worth every bit. By comparison Overnite made $11.00 an hr. All straight time. Lousy benefits. Most of their Drivers were ignorant and worried about losing their crappy jobs. I never could understand it. Eventually UPS bought Overnite, they did alright fir a while, under UPS Freight. Now UPS cut them loose. Not sure where they went? XPO maybe? It doesn’t matter, I don’t care. The Unions days were numbered since 1996, the last time they went on strike. Now they’re left with trying to organize anyone they can. It’s really sad, but they’re own fault for selling out and robbing the members of what they were promised. I still have my membership card, just in case. Not holding my breath!!! Lol.

 

I think it was TFI.

 

Same pay driving Feeders as package car. The disparity is if a feeder pulls doubles they get about $1 an hour more on hourly jobs and a couple cents extra per mile when running mileage jobs. Package car driver that pulls a trailer gets doubles pay.

 

Didn’t know that. I only knew a couple guys that ran out of Missoula and they’d talk about how much they got paid pulling triples and how they had to “work up” to the trucks. I figured it was the best pay doing that. Thanks.

 

Most of the package car drivers that came to Feeders that I worked with did so to get an easier job. Most wouldn’t come until they could get day work which took a long time in Feeders. Some locations they can’t bring their seniority with them which cuts down on the numbers of them coming to feeders.

 

Can’t speak for certain in Tx, but in Louisville Ky they are doing this during peak season. In years past volume was so large that people went without getting Xmas gifts delivered by Christmas. They still operate as many package cars as are available, but they supplement the help with seasonal help using their own vehicles. The contract makes certain that every full time driver is working before any seasonal or part time help is used. Very likely the same thing is happening in Texas. Some parts of the country volume is peak levels year round due to the massive growth of E-commerce and that may be the only way to get volume delivered short term.

 

I was Teamster for 2 years 10 years ago at YRC. Health/Dental and "hearings" were the only perk. They did nothing for maintaining pay to inflation etc..

Union LTL companies are rats nests these days... Even back then a lot of people, especially dock workers, abused the system to get a easy ride to retirement. Now they hire off the streets and it's non stop people trying to get each other fired

I have a lot of 30+ year Teamster family members who swear it use to be the top job outside STEM. Most are getting 5k+ a month checks from being Teamster retired and still have full insurance

 

38 years and Where is this $5000 retirement check ?
I got full insurance but it costs $1200 a head for it.
Western states

 

One family member gets that and he was just on the dock and yard for 30 years. This is NC