Hannaford Transportation Union Vote

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by Lotsa Bellyfat, Jun 1, 2024.

  1. 074344

    074344 Road Train Member

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    Well good for them. I hope that the employees are successful. I know that unions are not for everyone but it served me well for 30 years. I just retired in April at the age of 60. I pulled HazMat tankers. I was represented by the Teamsters Union. My wife was also represented by the Teamsters in her office job. She retired in 2020 at 57 with 30 years of service. I didn't mind paying the $80.00 per month for the benefits I received. 11 paid holidays and 12 sick days per year plus 6 weeks of paid vacation. It was a Monday - Friday schedule. All work was during the day. Of course we were paid OT after 8 hours. Sometimes there was work on the weekend. We received a minimum of 8 hours OT on a Saturday and DT on a Sunday. I'm sure there were those who did drag their feet. I wasn't one of them. I wanted to get my job done and go home. We never had any tension between management and the employees. The only excepting was during contract negotiations every 3 years. And that was only the District Manager, HR and the company's lawyer. We never saw those people anyway. The only thing that I miss is the money. My last years income was 108K. My pension is almost 48K per year. My wife's pension is almost 36K per year. The out of pocket for our health, dental and vision is $468.00 per month. That will go down to about $200.00 per month at 65. Not too shabby for union dues.

    Again, I wish those employees success in their fight!
     
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  3. Lotsa Bellyfat

    Lotsa Bellyfat Light Load Member

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    I never said that I thought a union could do anything, including that a union could help with the 10 hour break mandates; I’m just saying that the drivers have had enough… including being continually called by the company when on break.
    As far as that goes, I had no idea that FMCSA rules do not apply to the company calling whenever they wish, even when a driver is on break.
     
  4. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

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  5. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

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    Technically they’re doing nothing wrong by calling, but I think it’s pretty low of a company to do it. And their scheduling sounds horrible. I don’t blame you for wanting to try and better your working situation.
     
  6. Lotsa Bellyfat

    Lotsa Bellyfat Light Load Member

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    Key word here is “brief”. I would not classify repeated, up to 20 minute phone calls each, several times a day, from a company to an off duty employee as “brief”.
     
  7. jdchet

    jdchet Medium Load Member

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    It should be like the rules for train engineers.............


    RSIA Hours of Service Requirement Definitions
    Terms used in the survey are described below.

    COVERED EMPLOYEE -An employee specified in 49 U.S.C. § 21101. This includes a train employee, signal employee, or dispatching service employee.

    10-HOUR UNDISTURBED REST PERIOD - The minimum off-duty period of 10 consecutive hours that covered employees are generally required to receive without contact by a railroad or other covered employer. Under RSIA, this period increased for some covered employees from 8 to 10 hours.

    Railroad Hours of Service Requirements

    JD
     
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  8. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

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    20 minutes? I don’t even talk to my friends on the phone for 20 minutes. Let alone someone like a dispatcher. Lol.
     
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  9. Someguywithquestions

    Someguywithquestions Light Load Member

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    I've worked union and non-union. The vast majority of the trucking world or wider labor market in the US would be served well by decent unionization. The trucking industry is absolutely ####ed right now and anyone that doesn't agree is either a corporate boot licker masochist or works for the ATA. However, a lot of the reason the industry is so bad is because of federal retaliation for the Teamsters nearly taking over the Federal govt back in the Jimmy Hoffa days. To the guy that said the teamsters have run amok recently, please open a history book for once in your life. The Teamsters and the Mafia nearly took over the Federal government at one point. The shell of the teamsters that exists today is a joke compared to what once was. The big unions did get too corrupt in most cases in the past but corporate power and greed right now are demolishing the middle class and poor, all while the fed.gov and most states eagerly take lobbyist money to stomp all over their alleged constituents.

    My experience as a former teamster was: all the trucks were trashed and broken, the plant was rife with OSHA violations and blatantly illegal health violations. (e.g. the fecal contaminated waste water was pumped from the plant screeners back into the sinks and toilets in the office and break room as to not have to pay city water service.) The drivers were told to literally commit felonies for management such as stealing from competitors. Nobody would work for us so the ### dragging clock riders would make the same amount as the hard workers and nobody would ever be fired for anything. Since we couldn't get people hired at our abysmal wages, the company gave us bigger raises than the union contracts negotiated. I ended up quitting the job a year before I was vested in the teamsters pension because I was working 70-80 hours a week and constantly breaking the law for the company. A couple years later the feds and state govt came in and starting laying waste to everyone. My former manager got to sit before some of Congress in DC over what was going on. The company tried to bury a couple guys as patsy's. Luckily the teamsters legal team stepped in and protected them but not without a tremendous headache. I came out relatively unscathed aside from some testimonies and court hearings. While I worked there I saw the teamsters rep once and he was in and out in a flash, just stapling up a business card next to the time clock.

    To the guy that said, "If the place has a union, they probably needed one." You are 100% correct on that.

    All of that being said, I'd rather go back to that union job than to some mega like CR England. At least at the union job I was paid for all hours worked, OT after 40 hours, my pay wasn't cheated and if payroll made an "oopsie" I'd be made whole, and I made decent money.

    Unions alone wouldn't fix the trucking world. There are too many problems for simple solutions. But they'd #### sure make it better. And at least you'd usually have a lawyer on your side to fight the corporate lawyers the company certainly has. I've seen just how quick a scummy company can burn some stooge trying to feed his family and pay the bills living paycheck to paycheck.

    The anti-union "we love corporate enslavement!" sentiment will keep the trucking world going down the toilet. I just read an article on freight waves by some ###### whose probably never even touched a gear shifter talking about how great paid parking is for truckers. Yeah, all the company drivers who can't write off expenses making .50 cpm paying 30 bucks a night to park will do great paying for parking. And the owner ops getting slaughtered by freight rates barely covering diesel alone will love adding thousands of dollars to expenses each year. This message brought to you by the Anti-Trucker Association!

    -Sincerely a bitter truck driver. One of millions.
     
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  10. Pepper24

    Pepper24 Road Train Member

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    I should have also said I do understand their way of dispatching is strange. I don’t think it would be to hard to have a regular start times and days worked that could be bid on or at least know what tomorrows dispatch is when you get off.If you’re running on what is called a extra board there’s not a lot that can be done.
     
  11. MAMservices

    MAMservices Medium Load Member

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    I worked off the extra board for the railroad for 21 months before i was able to win a bid on a regular job. Regular job was a 4 pm to 4 am 7 day a week position. I had a Wife and new child and had to get off of the road for a while. I know some of you Guys have worked so crazy jobs as well but I really hate to think what I would do if I was faced with the same situation again.
     
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