Insight On SAIA

Hello not sure if it's the right forum to make this thread in.

But looking for some insight on SAIA in Chicago area. What new hire schedules will most likely be?

This is for local LTL City Driver position. Not linehaul.

Day to day job functions. Is there a lot of muscle and touch freight involved? Is it common to work graveyard shift etc etc?

As more questions pop in my head I'll post em here.

 

I don’t or haven’t worked for Saia but I did P&D for 7 years with Estes. You won’t have a graveyard shift doing P&D as your deliveries and pickups are gonna take place within business hours. Now with that said being new you will probably get a late start time. Like between 10 and noon. It’s a lot of muscling freight. You’ll have pallets you have to bring to the back because people don’t have docks, these always seem to be the places that have the heaviest product. 8 skids of liquid filled 55 gallon drums banded 4 to a skid and uphill. You’ll have residential deliveries of swing sets and play houses and above ground pools that barely fit on a lift gate. You’ll hit more docks in a day than most OTR guys hit in a week. You’ll cut your teeth quick on backing and get used to backing in off a city street with cars trying to zip around you. You’ll try to make your deliveries first then do pickups, but watch close times and have to pick stuff up as you peddle freight off. Moving it around in the trailer. I can’t remember if SAIA has barcodes on their PRO stickers, but you’ll tag each product pallet or piece you pick up and enter it in where it’s going for the dock guys to swing when you get back. Some want you to sign for pieces even tho it’s jumbled in shrink wrap, I always just signed my name date and “slc” for Shipper Load & Count. Some don’t want you to do this so you can put SWI for Shrink Wrap Intact. You’ll get back, put your trailer in the dock for the dock to break for linehaul and then either go home or go out and do a trailer swap, or depending what time it is go back out with a few more deliveries for late closers. That’s obviously a cliff notes rundown, there’s a lot more you’ll learn as you go but to reiterate the bullet points. Probably not any “true” graveyard shift in P&D, lots of manhandling freight around and lots of city traffic. You’ll learn the city fast. I did it in St. Louis and you’ll dip down alleys and find shortcuts that work out. I couldn’t imagine doing P&D in Chicago I’d probably take my own life the first day before lunch, but if that’s where you’re from and know the basics, have at it you might love it. It pays good but you’ll earn it for sure.

 

go find UPS feeders if youre in chicago

 

There is nothing posted in there yet but there is a dedicated SAIA sub-board in the Motor Carrier Questions forum heading. Don't know if it would do any good but you may want to post in there also in case there are any SAIA drivers around that have that forum on there watch list.

SAIA Motor Freight

 

They kicked me out when beards were a big issue for them. EEOC gave me a payout.

Now that they've done away with no beard rule. They still won't let me back in.

 

And @motocross25 do they at least provide pallet jacks?

Never heard of peddle hand lmao what's it mean?

Is low 30s hourly a good wage for ltl world?

 

I think they do. But if it’s like Estes guys will hide the good ones and/or they’ll be all gone by the time you start if you get a late start. So you’ll be stuck with a wonky wheel or it might not go up or down very fast. R&L last I heard made you buy your own pallet jack I think their reasoning is a guy will take care of it better and won’t leave it in a dock somewhere if it’s his. I’m not sure if Saia follows that mindset also or not.

A peddle hand is a P&D driver. You’re peddling freight around the city.

As for pay that’s all indicative to cost of living in your area, so that’s up to you if you can make that work. For example $20 something an hour is great in like southern Mississippi, in Southern California it wouldn’t hold the same weight.

 

Im not sure about the cost of living in Chicago. But Fedex Freight P&D in Des Moines pays $31.54 overtime after 8. Just to give you something to compare it to.