Looking for a job in the St. Louis area. Need advice!

Clean Harbors
Archer Daniels Midland

CDL Fuel Driver St. Louis, MO
Date: Feb 4, 2015
Location: St. Louis, MO, US, 63147
Company: Loves Travel Stops & Country Store
BASIC PURPOSE:
Gemini Motor Transport operates trucks across the United States, servicing Love's Travel Stops wholesale and retail customers. Our Fuel Transport positions are among the best in the industry. Gemini strives to achieve only the highest safety ratings in our business, for our professional drivers and loyal customers.

Loves Travel Stops & Country Store - St. Louis, MO 63147 (North Riverfront area) [TABLE]
[TR]
[TD="class: snip"]Mat, Tanker, Doubles/Triples) and state requirements to be carried in truck cab while driver is in service. Each driver must have a Commercial Driver's License...
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

What you need to do is get a list of LTL companies, go on their respective websites, and search for terminals near your location. Then apply. Call them. Visit in person. I work for ODFL and found that linehaul schedules and opportunities will vary according to location, as will hiring tendencies.

I started as a wild bag driver - out for 4 out of 5 days, slept in a hotel. I've been gaining seniority fast and am now on a schedule run, since I was able to bid during the last rebid. I am now home every morning, no more bagging out (layovers) or being wild (other companies call it 'extraboard'). I am at .57 cpm for starting linehaul pay. I'll reach top pay in 2 years. Lots of other perks with ODFL. Might not be the highest paying LTL, I think that's UPSF, but I'm very happy here. I don't plan on going anywhere. Best wishes to you.

 

OP, the ODFL terminal in St Louis is right off of 370 behind Coca Cola bottling if you're interested in them. Just don't miss the turn if you're pulling doubles because there is no place to turn around. Ask me how I know that...

 

I know a company up that way that is probably looking for drivers. They just lost at least 25-30% of their O/O's in the last few weeks due to a recent policy change and quite a few more are planning to jump ship in the near future as the policy gets implemented. That being the case, they'll have no problem finding a trailer for you to pull...they just might not have a truck for you to drive until they buy enough to replace the trucks that left with the O/O's. There is very little drop & hook, though, so if that's what you're looking for it probably won't be a good fit.

 

tc1986, I almost missed the turn with my trainer. I was about halfway past the intersection when he stopped me. Luckily there wasn't any traffic. Turns out you can back doubles, just not far and not pretty. I'm out of Indianapolis, but I've been through the St Louis terminal a couple of times. wawtrucker can probably answer your questions better than I could since I'm still an OD newbie and each terminal is different. From what I've seen though, linehaul is mostly nights at least to start. P&D is all daytime.

 

Pretty much every LTL company will have a seniority based system. Each terminal will have different opportunities, but usually you're gonna start linehaul with nights. Days for linehaul are typically a coveted schedule. At OD, you're either wild, or you have a schedule run. What I can tell you is that at OD, you'll always work the same 5 days, have the same 2 days off, and your start time (if wild) will be within about a 4 hour window, usually less than that. If you're wild (or on the extraboard, same thing, different terminology), some LTL companies make you wait around the phone for hours on end, and then you could wind up working a swing shift type schedule. Not so with OD. Also, some LTL companies run a hog board for their wild or extraboard drivers, which means the most senior drivers always get first choice for what run they're taking for the night. This isn't how OD does it. I'll explain it a little more, along with what it means to be 'wild' or on the extraboard.

Seniority is balanced out with wild drivers, since wild drivers work on a rotating schedule in regard to choosing their run for the beginning of their shift. During the rebid process (which happens every 6 months or once a year, depending on the terminal), seniority determines who gets what schedule, but once the bidding is over and the schedules are assigned, wild drivers operate on a rotating schedule. First one back picks last for the following shifts, and so on. That way, amongst all the wild drivers, the senior drivers don't always get to pick the 'best' runs. You don't always get a choice at the beginning of each shift if you're wild, but usually you do. Once on the road, if you're bagging out, you typically don't have a choice on where you'll be going for that shift, you'll be forced dispatched by central or regional dispatch. Again, keep in mind this balancing act of who gets to pick first only applies for wild drivers, or drivers that don't go to the same place every time. Technically, everybody gets a 'schedule,' since everybody will always work their assigned 5 days on, 2 days off. But, wild drivers will never know what run they're taking from one shift to the next, hence being wild. Being wild is actually broken down into two more distinctions. At OD, you're either a wild turn, which means you come home after every shift, or you're a wild bag, which means you're 'bagging out' or laying over at hotels during your work week. Obviously, the bottom of the totem pole is usually the wild bag drivers, since nobody usually wants to stay out all week. Us LTL drivers are a spoiled lot.

Apart from being wild, you can have a set scheduled run every shift, if you have enough seniority to pick a scheduled run during the bidding process. I started as a wild bag driver, but quickly gained seniority at my terminal, and now I have a schedule run every night - same destination every shift.

Hopefully I didn't confuse you with all the jargon and detail. Like I said, everybody technically gets a schedule, since everybody always works their same 5 days on, and has the same 2 days off. Wild drivers never know where they're going from shift to shift, and usually get a choice of where they're going if leaving from their home terminal. This choosing is balanced by the first back, last to choose system that I tried explaining above. Scheduled runs always go to the same place every shift - they're not wild.

I wanted to explain all this in detail because some LTL companies do not operate this way. At some LTLs, if you're on the extraboard, you could be waiting for hours on end by the telephone. You could also wind up working a swing shift. And, if there is a hog board (typically at the union companies), senior drivers will always get to pick the best runs on the extraboard. I think OD not only does a good job balancing out seniority among the wild drivers, but I really appreciate that the wild drivers aren't waiting by the phone for hours on end, and will always have the same 5 day work week, and 2 days off. It's a pretty fair system.

So, you'll need to call that specific terminal to see what jobs they're hiring for. If you want days, you'll probably wanna go P&D off the bat, since daytime linehaul can take years to get, depending on the terminal. If you want linehaul, you'll probably start as a wild driver (either wild bag or wild turn), and will most definitely be working nights. Each terminal will vary from what jobs they're hiring for, to how long it takes to gain seniority. Best wishes to you!