My return to LTL... with SAIA

Good luck at saia. @McUzi

 

They need extra linehaul help on the weekend. Theyre so busy theyre sending out mass emails for weekend volunteers, which is the first i've seen that in my 6 years at saia. Anyways, welcome aboard.

 

Seen that. Reason I don’t know the extra rules is cause I can’t get back early enough for the good extra runs. So my 10 off allows me to go to a terminal that a lot of folks hate. But I they have a ton of frieght on the weekends. So if I want to work extra I call central on the day of and generally they say yes. It’s still a 530 mile run that’s not a layover. I don’t like to commit. I’ll wake up on my day off and see how I’m feeling or if something else turns up and I won’t go. Once your signed up your committed. Also we have guys that don’t sign up but they kinda do the same. They know a driver from another terminal and set themselves up with a meet the day before. Central on the weekends can struggle to setup a meet so they don’t mind this. If there’s freight to move they’ll set them up. Couple guys doing this weekly. 6 612 mile runs = $$$. A lot of drivers take the weekends off so there’s always a lot of freight to move on the weekends.

 

Hey are you in the Northeast? If so, what is the starting rate for local p&d? I've read somewhere they'll start you at top rate if you have more than 2 years experience, can anyone confirm?

 

If they need drivers bad they can. Ask in the interview. In a non covid time they probably will. I was hired top rate so was a buddy I referred he had only Foodservice experience no LTL exp. if you got LTL exp they probably will give you top rate. Top rate varies depending on COL but here in Denver being very high COL it’s 29.77 for hourly. So roughly should be around there more or less depending on area.

 

Cool deal, I had just obtained my hazmat in March and was looking to move to a LTL carrier but then covid hit. Things seem to be getting better, freight wise around here so I wanted to try my luck again. Thanks for the info!

 

Yeah no problem. We are slammed right now so it’s better to try to jump on now gain some seniority before winter if things may or may not slow down.

 

Yeah I get it. I’m not on a daylight run so it’s a lil harder on the body. By the end of the week I’m probably lil more worn out then a bright eye bushy tailed normal schedule city guy. I’d bounce early too if I was on a normal schedule.

 

Welcome aboard McUzi, happy to hear about the $4hr raise you will be getting.