New CDL class A with lots of questions

Not a problem for me... I am doing 10-10.5 hours now with my trainer, who is older and doesn't want to do OT anymore, and I can't wait until it's over so I can do 60+ a week.
What's the pay structure like?

 

Just to follow up my trainer quit training after two weeks of training me because someone with seniority took his route and he threw a fit. I had to work the dock for 3 weeks while waiting to go to another terminal to train. I just got here and started training again today. At least I have been getting paid driver pay the whole time.

 

It's a weird dynamic because not so long ago Redway and YRC Freight merged so there are a lot of grumblings about that throughout. As with most places I've worked there are 2 types of people... quite ones and complainers. One issue is that Yellow (the new name of all of the combined companies) has the worst contract with the Teamsters of any company. Everyone is hoping the new contract gets us some more money. UPS drivers get $40+ an hour and we get $26.81. The contract is up next April and supposedly the negotiations are going to start even sooner then usual. Not sure how much they can get because supposedly Yellow is struggling as a company. I just want to get a year of experience, see how the negotiations pan out and go from there.

 

So I can see why Yellow (YRC Freight/ Reddaway) has high turnover. It lacks organization and most of their equipment is junk. I just completed my first week on my own and it went well! I put in about 65 hours. I love the work! I think the rate is a bit low but I am green so I am not complaining. We get a whopping .40 cent raise in October and then the contract gets re-negotiated so we'll see how that goes.
I had to use other people's tractors all week because, as I mentioned before, they are not well organized. I mean, after me being there training for two months they couldn't get a tractor ready for me? Come on!
Anyways, they gave me a beat up old Volvo with 760,000 miles on it... It is what it is. I'm low man on the seniority list so I have to take what they give me. They just hired a new guy so I'm no longer dead last I guess.
All in all I am very satisfied for a first job in the business. I get benefits in a month. After a year I get 2 weeks paid vacation, 9 personal days plus paid holidays. Not too shabby.

 

I actually get "my own" rig because I don't return to the terminal at a specific time and most morning are after P&D leave. We don't have LTL going out of our dock. Anyone could take my tractor if they wanted it but the 2 other UT drivers with seniority over me have nicer rigs already. The P&D drivers have nice rigs and like their tractors for various reasons... The senior guys all have autos. I drove the "best" tractor on the dock yesterday. It's a Peterbuilt auto. Nice truck but horrible throttle response. It has a huge delay and then lurches forward or backwards... scary when trying to dock or park. Obviously, something is wrong with it but the driver probably doesn't realize it and just got use to it.
I don't care what I get as long as it stays running. If I get something too nice someone will just take it anyways.