Snackbar's new adventure at Moore Freight Services

A friend told me he had a conversation with someone in the office (above dispatch level) that said that the decision to shut off our ELD's PC option will take effect in January, along with turning all trucks down to 65 and turning on idle limits for all trucks, APU equipped or not. Plus, they will lower our layover pay from $150/day to $96 and also eliminate the loading pay when we have to live load (and actually be on the trailer working the load). If half the drivers I have spoken to actually go thru with what they are claiming they'll do if it happens (by this I mean telling Wylie where they can shove it), Wylie is gonna be in a world of hurt as far as glass haulers. They just got awarded a dedicated contract out of Corsicana, TX and are talking about being well into contract negotiations with other glass plants to increase business...if they lose a lot of us Moore drivers, they will have glass to haul and no one to haul it. It's not like general freight, you don't just start new people with a few days training and expect them to be as good as the people that left. As adaptable as I am it took me a while to get the hang of being good at this.

Oh, and I diagnosed and repaired my own ELD while enroute to Church Hill. The ground wire for the wiring harness that hooks to the trucks data ports came out of the crimped on wire end...I just put a new one on and called safety, and it's back up and running.

 

The crazy thing about the pay is, they pay their regular flatbed drivers to tarp, but won't pay glass haulers to load their own. We're not talking about a unusually difficult activity, but it takes hours to pad, load, secure and on Moore double drop trailers, tarp...but we will get $0 for this. I could see doing away with the loading pay for loading the rolling rack empties (2 chains and a couple ratchet binders), but I would like to see anyone in management come out and live load a double drop in TX in July or August for $0.

 

Got a load from Church Hill to Olathe KS for Monday, then a load out of Spring Hill going to Auora CO for Tue. Which means I will have to unload at 7 am then drive 600 miles in 14 hours. I pretty much have to make it to the customer in Aurora before shutting down because they're expecting 5-8" of the white stuff Monday night, and I certainly don't want to deal with pulling a heavy arse load to this customer and trying to back in off the street with that much snow on the ground at 9 in the morning.

 

All I know is, I am looking forward to leaving the Daseke conglomerate after the 1st of the year. We thought it was gonna be beneficial, but it really hasn't been. And now with sister companies being merged in the name of profits...pop the chute, it's time to bale.

 

Well, I didn't make Aurora before the storm. When I got to the Spring Hill yard Sunday afternoon, I stepped out of the truck to unhook and run to Home Depot to get a shovel and Wally to get a few items I forgot earlier this week. When I opened the door, I was hit by a strong, familiar odor...sulphur (actually hydrogen sulphide). Pulled the cover off of the step/battry box and one of my batteries was venting a cloud. Delivered my load in Olathe, then had to wait my turn to get in the shop for 4 new batteries. By the time they got me done, I was 3 hours short of making it there on Monday. They rescheduled my appt until Wednesday because of the storm. I made it to Burlington, CO last night, and that is where I am staying put. They have closed I-70 from the KS line all the way to the Denver metro, with no estimated time to reopen.