The real truth about lumper fees.

OR he can tell his or her employee to do the work.. A part of most company's contracts that the drivers sign is that they are "willing" and or physically able to unload freight when required. It's a contingency that has to be covered. Some days, there ARE no lumpers and some places do not allow lumpers on their property. I'm not saying that all drivers HAVE to unload all loads regardless, what I'm saying is that it has become an instant cash cow and cash drain that doesn't need to even be.

 

My apologies if I jumped the gun. I just thought you were pulling a race card.

 

No worries, Easy. I know who I am, so it's pretty much impossible to offend me on a website where no one will ever meet anyone else in person.

A racist I'm not, but I sure ran into plenty who were, both behind the wheel and inside the terminals and docks.

 

Both you guys are right. I know there are definitely docks out there where lumpers are non-existent, meaning the driver will have to unload or ask the local unemployment office for help.

I also believe it should be the driver's choice. If a driver wants to unload, and he won't put his company in a squeeze if he unloads, that's fine. Let him unload to his heart's content.

I never unloaded freight, as I used unloading time to get sleep and catch up on hours. If I would have unloaded loads, I would have been counting that against my driving time, which is something my company would have frowned on. Usually I was preplanned on something soon after delivery, meaning if I drove all night to get somewhere, spent four hours unloading, and then taken the required break, I would have put the company in a bind until I was able to drive again.

But even this isn't the real reason I never unloaded. The true reason I never touched freight is because I have a fundamental belief that a driver shouldn't have to touch it if he doesn't want to. And I never wanted to. If I would have been REQUIRED to unload, I would have walked away from driving in my first couple o' weeks. I know I wouldn't have been the only one, either. This is the reason drivers aren't forced to unload. Most will quit if they suddenly find themselves being required to unload freight, and the industry knows this fact. Drivers are thus given a choice, which is why most docks have lumpers.

So, Fozzy, I think if a person wants to do the lumping thing, make way and let him go to town. However, if he doesn't want to unload somebody else's goodies, his company should be ready to call a cab for him if it wants to force him to unload. I know if someone would have tried to force an unload on me, the truck would have been left sitting at the dock. I would have cleaned it out and hopped a taxi to the nearest bus station.

 

Great argument guys keep it up it has made some interesting reading.

 

One point that I try to get to drivers is that there is pretty good money in unloading. Are you going to get the same money as a lumper service? no! Are you going to fix your neighbors sink and get paid like a plumber? Again the answer is no. I started off in this career unloading freight and I mean A LOT of freight. I got pretty darned good at it! I actually enjoyed it most of the time and I made sometimes hundreds more per week unloading freight. I keep hearing how there is no money in trucking and how people are starving. This IS a viable option to make more money and of course stay in better shape than someone who doesn't. At first, unloading freight can seem like a daunting task! There's 53 feet of trailer staked to the gills with freight and its got to come off of there. Dig in and get going and get organized and and learn how to work the freight and the tie and high sheets and its goes pretty fast. most of the places you go, will slow you down getting the freight moved as you get it off of the trailer.. that is the most frustrating part. This is however when I would help the driver next to me on either side with his downstacks and pallets until they got more of my load checked and out of the way. It was for me a way to break the hum drum mile after mile tedium of simply driving and parking, driving and parking driving and parking. Part of the reason that drivers do not see each other as they used to is that they rarely even see each other unless they are passing each other on the road. I've met and even taught and learned a lot of drivers to unload trailers and had a ball doing it. I know... I'm weird.

 

lumpers save the companies alot of money. they don't have to pay insurance and the lumpers pay them to unload there trucks.

 

That's extremely doubtful. When you are talking about thousands of loads per day, there is now way that there is any savings when the company is forking out hundreds of dollars more per load per day...

 

ok next time your at a dock ask them. i did.

 

When I drove 20+ years ago I used to go to some of the rudest receivers on earth especially in NY and NJ area and after going to back a couple times and really kissing their rears each time I went I could even get union workers to help me unload the truck by giving them the old song and dance about how my boss was up my rear to get to the next stop or pickup and many of them felt sorry and jumped in to help, not all but many many times they did for free.

Alot depends on your attutude walking in the door and what kind of day they've had, remember just because we had a good day on the road dosen't mean that the shipper or receiver didn't just get his rear cleaned by his boss, so don't always take it so personal.

I've been going to the Gym the last couple months preparing to go back in a truck and I plan on using unloading every chance I get to help keep down the weight and if I make an extra dollar what the heck!:smt041