Union OTR drivers

can't argue with that, OD is still much better than my bottom feeder company right now.

http://yourga.com/jobs.htm
maybe they used to be USW, but they are teamsters now. When i ran for LJ Kennedy (yeah, the lousy union busting company), i talked to a few yourga drivers, and even though flatbed doesn't pay what ltl does, it definetly seemed like a good job.

 

Pjax or Vitran is better then OD

 

Well, I applied to NEMF awhile back after getting the shaft from FedEx.
NEMF wanted to start me out at .38 cpm.
.38 cpm?!?!? I can make that going over-the-road.
I said "No thanks!"

LTL ain't what it used to be and I think it's gonna keep going downhill as far as wages and bennies go.
The union companies are all in the toilet...YRCW has taken 3 paycuts, ABF voted against a paycut but they're bleeding $$$$ like a sieve.
UPS Freight is a black hole...the only advantage they have is that they're part of UPS which overall is very profitable.
Even the non-unions are having trouble making $$$$...FedEx has been in the red for awhile now and Conway Freight is a drag on the corporate parent Conway.
The only LTL's consistently making $$$ are Old Dominion and Roadrunner...and the pay/bennies at both are below par.

Roadrunner is like FedEx Ground...100% O/O...I think LTL's are gonna start moving in this direction like the OTR companies did as the power of unions fade in this industry.
You'll work for fleet owners who own multiple routes, the companies will offer lease-purchase programs...the idea is to become more asset-light and end the threat of unions.
The only employees at these companies will be part-time dockworkers and management.

I could be wrong... I hope I am...but that's kinda the way I see things shaking out.
These companies just can't make $$$$ like they used to.

 

you are right, ltl aint what it used to be, but nemf has decent benefits and pension, and with the other pay (i beleive you get layover, build and break pay, and other stuff) nemf is still one of the better jobs in the buffalo area.

you could very well be right abour roadrunner using o/o to lessen the threat of organizing, which sucks. 15 years ago almost all of the major freight companies around buffalo were union, with ony 3 or 4 exceptions. now the union companies are the exception, and look at where the pay is stuck at. Holland was paying 18 an hour 15 years ago, and for some of the smaller cut rate ltl carriers, that is still higher than their top rates!

that is also why i included the union companies that i know of that are not ltl, even though they don't make ltl money, union steelhauling is still better than non union steelhauling. even if it just means that you get a retirement plan, or guaranteed hometime, the dues are still worth the benefits.

 

I'd take a job at OD or Pyle before anything OTR.

 

I am signed up with Foodlink Truck Driving School in Sacramento, CA and was wondering if anyone has any feedback to pass on. I really think this is the way for me to go as I do have the time do to the 18 week course and the theroy behind there way of being compensated for there time in training you seems comendable and fair. What I'm concerned about is the creditability of there schooling and how the trucking industry feels about their graduates. What are the chances of landing a good paying job being a graduate from Foodlink vs. some other accredited trucking school? Any and all info will be greatly appriciated. Thank you

 

FYI....I was laid off from Yellow in November 2008 after 10 years. December 2008, hired on with ARB Construction (Union)...laid off with 1500 other union workers July 2009. UNEMPLOYED for 15 months. Hired on with Aramark Services Nov.2, 2010 as a shuttle driver doing 205 miles a day at hourly pay with 8 hours a day. Not bad. I have 4 years to go to retire from the Teamsters Union. Kid, the ol' grey mare ain't what she use to be. Its the end of an era as I see it. I have full filled my dreams as a kid and became a truck driver. Good job/trade and hard work. And I am #### proud of what I can do than just drive straight. Its a skill. Either you got it or you don't. I know that I will be glad that when the time comes I will not have to do it any more. Nothing personal guys. I'm burnt out with all the B.S. that we have to go through with D.O.T. and T.S.A. and of course FMCSR. I'm just venting and sharing my experiance. Its a hard life but, an honest one. So, go UNION and good luck. But, I really think that its an end to an era. But remember, without us TRUCK DRIVERS you would have a pot to piss in. Please excuse my french. As for "Food Link", RUN AWAY. Learn to drive in the Marine Corps or the Army. These truck driving schools do not give a rats butt about you. Its all MONEY to them. REALLY. ITS all a scam. Hell, they can get Joe Blow off the street and get his social security number and make money through the State. Learn from an O/O driver or go into the service.

 

Try by starting a seperate thread.....

 

I work for NCT as an LTL driver. We do have a cross dock operation and run 48 states with both local, otr drivers and teams. The only time we have t/l pick ups is when we are trying to get back east to our terminal-everything else is LTL with as many stops as you do. My most recent had 17 stops over 3 days. Our t/l operation is the smallest part of the company and I believe it may even be gone now-not sure. It's just a smaller company doing the same thing as the other guys (mostly new england freight).

 

In regards to the thread...we aren't a union company either. I was union once upon a time in Detroit...well, you already know how that era turned out.