Werner pulling ABF trailers

what is sad and funny is you otr drivers have these companys by the balls with the driver shortage yet you guys refuse to organize and get treated with respect and a honest days pay for a honest days work.

 

do not know for sure but would guess abf is 22.00 to 26.00, OT after 8 hrs.

 

Im with USX and I haul Fed Ex pretty regular and the occasional UPS load, but on our trailers. so there is a lot more of it going on than you might think. When Im running team with my students I see a lot more of the weekend team loads that they cant get covered.

 

Saw another on i80 Ut.

 

True, but even if we as a large group did manage to "organize" the numbers would be insufficient against the other realities (too many out here don't know what they're worth and these are who the carriers wants working for them, anyway)

The LTL sector can raise rates a lot easier then the truckload sector can, but they (LTL) really don't need to raise rates as they have long-term union scale driver wages built into current rates. Truckload sector does not have this luxury. I'm not saying the truckload sector as a whole is operating at near "non-profit" status. Far from it actually. They (many carriers who are properly positioned in the market) could probably raise mileage rates a dime and still realize enough profit to bonus half the internal staff with a trip to Jamaica next summer. But why should they? They have more applicants then they can shake a stick at. And half of those will probably cost them money in the first 6 months ... hence no money for the rest.

 

this is why drivers need to stick together more, like you said, they could give everyone in the TL sector a dime, and the companies would still make a killing. oh wait, thats their plan, stagnate wages until its a revolving door industry, then support low wage immagrants because its another job that americans supposedly dont want to do.

 

This goes on a lot more then people think. A lot of freight gets delivered and picked up from ltl companies by other companies all the time. I work for JB Hunt out of there intermodal terminal in Harrisburg PA and we have been delivering a lot more to the old dominion terminal in Carlisle PA then we use to. We also deliver to the Conway terminal in York PA. We also deliver and pick up from Duie Pyle and pick up from UPS as well.

 

Werner is least of our problems

The good problems we have

Hard to find Quality Applicants, ABF does a deep background check. Even while employed for the first 90 working days before getting in the union, they are still checking you out.
It's an exhausting process, The most mind numbing is going back and forth with HR. They want you on the phone and swap a email about every little thing they find. Bless L.P. @ HR. She does a wonderful job and then kicks up the process to her boss and your terminal manager.


ABF simply is not a attractive career to a new driver. They get scared thinking they need experience and look at our equipment. If they would simply do some simple research and pound some pavement could be a retirement job. We still have a Pension OT/8 Paid Medical Cost and a horrible Vacation. Most of us never work weekends and causals these days get min of 40hrs and paid once a week.

LTL isn't attractive: Who wants to peddle around a city, work a dock, Bump a dozen doors, 2 wheel, Hand jack a pallet and work a forklift and throw around dunnage and serious risk of getting injured and have all the endorsements required except passenger and wiggle some wagons ?


Werner can have the freight, Way above my pay grade to figure out that crap. Earn while i can. Move on to the next company rinse/repeat








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You are talking about local work and I know men who would not do anything but local work, men who have been doing it for 20 some years. You couldn't get them to go otr. I did it for 10 years, I came off the road, actually being an o/o and worked for a ltl carrier in the city. I disliked every day of it, but we had men who loved it. I guess everybody has his "own cup of tea".

 

I love it. never did OTR.