Lets Talk Mortality Rate

MikeJ

TB Veteran
Credits
188
Hi guys,
Last night I got a call from one of our transit drivers and he and I were chit chatting and he told me he was in the process of getting his Tanker and HAZMAT and finger prints (All things I already have) and getting ready to hang it up after 28 years and go over to one of the union LTL companies.

He said and I have not experienced this, but I know the older guys have, that as the years have gone by a lot of the benefits and fringe extras the guys back in the day had, well a lot of those have been slowly stripped away and our health insurance isn't really that great, our 401K is okay we have profit sharing, but that can be rolled into another companies 401K. Things are not what they used to be and will never be again.

Many of probably do not know this, because I do not talk about it, but I was in the process of trying to buy a home, but because I never built credit that's been stalled so I am not really in a position nor do I really wan to change jobs and employers, but....there is a mortality rate to all of this and we need to talk about that.

The driver I was talking to last night told me he said "I can't stand for real long amounts of time and I know it's from all the 20 years of hard lifting I have done." I mean lets face it 20,000lbs a day 5 days a week 49-50 weeks a year for 20 years on end that going to catch up to anyone. Well it caught up to him and it's caught up to others.

Now he was lucky to get a transit spot, but I don't know if that position is going to be available to me in my time frame and I'm not against working nights if I know eventually it will lead to days, but with our transit doubles it's nights and holidays for ever and they have been trying to eliminate as many drop yard transit drivers as possible they won't be able to get rid of all of them, because you always need some coming back, but our yard has gone from 6 transit drivers to 4 and could possibly go to 3 when this guy quits. The company in our division right now has to many transit drivers as it is and they do not have enough work for those guys so they have been breaking up doubles sets and run a lot of singles and stuff so one guy leaving would probably be welcome to management.

Well where does that put me? After a while I think some of the work I have done may catch up to me years from now in the form of physical pain and while I don't have any issues at the moment, I am thinking about the future and see a volume truck bid probably won't be available to me unless I want to move to the warehouse and a transit spot is nice, but who knows how long till early set transit comes and night transit is okay, but you'll be working nights and holidays and this particular driver said he's just had enough of working nights and holidays.

It got me to thinking about my own mortality and how long I can realistically do this or should do this. The answer is probably 5 more years and if by that time an early set transit spot hasn't come up or a night transit spot isn't available, because I doubt volume truck is going to happen. Then it's probably time to move on.
For a couple reasons, one I know for a fact the union outfits like ABF and the like have better health insurance benefits then we do and the work isn't nearly as physical and they have pension and 401K we have 401K no pension. Bascially the union LTL outfits like ABF are probably a better deal long run. This particular driver told me that's where he plans on going is ABF after 28 years at GFS. We had another guy a veteran transit driver quit to go work at Old Dominion and has never looked back.

So that makes me think gee uh there maybe a better benefits deal and quality of life deal out there. I'll tell you all right now the one thing that is going to eventually break the camels back for me is the getting up at 1:45-2:00am 5 days a week eventually that's going to be a deal breaker it isn't yet, but it will be.

I sometimes think you know there are other places where I can go and might not have to work as hard. I mean my second best option in my mind right now would be Anderson DuBoise the McDonalds supplier around here and if there warehouse was still where it used to be I may have already been there. If Martin Brower was in this area I would have already been there, but there warehouse is in Cincinnati and they do not do this area. So I mean it has to all play out, but mortality rate wise I mean I know @2wheeldriver and @Lazlo this comes up a lot I mean what are your guys plans or second choices?
 
Physically you probably have more than 5yrs. 33's still young, key is to take care of yourself, work safely at a safe pace to avoid the big injuries. From what I've seen once someone has something major happen they may eventually be released to full duty by the dr but are never quite the same and keep getting hurt over and over.
That said, if you're thinking you might want out start making plans and put them into action NOW while you're young and without kids. Might seem far off but it's amazing how quickly your life and priorities can change. Lower starting rate w/progression to top wage? Not as big an issue now, add kids/mortgage/etc to the mix and it will be. Same thing with vacation. Might have to start again at 1wk/yr. hard to do when you're used to 3-4.
Reality is I really can't leave right now. I make more now than I would at a lot of other places, definitely starting out somewhere else. Could live on less but I'm the type of person who would constantly compare the two and think of everything else I could have with the extra $$$. We were dead broke when I was growing up. It stunk, and even though our kids don't ask for much they are involved in a lot of activities which can get expensive. They aren't spoiled by any means, just don't know how I would feel if I were in a position where I had to constantly tell them "no". Schedule works now with the family, definitely wouldn't want to start off on call or extra board with the kids, not having to wait a year for FMLA if something stupid happens, etc. Sysco's automatic contribution to the 401k on top of match is a nice plus too.

Long term plans? Past couple months pretty much decided to keep at it as long as I'm able and realize that this job is what it is; a means to an end. Save some money, get my kids grown/out of the house/help them get a good start in life and do my best to make sure they don't make some of the choices I did. By the time last one graduates from high school mortgage will be (should be) done. My wife has a really good job that she loves, just can't work more than part time in the evenings right now because of the kids/my schedule. When they're older, next few years even, that won't be an issue and as of now she wants to work full time as soon as she can. Her income increasing and expenses dropping would take the burden off me, I could then work an easier lower paying job.
Back or knee goes out in the meantime? Cross that bridge when I get there.
 
Yeah I'm 28 now. I decided to stay put there is, but there isn't really anything else out there for me nothing that at the end of the day would be earth shattering. If I went to ABF I'd be on the dock or a combo extra board dock man for years on end, aint happening. Dayton Freight would be a good choice but same difference pay cut in the beginning.

Wife kids I'll cross that bridge when or if I come to it right now that horizon is as dry as the desert and that's alright.

McDonald's distributor Anderson-DuBoise would be my second choice, but there warehouse moved a few years ago and now there 60 miles away, so there pretty much out. However they are a tad less physical I don't know how well run they are, I can't imagine there all that poorly run considering McDonald's doesn't really put up with any bull-crap. However they are 24-7 365 day operation nights, evenings, weekends, holidays doesn't matter they keep it rolling.
I'm sure they have a crappy extra board and it would be everything days, nights, weekends, afternoons 1am, 1pm, 3am, 10pm probably like that for a while until you can get a regular run or something, well it's all part of the fun.

Actually though the way it's looking 5-6 years from now a transit spot may be available so that's not so bad.
 
Don't sell yourselves short guys I was 57 when I stopped delivering and worked with alot of guys that were in their late 50's and early 60'S, it can really keep you in shape if you don't set yourself up to go balls to wall every day or allow yourself to get into that postition. And Lazlo's last paragraph really sums it up as far as how to handle it, just work everyday to make yourself more financially secure as you get older and it will give you more options when you want them, I've known alot of guys who work solely to pay for a big house, new vehicles, fancy boats, motorcycles and RVs and end up getting stuck by belongings.
 
Don't sell yourselves short guys I was 57 when I stopped delivering and worked with alot of guys that were in their late 50's and early 60'S, it can really keep you in shape if you don't set yourself up to go balls to wall every day or allow yourself to get into that postition. And Lazlo's last paragraph really sums it up as far as how to handle it, just work everyday to make yourself more financially secure as you get older and it will give you more options when you want them, I've known alot of guys who work solely to pay for a big house, new vehicles, fancy boats, motorcycles and RVs and end up getting stuck by belongings.

I guess I've in a backwards way lucked out, this year my folks wanted me to be gone, but because I don't have any credit, I don't have bad credit I just do not have any credit period, I was unable to secure a loan and because of that can't move out. It works because I have to wait 6-12 months to build up some credit which I have begun doing, but in that 6-12 months I've been working on saving money. I sold all my assets off and that put me $13K a head.

Now where this leaves me is 6-12 months from now I'll have enough money to be free of any 30 year mortgage more like 10-15 year plan depending. If it came to it I could probably almost be a cash buyer somewhere if I really had to, however I could also just go and rent if I really had to move out and I could save money as a renter it happens and people do it.

Right now I am 91% of the way to having $60K saved up and I still got 6-12 months to go I just got a new to me car so I'm good on that end so just because I have more saved up doesn't mean I am going to look for a more expensive home oh no. Plus property around here right now is way high and there are no deals mine as well wait for the bubble to burst if I had to I could go off and rent, but no need to even do that.

Plus all that time I'm getting 401K match and this year I am going to get some company profit sharing soooo, that kind of makes a difference as well actually I called up Vangaurd to see how much was in my company 401K and it was more then I thought there was almost $9,000 in it and I've worked at GFS less then 2 years so ad that with company profit sharing and the fact that they match money every week after a while all those nickles and dimes ad up.
 
We only work 4 days a week. If they told me to do this 5 days a week today would be my last day. My next choice would be ups. Food service is not a career it is a stepping stone while we can do it. This just my opinion. I am glad my wife stays at home to homeschool so the money is nice but my lower back says it is ready for something else.
 
We only work 4 days a week. If they told me to do this 5 days a week today would be my last day. My next choice would be ups. Food service is not a career it is a stepping stone while we can do it. This just my opinion. I am glad my wife stays at home to homeschool so the money is nice but my lower back says it is ready for something else.
Thank you 2 wheeler, say how long have you been with Sysco?
 
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