ABF | ArcBest Logistics giving UPak to Old Dominion

Anyone heard that the Fart is giving the UPak Pup business to OD? Leaves us with the ReLo cubes..

I have heard that...just a way to continue to erode the ABF Freight System brand name...almost all the old TimeKeeper business goes to Panther...when anyone calls for a quote for TK or Upak, our Logistics dept takes it away from the freight division. Anyone else hear or agree/disagree about this.

Question: Has your TK or UPak trailer business been flat???
No, our time critical(no longer t/k ,. by the way that was what roadway called thier expedited service. go figure. should get the rumor mill going) is at capacity,. we have very few empty cubes. normal pool is about 80 to 100. upacks, are at capacity, have about 30-40 headloads on yard waitng for delivery and in the neighborhood of 25-30 spotted in the city. keep in mind this is the busy season
 
No, our time critical(no longer t/k ,. by the way that was what roadway called thier expedited service. go figure. should get the rumor mill going) is at capacity,. we have very few empty cubes. normal pool is about 80 to 100. upacks, are at capacity, have about 30-40 headloads on yard waitng for delivery and in the neighborhood of 25-30 spotted in the city. keep in mind this is the busy season
Most of our U-Packs, both trailers and cubes, should bust loose anytime as college will be starting up again soon. We've had trailers and cubes in our yard that have just been sitting, loaded, since late-April. I've noticed a 'thinning' in the yard within the last week or so.
 
I am a former ABF employee (service center closed) and I can tell you now that I work for OD, more than half of the home moves we do were set-up by U-Pack. On a side note, it's a huge pain in the ass bc U-Pack has horrible communication between us and the customer. David M who set-up U-Pack years ago while I was at ABF, now manages our household services department.
 
I am a former ABF employee (service center closed) and I can tell you now that I work for OD, more than half of the home moves we do were set-up by U-Pack. On a side note, it's a huge pain in the ass bc U-Pack has horrible communication between us and the customer. David M who set-up U-Pack years ago while I was at ABF, now manages our household services department.
When it was all ABF things went pretty smoothly. Of course, the more hands you get in the mix the more chances there are for problems to arise. And how do you like OD vs ABF?
 
I am a former ABF employee (service center closed) and I can tell you now that I work for OD, more than half of the home moves we do were set-up by U-Pack. On a side note, it's a huge pain in the ass bc U-Pack has horrible communication between us and the customer. David M who set-up U-Pack years ago while I was at ABF, now manages our household services department.

It's a shame, Brother, that they closed the service center on you. I'm guessing you didn't have enough seniority to follow the work. Always a problem during a COO.

I was with ABF for 24 years, so I was able to watch the U-Pack program evolve over that period. Also , I was able to observe how other carriers tried,.....and failed.... , to set up programs similar to U-Pack. The one discerning feature I noticed was how the U-Pack loads and dispatches were treated. ABF realized that in order for the program to work, they would have to give the delivering driver quite a bit of autonomy as far as time, and feasibility of delivery. There are several U-Packs I was on that took hours to perform......On paper they looked simple,.....but we know how that works in trucking. I was never questioned about my decisions or time spent,......and consequently there were very few U-Packs that I was unable to perform.

Some were undeliverable.........you know how people are when they have no clue about reality,...let alone trucks.....

On the other hand, ....the other carriers who tried to set up similar rent-the-trailer-space moving programs seemed to treat those dispatches as an interference to their normal operations,......and guys at the other companies complained that those loads were dispatched "punishment" style,..........If they were pissed at you, you got a "moving" load. That meant there was no incentive to deliver a load that lay outside "normal" parameters. In fact I had some guys for OD tell me they would take the load,....or empty,...out,......LOOK for ANY sort of problem.........dead branch in the driveway,......and then call dispatch and tell them to "shove it up their..." Undeliverable........

This is why,...for years, ABF was the only viable player in the rent-space-on-trailer moving scene. I think last contract woke ABF management up to the fact that, in the event of a strike, U-Pack loads would also sit with the freight. So......U-Pack was set aside as a "branch" of ArcBest.....to help scab out loads in case of strikes........
 
When it was all ABF things went pretty smoothly. Of course, the more hands you get in the mix the more chances there are for problems to arise. And how do you like OD vs ABF?
Honestly, I enjoyed my time at ABF. Great guys I worked with, but I am treated very well here now. I know I'm on the ABF board, so no disrespect. Just wanted to comment on the U-Pack and check in on my brothers.
 
Honestly, I enjoyed my time at ABF. Great guys I worked with, but I am treated very well here now. I know I'm on the ABF board, so no disrespect. Just wanted to comment on the U-Pack and check in on my brothers.

And I hope you'll always be welcome here. This isn't just a "closed" board congratulating ourselves because we're Union. I hope we're regarded as an open exchange of information and ideas that anyone may benefit from.
 
Honestly, I enjoyed my time at ABF. Great guys I worked with, but I am treated very well here now. I know I'm on the ABF board, so no disrespect. Just wanted to comment on the U-Pack and check in on my brothers.
No disrespect taken. I think people were genuinely curious how you liked a non-union carrier, having worked for a union one.
 
So,......I wonder if, in the event of a strike by ABF employees,.........would U-Packs loaded on ABF trailers still get delivered? By OD or any other company? How about empty ABF U-Packs? Who will pick them up? Will ABF U-Packs in the ABF yard suddenly get consigned to OD , or any other carrier they can coerce to cross a picket line? What about it, Mr. Soehl?

Tyson and Gordon kind of let the horse bolt from the barn when they allowed U-Pack to be spun off of ABF and into ArcBest. What was wrong with those two? (rhetorical question,.....we all know...)
 
So,......I wonder if, in the event of a strike by ABF employees,.........would U-Packs loaded on ABF trailers still get delivered? By OD or any other company? How about empty ABF U-Packs? Who will pick them up? Will ABF U-Packs in the ABF yard suddenly get consigned to OD , or any other carrier they can coerce to cross a picket line? What about it, Mr. Soehl?

Tyson and Gordon kind of let the horse bolt from the barn when they allowed U-Pack to be spun off of ABF and into ArcBest. What was wrong with those two? (rhetorical question,.....we all know...)
I'm sure there's language that lets them become a freight broker at that point, allowing them to effectively shut the doors to the union while staying in business.

And that deal was negotiated by Hoffa PERSONALLY, so you KNOW it's good.
 
I'm sure there's language that lets them become a freight broker at that point, allowing them to effectively shut the doors to the union while staying in business.

And that deal was negotiated by Hoffa PERSONALLY, so you KNOW it's good.
Right now ABF can't continue operations during a labor action. They don't have the manpower or other sources to keep the LTL up & running. Not Panther or any other company they purchased in the last 5 years can do what the union work force does now. 1 or 2 more years, then they probably could break the union, take a large money loss & keep on trucking. Regardless how theThe MPRA Act or law would effect ABF, or the Teamsters they would once & for all be out from under the Pension cost of doing business. I believe the money loss from trying to break the Union would be much less than the next 5 years of Pension payments. von.
 
Right now ABF can't continue operations during a labor action. They don't have the manpower or other sources to keep the LTL up & running. Not Panther or any other company they purchased in the last 5 years can do what the union work force does now. 1 or 2 more years, then they probably could break the union, take a large money loss & keep on trucking. Regardless how theThe MPRA Act or law would effect ABF, or the Teamsters they would once & for all be out from under the Pension cost of doing business. I believe the money loss from trying to break the Union would be much less than the next 5 years of Pension payments. von.
Totally agree, von. The company would have little means to carry on during a labor dispute. Your 'math' stacks up pretty good...as far as the money loss during a decertification effort would be compared to the cost of pension contributions. As I've said in the past, this upcoming negotiating period will be tell-tale in many ways including what you just discussed. Factor in vacation restoration (which I'm sure is high on everyone's list), the medical premiums, PT, etc., and it's gonna be one helluva ride in 2018!
 
Totally agree, von. The company would have little means to carry on during a labor dispute. Your 'math' stacks up pretty good...as far as the money loss during a decertification effort would be compared to the cost of pension contributions. As I've said in the past, this upcoming negotiating period will be tell-tale in many ways including what you just discussed. Factor in vacation restoration (which I'm sure is high on everyone's list), the medical premiums, PT, etc., and it's gonna be one helluva ride in 2018!
To hell with the vacation. That is the carrot & stick approach. Think about the math. 1 week vacation =s' 45 hours of straight time. About a grand. Now take, say, 30 bucks a week for medical deduction every pay check ='s about 15 thousand a year. 15 grand more of your pay, or a thousand. Refuse to vote in medical payments, let em keep the vacation. Better yet, don't give them any concession. Play hard ball all the way up to a strike vote. Last 5 years you gave them back 15% and they went right out & spent your money you gave up to buy non union trucking logistic operations. Push them right to the edge of the cliff during contract talks. If not, resign, & apply @ FedX. They have a large supply of lube to make the reaming they give you ease the pain. That's you, NOT your bank account balance that will feel better.
 
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