ABF | Route assignments

How does it work at your terminal? Do you choose your own route based on your seniority, or are you assigned a route?

We have some route areas.... for example one bid is named after a town to the southwest of our terminal and the driver who runs that bid gets any freight to that area. We have one named just downtown, thats the one right here in the home city. Now if you hold an area bid and there is at least one delivery in that area they have to let you run it. On the other hand they only have to give you one delivery in your area and then they can run you anywhere else they want. Also if they want to hold your run and not deliver anything in your area they can put you in to pick with the extra drivers. If there is a peddle and a bulk load the bid man takes the peddle and the bulk would be either put out for pick of the extra guys or given to someone who has come back from their first run. There are extra bids on different start times and they are just called "extra" if there is more than one extra bid on a start time or there are 10 percenters (people who don't have a bid start time and are not guaranteed 40 hours) the extra runs are chosen by seniority. All of these positions are bid at least twice a year and sometimes more when the local and company forget how to read the contract and do a whole board bid between the twice a year bids.

We bid start times and top guy at start time gets his pick of runs at that time. There is no area bid and the company gives what they want at any given time. When they play games our only option is to go out and screw them all day every day they do it. I have seen the company get screwed hard for years playing their games.

ABFer said:

We bid start times and top guy at start time gets his pick of runs at that time. There is no area bid and the company gives what they want at any given time. When they play games our only option is to go out and screw them all day every day they do it. I have seen the company get screwed hard for years playing their games.

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We also can't pick and choose our runs.As a matter of fact,I usually circle the dock when i come in to see what looks like the worst load and the majority of the time that will be mine.I smile,and know its going to be a great day! I never give them the satisfaction letting them think they screwed me because they didn't,they only disappointed themselves! Make no mistake,the job will be done right, even if it takes all day!Don't forget, they love to see us argue amongst ourselves by giving a junior guy the volume and the senior man the crap! Don't let them win,Just Smile, and teach the junior man what to do.Be a senior man!