ABF | ABF announces contract negotiations

I never said my employer was screwing me. Evidently your reading comprehension skills are jaded by your pro union bias. That being said, perhaps you need to realize that my "empirical evidence" about the fact you're being screwed by both your union and your employer consists of the threads on the ABF and YRC boards. If you as teamster's want to organize the non-union companies, start by fixing the union itself and your pension, which is sadly the last selling point to potential membership, and a pathetically weak one at that.

So how do you fix the union? Start by firing lazy workers. Productivity and profitability are not four letter words. They are in fact the lifeblood of a company from which your wages and benefits are paid.

Next, eliminate the corruption and graft that are rampant in the union so called leadership.

Lastly, restore union power by getting every member involved. Union meetings should be attended by one and all. Oops, next I'll be asking for voter turnout to become more than 10%.

That's crazy talk!
I never said the union was the total answer. But yes you are getting screwed! I worked for a non union company for 6 years I can see the difference. Plus there are lazy workers on both sides.
 
I am a current road driver with ABF. I worked for FedEx Freight over 20 years before going to ABF. The weekly and monthly meeting at fedex is to brain wash you guys into thinking you do not need a union.I watched fedex spend millions of dollars trying to brain wash their people with weekly meeting while not funding there retirement like ABF does and making them pay for insurance with 80.00 per week and having to beg cigna to pay the claim. They often would denied the claim and the bill goes to you. Also at FedEx if you get sick and miss 6 months ,you may be looking for a job! The union is not perfect .I have worked for both and union companies are the way to go ! We have a contract with the rules in it . At ABF we do not have meeting like FedEx does weekly and monthly changing the rules and threaten you as employees. FedEx will tell you in meeting that failure to follow these rules may lead to coaching or a write up.( or your JOB). Go Teamsters. ABF Road Driver!!
 
I never said my employer was screwing me. Evidently your reading comprehension skills are jaded by your pro union bias. That being said, perhaps you need to realize that my "empirical evidence" about the fact you're being screwed by both your union and your employer consists of the threads on the ABF and YRC boards. If you as teamster's want to organize the non-union companies, start by fixing the union itself and your pension, which is sadly the last selling point to potential membership, and a pathetically weak one at that.

So how do you fix the union? Start by firing lazy workers. Productivity and profitability are not four letter words. They are in fact the lifeblood of a company from which your wages and benefits are paid.

Next, eliminate the corruption and graft that are rampant in the union so called leadership.

Lastly, restore union power by getting every member involved. Union meetings should be attended by one and all. Oops, next I'll be asking for voter turnout to become more than 10%.

That's crazy talk!

Very good! Good points I'll concede,..........about membership not getting involved and voter turnouts for elections, both local and national,......AND contractual.

The "lazy worker" crack, though,........is propaganda promoted by every corporate office out there.

Consider:......The Union DOES NOT hire,.......Nor do they Fire,.........the company does both. But, in the meantime,....AS REQUIRED by Federal law,...the Union must represent ALL the employees the company has hired without regard to their "competency".

And,.....sometimes the company hires some....real "doozies". All contracts have new-hire provisions that allow them to fire a new employee , usually within 90 days, without prejudice........Sometimes I think the company ...retains....a few "dolts",...just to give the Union representatives fits........

As a steward for 16 years, I've had to sometimes bite my tongue concerning my own opinion of a fellow employee's work ethic. But,.....as a steward,....I will fight for just about every advantage I can to help you retain your job if you make a mistake. I will not/havenot/never have....lied to help a guy I represented retain his job. And,....yes.....I've had to let a guy "take his lumps",......if he was trying to get away with something.

In a non-Union company,......the employer hires,....fires,.....disciplines,.....lays off,......or promotes,........according to any sort of standards they want,....whether they're fair or not. I know of a Con-Way driver who was fired while eating his lunch in a parking lot. The wife of a judge backed her car underneath his trailer,.........and it became..."politically expedient".....to fire the guy. Read up on the "Employment At Will" rules in your employee handbook. They can literally fire you for parting your hair on the wrong side on Tuesday........Or because you've irritated your dispatcher.......

Companies routinely try to make their non-Union employees feel better about,....non-representation,......by telling them they are "better workers" than the Union guys. Maybe they won't think about the recent health insurance raise that negates the recent pay raise......

But,...if you feel you're the best in the industry,.....have a great work ethic,.....great, safe driver,......Then, you're going to try for the top-of-the-line wages and benefits. It becomes an intelligence test then.....If you understand all the liabilities and pitfalls about performing services in the public domain,....and you want a third-party advocate between you and your employer to protect you and your family,....You go for the Union employer....

If,.....you don't understand these qualifiers,......liabilities,.....provisions of Employment-At-Will,........then you go for an employer who will make you feel good about being "less lazy" than the Union employees........
 
Actually...I think you got some right and some wrong. Yes they did have defined contribution for a while and sometime around the late '90s went back to defined benefit. But the story the guys have told me is that they were better off with the defined contribution plan. But remember, it was not a meager 4% of their pay either, like many of the 401K's are.

I knew I didn't have all the particulars quite straight. Yes,....the contribution rate was quite a bit higher than 4%,...as they had to use the contractually-mandated employer contribution rate.

But the fact of the matter remains that they switched back to a defined-benefit fund. There may be some behind-the-scenes machinations for the switchback. That, I don't know......

I have some paperwork around the house, here, that had the investment return figures on it for about 8 years since the inception of the defined-contribution plan. Got to dig it out,......(was hoping someone from Carlisle could enlighten us...).......

But,...that paperwork definately showed the investment return hitting 8% for the first year only. After that, it dropped substantially until it actually lost money. Maybe that fund was mis-managed........
 
I knew I didn't have all the particulars quite straight. Yes,....the contribution rate was quite a bit higher than 4%,...as they had to use the contractually-mandated employer contribution rate.

But the fact of the matter remains that they switched back to a defined-benefit fund. There may be some behind-the-scenes machinations for the switchback. That, I don't know......

I have some paperwork around the house, here, that had the investment return figures on it for about 8 years since the inception of the defined-contribution plan. Got to dig it out,......(was hoping someone from Carlisle could enlighten us...).......

But,...that paperwork definately showed the investment return hitting 8% for the first year only. After that, it dropped substantially until it actually lost money. Maybe that fund was mis-managed........
I have come across quite a few members who are in that fund, it is very large in PA, and most of them are clueless about it. I know a little (not a lot) about the workings there. That fund is officed in Reading, PA and, I believe, it is at the Reading Local, 429. I don't know the full details but I do know who made the switch out of defined contribution back to defined benefit (not personally, just his name and a little background on him) and I'm pretty sure that the switch back to defined benefit came at a bad time economically and it played a part in him losing his election (along with other things).
 
I have come across quite a few members who are in that fund, it is very large in PA, and most of them are clueless about it. I know a little (not a lot) about the workings there. That fund is officed in Reading, PA and, I believe, it is at the Reading Local, 429. I don't know the full details but I do know who made the switch out of defined contribution back to defined benefit (not personally, just his name and a little background on him) and I'm pretty sure that the switch back to defined benefit came at a bad time economically and it played a part in him losing his election (along with other things).

Is there an ABF management person sitting as a Trustee on that fund? If so, I can guess who that is......He sits on several Funds as an Employer Trustee.
 
Is there an ABF management person sitting as a Trustee on that fund? If so, I can guess who that is......He sits on several Funds as an Employer Trustee.
I do not know who any of the trustees are but I would expect that one would be from Local 429 since that is where it is house. For some reason New Penn always had trustees on the funds where I saw a list of trustees, I don't know how they got all that.
 
The Labor man in Carlisle sits on a few funds as employer Trustee. I'm not sure if he sits on that one in Local #429.
 
Well,......There is a TDU conference call for this Saturday. Be interesting to see what their take on the proposals are,...versus what the IBT says they should be.

Ideally,....they should both be on the same page,....as good ideas,...no matter where they come from,.....benefit our fellow workers and Teamsters.

Politically,.......(Union politics....)......it sometimes feels that ABF employees are negotiating against two groups....the employer and the IBT. Hopefully , for (Union).. political advantage only, TDU won't take advantage of that perceived divide. We Teamsters kinda like need to all pull together for a common goal.

Let's see what kind of healer/negotiator Brother Soehl is. I hope he recognizes ABF used dirty tricks last negotiations with false press releases about a potential buyout. I hope he understands the dynamics of the driver shortage,..........the machinations of a company going to mainly contractors, and trying to shed their pension obligations...........the REAL workings of our industry and the impact "driver-less trucks" will have on the off-route, labor-intensive LTL side of trucking. ...( Ain't many overweight city peddle guys,.......or weak ones.....). (...and ain't many gravel mountain roads are conducive to robot trucks doing private home delivery..)...

Let's see Brother Soehl charge into 2018 with a new Teamster militancy,....willing to negotiate a FAIR contract,.....and NOT willing to be complicit in company shenanigans during contract talks......
 
Aaaahhhhh Brother Canary, eternally the optimist and holding out hope, God bless you. As for me, I have given up all hope but will not give up the fights, not the one against the company nor the one against the union as anymore we are battling both. I have no faith in Ernie for two reasons...He was hand picked by Hoffa and, therefore, just remain loyal to Hoffa. Hoffa has already shown us his hand more than once and his MO will not change. Additionally, Ernie has already shown his as well and it reflects that he follows Hoffa's orders well. I don't understand why but Hoffa and company are not performing for us as they should. I do believe that a portion of that is flat out incompetence and naivete but I also suspect that there is an underlying motive of some sort.
 
Very good! Good points I'll concede,..........about membership not getting involved and voter turnouts for elections, both local and national,......AND contractual.

The "lazy worker" crack, though,........is propaganda promoted by every corporate office out there.

Consider:......The Union DOES NOT hire,.......Nor do they Fire,.........the company does both. But, in the meantime,....AS REQUIRED by Federal law,...the Union must represent ALL the employees the company has hired without regard to their "competency".

And,.....sometimes the company hires some....real "doozies". All contracts have new-hire provisions that allow them to fire a new employee , usually within 90 days, without prejudice........Sometimes I think the company ...retains....a few "dolts",...just to give the Union representatives fits........

As a steward for 16 years, I've had to sometimes bite my tongue concerning my own opinion of a fellow employee's work ethic. But,.....as a steward,....I will fight for just about every advantage I can to help you retain your job if you make a mistake. I will not/havenot/never have....lied to help a guy I represented retain his job. And,....yes.....I've had to let a guy "take his lumps",......if he was trying to get away with something.

In a non-Union company,......the employer hires,....fires,.....disciplines,.....lays off,......or promotes,........according to any sort of standards they want,....whether they're fair or not. I know of a Con-Way driver who was fired while eating his lunch in a parking lot. The wife of a judge backed her car underneath his trailer,.........and it became..."politically expedient".....to fire the guy. Read up on the "Employment At Will" rules in your employee handbook. They can literally fire you for parting your hair on the wrong side on Tuesday........Or because you've irritated your dispatcher.......

Companies routinely try to make their non-Union employees feel better about,....non-representation,......by telling them they are "better workers" than the Union guys. Maybe they won't think about the recent health insurance raise that negates the recent pay raise......

But,...if you feel you're the best in the industry,.....have a great work ethic,.....great, safe driver,......Then, you're going to try for the top-of-the-line wages and benefits. It becomes an intelligence test then.....If you understand all the liabilities and pitfalls about performing services in the public domain,....and you want a third-party advocate between you and your employer to protect you and your family,....You go for the Union employer....

If,.....you don't understand these qualifiers,......liabilities,.....provisions of Employment-At-Will,........then you go for an employer who will make you feel good about being "less lazy" than the Union employees........

if these union companies are so good, why do they keep failing?
 
if these union companies are so good, why do they keep failing?

Well,..........The main reason is the non-Union carrier's ability to micro-manage their labor costs. In your terminal, I'm sure the standing order is not to discuss individual wages with anyone,....especially your fellow employees. They can pay everyone as an individual. There is no published pay scale. I'm sure there is a "suggested" pay scale,...maybe even on paper,....but there is no company guarantee to pay that. You may be surprised to find out how many of your fellow employees made deals to get a certain run or starting time,...or equipment,...or something else preferential,.....by giving up part of your paycheck. It was a common practice at the turn of the century, to..."tip"...your foreman on Friday,......The rise of Unionism eliminated that scurvy practice,.....The rise of non-Unionism is creating a revival of sorts.......

They adjust labor costs by adjusting your health "insurance" co-pays. There is no reason you should be paying your employer a weekly/monthly surcharge for maintaining your healthcare plan. Tell your employer that if your weekly/monthly "co-payment" is truly going for your..."healthcare",.....then you will cut a check to your healthcare provider,.... instead of your employer....surcharging your paycheck. See how far that flies.....

And,.....notice how it seems that when you get a pay raise,.....very shortly thereafter, ...your "insurance" co-pay raises.......Negating the pay raise.

You pay...."co-pays".... for "health" insurance,........You have a defined-contribution pension with a mandated contribution rate,........Union carriers had neither of these, we paid nothing to maintain our health insurance, and our pensions were company-funded completely......at least until non-Union companies were able to slash their freight rates because their employees were willing to work for less money,.... less insurance,...less of a retirement system,....less benefits,.....less legal protection,......

Labor costs are everything,...in a labor-intensive industry. Remember,.....Those who are willing to undercut wages and benefits,.....sooner or later will be victims to people who are willing to cut even further.

We are all watching line-haul being subcontracted out to the lowest bidder. A non-Union carrier started that,.....at the expense of their own line-haul employees.....
 
Aaaahhhhh Brother Canary, eternally the optimist and holding out hope, God bless you. As for me, I have given up all hope but will not give up the fights, not the one against the company nor the one against the union as anymore we are battling both. I have no faith in Ernie for two reasons...He was hand picked by Hoffa and, therefore, just remain loyal to Hoffa. Hoffa has already shown us his hand more than once and his MO will not change. Additionally, Ernie has already shown his as well and it reflects that he follows Hoffa's orders well. I don't understand why but Hoffa and company are not performing for us as they should. I do believe that a portion of that is flat out incompetence and naivete but I also suspect that there is an underlying motive of some sort.

I am the Sunny Optimist,...aren't I? I'd like to believe peoples' conscience leads them to lofty ideals......especially people elected to a Position of Trust.

"What Gaineth a Man if he attains the Whole World,....yet Loses his Soehl.?.....oops!.....I meant Soul.."

Biblical,.....I can't remember which Proverb, off the cuff,...........But I would imagine it has something to do with selling out your former Fraternal Brothers,....for mere Money,......certainly no fame......

I've spent my entire life trying to avoid having that carved on my tombstone,..........hard to comprehend the thought process of someone who would blithely invite calumny and defamation on their families' name...
 
Well,......There is a TDU conference call for this Saturday. Be interesting to see what their take on the proposals are,...versus what the IBT says they should be.

Ideally,....they should both be on the same page,....as good ideas,...no matter where they come from,.....benefit our fellow workers and Teamsters.

Politically,.......(Union politics....)......it sometimes feels that ABF employees are negotiating against two groups....the employer and the IBT. Hopefully , for (Union).. political advantage only, TDU won't take advantage of that perceived divide. We Teamsters kinda like need to all pull together for a common goal.

Let's see what kind of healer/negotiator Brother Soehl is. I hope he recognizes ABF used dirty tricks last negotiations with false press releases about a potential buyout. I hope he understands the dynamics of the driver shortage,..........the machinations of a company going to mainly contractors, and trying to shed their pension obligations...........the REAL workings of our industry and the impact "driver-less trucks" will have on the off-route, labor-intensive LTL side of trucking. ...( Ain't many overweight city peddle guys,.......or weak ones.....). (...and ain't many gravel mountain roads are conducive to robot trucks doing private home delivery..)...

Let's see Brother Soehl charge into 2018 with a new Teamster militancy,....willing to negotiate a FAIR contract,.....and NOT willing to be complicit in company shenanigans during contract talks......
Brother, apparently you don't know Mr. Soehl. Don't get your hopes up to high.:6817:
 
This isn’t the union debate thread. Go cry on your own thread and ask someone from a failing company. You trolls can go hug each other there.
Puffy can't go hug anybody on a union forum. He is a biggggg! trucking company owner. Disgruntled ex teamster.:6788::violin::crybaby:
 
Brother, apparently you don't know Mr. Soehl. Don't get your hopes up to high.:6817:

Ahh,.......but I do. I’ve had some personal dealings with him.

I’m hoping......(against hope...) that he will rise to his new level of responsibilities.

If he doesn’t,....and it’s just business as usual at the IBT headquarters,.......that’s pretty much the end of any sort of NMFA....

IT’ll get gutted out worse than a groundhog in rush hour on the Pa. Pike.....
 
I am the Sunny Optimist,...aren't I? I'd like to believe peoples' conscience leads them to lofty ideals......especially people elected to a Position of Trust.

"What Gaineth a Man if he attains the Whole World,....yet Loses his Soehl.?.....oops!.....I meant Soul.."

Biblical,.....I can't remember which Proverb, off the cuff,...........But I would imagine it has something to do with selling out your former Fraternal Brothers,....for mere Money,......certainly no fame......

I've spent my entire life trying to avoid having that carved on my tombstone,..........hard to comprehend the thought process of someone who would blithely invite calumny and defamation on their families' name...
The ‘proverb’ is from The Gospel Of Mark 8:36.
 
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