ABF | Do I have to be Old-School?

When are we going to learn?

Ever since I started as a city driver for ABF, I've had pressure from my Teamster brothers to milk the clock. My first or second week, while working the forklift on the dock, and trying to get things done quickly without damaging anything, someone says, "There's no need to hurry - we're paid by the hour." Some weeks later someone said, "slow down, we're on overtime.... don't you like overtime?"

I get hints almost every day that I need to slow down, because I'm making others look bad. More recently I covered for a morning shift guy and did his usual 1st stop sorting and segregating. When I came back to the terminal, a couple guys tell me that I'm back too early. "____ never gets back this early". I got these comments a few times that week. They say if i get back too early, ABF will expect ____ to get back earlier as well.

Another guy runs a certain load sometimes near the end of his graveyard shift. When I did that same run for the first time, and when I got back he tells me, "Man you're really making me look bad. I need to teach you where the cafeteria is over there. They have really good eggs."

Another guy worked a certain bid til it was time to rebid for the next year. I got the same bid next. One of the first days I worked it, and I came back much earlier than expected, my boss looked at me with big eyes and a worried look and asked, "What are you doing here?" Of course he wasn't wanting me to slow down, he had thought I must've walked out in the middle of my shift and quit. I was done WAY earlier than the previous guy. A few different guys at different times told me I was getting back too early.

Most recently I covered for the UE driver's vacation. A couple guys there DEMANDED that I not take any breaks anywhere around the terminal. I had to chuckle to myself that they thought I was a spy. So one day I get to the UE terminal real early - 45 minutes earlier than the other guys get there. I don't believe in milking the clock, and we don't start working there for another 45 minutes, so I took my 10 minute break and my Half Hour break. This caused an UPROAR of epic proportions among several UE drivers!

"You can't take your breaks until you're on your way home," a few of them demanded. "We all take One Hour break on our way home, isn't that right?" The others all nodded in confirmation. Almost everyone, one at a time, throughout our time together comes up to me and repeats, "We take an hour break on the way home - not here." They say it's important that we're all on the same page.

A short time later one of them corners me and says I'm "upsetting the flow" by taking my break before we start. When I asked him to explain exactly how I'm upsetting the flow, he said "_____ never takes his break before we start - you're gonna make him look bad."

I simply don't believe in milking the clock. Why can't you old-school Teamsters accept this? I don't EVER skip any of my breaks, and yet I get things done faster than most. Why is this not OK?

If you agree with me, do me a favor and do not reply promptly on this thread. If you do, the old-schoolers will find a way to pick you apart and insult you in order to avoid answering the original questions. I want to hear from ABFer, Canary, vongrimmenstein, and especially any old-school city drivers. Please explain what I am doing that is so wrong and why?

From an Old-School City Driver:
1) It's okay to be faster at the job than someone else. Everyone works at a different pace.
2) Make sure that you thoroughly pre-trip and post-trip your equipment. Don't cut corners.
3) Take ALL of your breaks and lunches that were negotiated for you.
4) Don't speed or break traffic laws to get done quicker.
5) Don't dawdle, but spend enough time at the customers location that they feel like you are glad to be there and to have their business.
6)If you share equipment with another shift or driver, don't rush out of it until it is cleaned out and fueled, in order to save time.
7)Don't be the one to point out to Management that you are done so quick, or that "Others" are taking their time.
8) Do your job, be professional, and courteous and don't toot-toot your own horn.
9) All the rest will take care of itself. (Someday you may be 58 or 59 and still doing this job so keep up the pace as long as you can)

Retread, those are 9 very good points, new guys to delivery be it food or freight should take a lesson from you. I especially like #5, I have found that customers appreciate a driver that will act like they are interested in them and the delivery to them, they know we are in a hurry, its a line between dragging your feet and being rude, we all have things to do but I found that if your patient, in the long run if you are really in a hurry one day, that customer will understand and move you right along!

NextGen Teamster said:

When are we going to learn?

Ever since I started as a city driver for ABF, I've had pressure from my Teamster brothers to milk the clock. My first or second week, while working the forklift on the dock, and trying to get things done quickly without damaging anything, someone says, "There's no need to hurry - we're paid by the hour." Some weeks later someone said, "slow down, we're on overtime.... don't you like overtime?"

I get hints almost every day that I need to slow down, because I'm making others look bad. More recently I covered for a morning shift guy and did his usual 1st stop sorting and segregating. When I came back to the terminal, a couple guys tell me that I'm back too early. "____ never gets back this early". I got these comments a few times that week. They say if i get back too early, ABF will expect ____ to get back earlier as well.

Another guy runs a certain load sometimes near the end of his graveyard shift. When I did that same run for the first time, and when I got back he tells me, "Man you're really making me look bad. I need to teach you where the cafeteria is over there. They have really good eggs."

Another guy worked a certain bid til it was time to rebid for the next year. I got the same bid next. One of the first days I worked it, and I came back much earlier than expected, my boss looked at me with big eyes and a worried look and asked, "What are you doing here?" Of course he wasn't wanting me to slow down, he had thought I must've walked out in the middle of my shift and quit. I was done WAY earlier than the previous guy. A few different guys at different times told me I was getting back too early.

Most recently I covered for the UE driver's vacation. A couple guys there DEMANDED that I not take any breaks anywhere around the terminal. I had to chuckle to myself that they thought I was a spy. So one day I get to the UE terminal real early - 45 minutes earlier than the other guys get there. I don't believe in milking the clock, and we don't start working there for another 45 minutes, so I took my 10 minute break and my Half Hour break. This caused an UPROAR of epic proportions among several UE drivers!

"You can't take your breaks until you're on your way home," a few of them demanded. "We all take One Hour break on our way home, isn't that right?" The others all nodded in confirmation. Almost everyone, one at a time, throughout our time together comes up to me and repeats, "We take an hour break on the way home - not here." They say it's important that we're all on the same page.

A short time later one of them corners me and says I'm "upsetting the flow" by taking my break before we start. When I asked him to explain exactly how I'm upsetting the flow, he said "_____ never takes his break before we start - you're gonna make him look bad."

I simply don't believe in milking the clock. Why can't you old-school Teamsters accept this? I don't EVER skip any of my breaks, and yet I get things done faster than most. Why is this not OK?

If you agree with me, do me a favor and do not reply promptly on this thread. If you do, the old-schoolers will find a way to pick you apart and insult you in order to avoid answering the original questions. I want to hear from ABFer, Canary, vongrimmenstein, and especially any old-school city drivers. Please explain what I am doing that is so wrong and why?

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NICE TRY... BUT
I don't believe you...I don't believe anything you have said in your post... As a City driver/Dock/and UE Driver, I assure you that where I have been this is not happening!!!

I don't know where you are claiming to be, but where I ran UE at, the drivers helped other drivers unload, and load back up... They always helped another so they to can finish and go back home.. UE drivers took their breaks, and lunches at the terminals, mostly in their trucks just to save time and get home sooner... I have run to multiply terminals running the UE runs...

Again at the terminals, the guys I have worked with always are working and not wasting time as you say... A lot of men even give up their breaks just to finish their shift so they can go home...Again I don't believe you!!!

We old school teamsters don't live to work... we work to live!!! Our Goal is not to milk the clock as you say, but to go to work, work smarter, and get the work done without getting hurt and get it done as fast as we can so we can do what is really important, and that is be with our family's!!!

I think you are making this up and you are not a ABF teamster...I think most ABF teamsters are very conscious about their jobs, and for the most part take pride in doing a good job...

This has nothing to do with being an old school teamster what we stand for or believe in...

You sound like another Rollins, and by your post you like to misrepresent yourself posing to be a teamster... Nice Try!!! Someday you will learn what a old school teamster really is, and what they stand for!!!

Retread said:

From an Old-School City Driver:
1) It's okay to be faster at the job than someone else. Everyone works at a different pace.
2) Make sure that you thoroughly pre-trip and post-trip your equipment. Don't cut corners.
3) Take ALL of your breaks and lunches that were negotiated for you.
4) Don't speed or break traffic laws to get done quicker.
5) Don't dawdle, but spend enough time at the customers location that they feel like you are glad to be there and to have their business.
6)If you share equipment with another shift or driver, don't rush out of it until it is cleaned out and fueled, in order to save time.
7)Don't be the one to point out to Management that you are done so quick, or that "Others" are taking their time.
8) Do your job, be professional, and courteous and don't toot-toot your own horn.
9) All the rest will take care of itself. (Someday you may be 58 or 59 and still doing this job so keep up the pace as long as you can)

Click to expand...

WELL SAID AND I AGREE WITH YOU 100%

NextGen Teamster said:

When are we going to learn?

Ever since I started as a city driver for ABF, I've had pressure from my Teamster brothers to milk the clock. My first or second week, while working the forklift on the dock, and trying to get things done quickly without damaging anything, someone says, "There's no need to hurry - we're paid by the hour." Some weeks later someone said, "slow down, we're on overtime.... don't you like overtime?"

I get hints almost every day that I need to slow down, because I'm making others look bad. More recently I covered for a morning shift guy and did his usual 1st stop sorting and segregating. When I came back to the terminal, a couple guys tell me that I'm back too early. "____ never gets back this early". I got these comments a few times that week. They say if i get back too early, ABF will expect ____ to get back earlier as well.

Another guy runs a certain load sometimes near the end of his graveyard shift. When I did that same run for the first time, and when I got back he tells me, "Man you're really making me look bad. I need to teach you where the cafeteria is over there. They have really good eggs."

Another guy worked a certain bid til it was time to rebid for the next year. I got the same bid next. One of the first days I worked it, and I came back much earlier than expected, my boss looked at me with big eyes and a worried look and asked, "What are you doing here?" Of course he wasn't wanting me to slow down, he had thought I must've walked out in the middle of my shift and quit. I was done WAY earlier than the previous guy. A few different guys at different times told me I was getting back too early.

Most recently I covered for the UE driver's vacation. A couple guys there DEMANDED that I not take any breaks anywhere around the terminal. I had to chuckle to myself that they thought I was a spy. So one day I get to the UE terminal real early - 45 minutes earlier than the other guys get there. I don't believe in milking the clock, and we don't start working there for another 45 minutes, so I took my 10 minute break and my Half Hour break. This caused an UPROAR of epic proportions among several UE drivers!

"You can't take your breaks until you're on your way home," a few of them demanded. "We all take One Hour break on our way home, isn't that right?" The others all nodded in confirmation. Almost everyone, one at a time, throughout our time together comes up to me and repeats, "We take an hour break on the way home - not here." They say it's important that we're all on the same page.

A short time later one of them corners me and says I'm "upsetting the flow" by taking my break before we start. When I asked him to explain exactly how I'm upsetting the flow, he said "_____ never takes his break before we start - you're gonna make him look bad."

I simply don't believe in milking the clock. Why can't you old-school Teamsters accept this? I don't EVER skip any of my breaks, and yet I get things done faster than most. Why is this not OK?

If you agree with me, do me a favor and do not reply promptly on this thread. If you do, the old-schoolers will find a way to pick you apart and insult you in order to avoid answering the original questions. I want to hear from ABFer, Canary, vongrimmenstein, and especially any old-school city drivers. Please explain what I am doing that is so wrong and why?

Click to expand...

I agree with you in principal. For me, I don’t milk the clock on purpose, but I am also not the fastest worker on my shift. Several things come to mind on this subject. I prefer to be late & alive than early & dead. The boss will never remember how fast you are just your mistakes. I am like some people, the faster I work the more mistakes I tend to make. And most important of all, the day you start paying my bills, is the day I start caring about you perception of my work ethics. Be safe out there. Von.

NextGen Teamster said:

When are we going to learn?

Ever since I started as a city driver for ABF, I've had pressure from my Teamster brothers to milk the clock. My first or second week, while working the forklift on the dock, and trying to get things done quickly without damaging anything, someone says, "There's no need to hurry - we're paid by the hour." Some weeks later someone said, "slow down, we're on overtime.... don't you like overtime?"

I get hints almost every day that I need to slow down, because I'm making others look bad. More recently I covered for a morning shift guy and did his usual 1st stop sorting and segregating. When I came back to the terminal, a couple guys tell me that I'm back too early. "____ never gets back this early". I got these comments a few times that week. They say if i get back too early, ABF will expect ____ to get back earlier as well.

Another guy runs a certain load sometimes near the end of his graveyard shift. When I did that same run for the first time, and when I got back he tells me, "Man you're really making me look bad. I need to teach you where the cafeteria is over there. They have really good eggs."

Another guy worked a certain bid til it was time to rebid for the next year. I got the same bid next. One of the first days I worked it, and I came back much earlier than expected, my boss looked at me with big eyes and a worried look and asked, "What are you doing here?" Of course he wasn't wanting me to slow down, he had thought I must've walked out in the middle of my shift and quit. I was done WAY earlier than the previous guy. A few different guys at different times told me I was getting back too early.

Most recently I covered for the UE driver's vacation. A couple guys there DEMANDED that I not take any breaks anywhere around the terminal. I had to chuckle to myself that they thought I was a spy. So one day I get to the UE terminal real early - 45 minutes earlier than the other guys get there. I don't believe in milking the clock, and we don't start working there for another 45 minutes, so I took my 10 minute break and my Half Hour break. This caused an UPROAR of epic proportions among several UE drivers!

"You can't take your breaks until you're on your way home," a few of them demanded. "We all take One Hour break on our way home, isn't that right?" The others all nodded in confirmation. Almost everyone, one at a time, throughout our time together comes up to me and repeats, "We take an hour break on the way home - not here." They say it's important that we're all on the same page.

A short time later one of them corners me and says I'm "upsetting the flow" by taking my break before we start. When I asked him to explain exactly how I'm upsetting the flow, he said "_____ never takes his break before we start - you're gonna make him look bad."

I simply don't believe in milking the clock. Why can't you old-school Teamsters accept this? I don't EVER skip any of my breaks, and yet I get things done faster than most. Why is this not OK?

If you agree with me, do me a favor and do not reply promptly on this thread. If you do, the old-schoolers will find a way to pick you apart and insult you in order to avoid answering the original questions. I want to hear from ABFer, Canary, vongrimmenstein, and especially any old-school city drivers. Please explain what I am doing that is so wrong and why?

Click to expand...

OK, I'll help you out the best I can. What you are doing that is wrong is posing as an ABF rank and file worker while you are a manager. If you can't see why that is wrong I can't help you and I won't even try. I would say that there is a pretty big gap between how smart you think you are and how smart you really are. And I would say the same in the opposite direction on how smart (stupid) you think we are and how smart we really are.

OK, now that we got that out of the way...Why would you expend so much effort to post a heap of garbage like this? Are you maybe working towards a master's in human behavior at work and this is a survey? Is the company trying to use this vehicle as a school for ABF's LTL drivers? Are you going to give us more lessons and ideas as you have under your other user name? I can say that I feel belittled and insulted by ABF management by your posts and there is nothing about them that will improve my productivity or morality in any way. Given your morals I don't feel bad about mine. I have seen this type of "skills" in other ABF managers and I am a firm believer that it all starts at the top.

Where do you run UE?

ABFer said:

OK, I'll help you out the best I can. What you are doing that is wrong is posing as an ABF rank and file worker while you are a manager. If you can't see why that is wrong I can't help you and I won't even try. I would say that there is a pretty big gap between how smart you think you are and how smart you really are. And I would say the same in the opposite direction on how smart (stupid) you think we are and how smart we really are.

OK, now that we got that out of the way...Why would you expend so much effort to post a heap of garbage like this? Are you maybe working towards a master's in human behavior at work and this is a survey? Is the company trying to use this vehicle as a school for ABF's LTL drivers? Are you going to give us more lessons and ideas as you have under your other user name? I can say that I feel belittled and insulted by ABF management by your posts and there is nothing about them that will improve my productivity or morality in any way. Given your morals I don't feel bad about mine. I have seen this type of "skills" in other ABF managers and I am a firm believer that it all starts at the top.

Click to expand...

Well then I was wrong. I was thinking it was Rollins.

NextGen Teamster said:

When are we going to learn?

Ever since I started as a city driver for ABF, I've had pressure from my Teamster brothers to milk the clock. My first or second week, while working the forklift on the dock, and trying to get things done quickly without damaging anything, someone says, "There's no need to hurry - we're paid by the hour." Some weeks later someone said, "slow down, we're on overtime.... don't you like overtime?"

I get hints almost every day that I need to slow down, because I'm making others look bad. More recently I covered for a morning shift guy and did his usual 1st stop sorting and segregating. When I came back to the terminal, a couple guys tell me that I'm back too early. "____ never gets back this early". I got these comments a few times that week. They say if i get back too early, ABF will expect ____ to get back earlier as well.

Another guy runs a certain load sometimes near the end of his graveyard shift. When I did that same run for the first time, and when I got back he tells me, "Man you're really making me look bad. I need to teach you where the cafeteria is over there. They have really good eggs."

Another guy worked a certain bid til it was time to rebid for the next year. I got the same bid next. One of the first days I worked it, and I came back much earlier than expected, my boss looked at me with big eyes and a worried look and asked, "What are you doing here?" Of course he wasn't wanting me to slow down, he had thought I must've walked out in the middle of my shift and quit. I was done WAY earlier than the previous guy. A few different guys at different times told me I was getting back too early.

Most recently I covered for the UE driver's vacation. A couple guys there DEMANDED that I not take any breaks anywhere around the terminal. I had to chuckle to myself that they thought I was a spy. So one day I get to the UE terminal real early - 45 minutes earlier than the other guys get there. I don't believe in milking the clock, and we don't start working there for another 45 minutes, so I took my 10 minute break and my Half Hour break. This caused an UPROAR of epic proportions among several UE drivers!

"You can't take your breaks until you're on your way home," a few of them demanded. "We all take One Hour break on our way home, isn't that right?" The others all nodded in confirmation. Almost everyone, one at a time, throughout our time together comes up to me and repeats, "We take an hour break on the way home - not here." They say it's important that we're all on the same page.

A short time later one of them corners me and says I'm "upsetting the flow" by taking my break before we start. When I asked him to explain exactly how I'm upsetting the flow, he said "_____ never takes his break before we start - you're gonna make him look bad."

I simply don't believe in milking the clock. Why can't you old-school Teamsters accept this? I don't EVER skip any of my breaks, and yet I get things done faster than most. Why is this not OK?

If you agree with me, do me a favor and do not reply promptly on this thread. If you do, the old-schoolers will find a way to pick you apart and insult you in order to avoid answering the original questions. I want to hear from ABFer, Canary, vongrimmenstein, and especially any old-school city drivers. Please explain what I am doing that is so wrong and why?

Click to expand...

I call BS on the whole post. As a matter of fact you should turn it up a couple notches, show em what you got. they will be more than forgiving when you slam into something, and believe me you will.

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. I am the youngest driver at our terminal by 20 years, my co workers have been doing this longer than I have been alive. Next gen teamster, take a breath and learn something from these vets before they retire.

duke said:

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. I am the youngest driver at our terminal by 20 years, my co workers have been doing this longer than I have been alive. Next gen teamster, take a breath and learn something from these vets before they retire.

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All indications are that he is not a Teamster.

Well,....let's,...for arguments' sake, take him for his word, and go at it that way. I guess I'm "old-school",......I know I'm old,...but I seem to be the one management comes to when there's a sticky private home delivery,....a tough relo-cube spot,.....a knotty terminal maintenance problem,....or questions on how to safely and legally load something particularly heavy or odd-sized. Now, I'm not the terminal Superman,.....they ask other guys also,....who just happen to be older,....like me,....in trucking longer than 30 years ,....like me,....and have done much more with different employers,...or even once were self-employed,........like me. The reason management comes to us "old-school" drivers with these unusual, difficult, and knotty problems, seems to be on the order of,.......and I'm quoting here: "You do it faster, and you do it the right way. "So-and-So"....insert name here,...doesn't do it like you do. The customer likes the way you do it, and I can trust you'll do it right.".....Hmmmmm...............Either I'm a master at B.S.ing everyone around me into thinking I'm pretty good,.......or maybe 38 years in the trucking industry taught me a few things. Like Brothers Von, and ABFer,...i certainly ain't the fastest,......but then I'm not on the bottom of the board, trying to impress a manager with my speed and work ethic. I learned that they are more concerned about having it done safely and properly, instead of quickly. This is a VERY litigatious occupation.......One quick misstep,...in the name of productivity over safety,....and you get to meet a whole group of lawyers,.....Not very nice people. Not the kind I want to hang around with, anyway. ....Brother NextGen,.....Unless your terminal is absolutely full of idiots,.....and "master B.S.ers", who've completely buffaloed your local management,....I can't see ABF having a terminal full of foot-draggers, clock-milkers, and lazy "old-schoolers",........and not having massive disciplinary Union problems , with warning letters, time off, and suspensions piling up like the snowbanks that you now have around your terminal. IF that's NOT the case,.......then the evidence points toward,......you,....and your perception of work, management, and whether older workers should just "clear out of the way",....for a young fireball like you. In other words, if there is no ongoing disciplinary battle between management and Union,.......and your post makes it sound like management there is condoning the actions of those clock-milking "old-schoolers",......then you're just trying to make yourself "noticeable" to management,......and, if I may give some ancient advice,........you're doing it in an industry where you really, really have to PROVE,.....years and years,.....that you're competent. If you don't have the "years and years",.....management tends to "use" you like the proverbial rented mule,.....until the day you learn that "slow and steady" is much more preferable to management,....and profitable,.....than a "flash-in-the-pan" who'll burn himself out, if he doesn't wreck, or get hurt trying to do those "superman" things. You're young,....hopefully you'll learn.......And then maybe you'll figure out why management doesn't fire or suspend or discipline all of those "old-school" clock-milkers, and hire a bunch of young He-Men. It's because they need things done the right, safe, legal way,....and the young ones only know how to do it the "quick" way.......

By the way, Brother NextGen.......It sounds like you don't have very many friends amongst your co-workers. That's a shame. Maybe you should talk to your Steward. You didn't mention the Union at all in your post. Believe me, Brother,........A workforce in Solidarity works better than a workforce where every man is out for himself at each others' expense. If your Steward is worth anything, I'm sure he can explain the why's and wherefore's of how things get done there with very little friction in the labor force. I'm sure he's already heard many, many complaints about you,.......and I'm sure,....if he's a good Steward,....he'll help you and the rest of the guys get to some sort of middle ground where you can all work together, instead of in competition. In Solidarity, if I may. Good Luck!

ABFer said:

OK, I'll help you out the best I can. What you are doing that is wrong is posing as an ABF rank and file worker while you are a manager. If you can't see why that is wrong I can't help you and I won't even try. I would say that there is a pretty big gap between how smart you think you are and how smart you really are. And I would say the same in the opposite direction on how smart (stupid) you think we are and how smart we really are.

OK, now that we got that out of the way...Why would you expend so much effort to post a heap of garbage like this? Are you maybe working towards a master's in human behavior at work and this is a survey? Is the company trying to use this vehicle as a school for ABF's LTL drivers? Are you going to give us more lessons and ideas as you have under your other user name? I can say that I feel belittled and insulted by ABF management by your posts and there is nothing about them that will improve my productivity or morality in any way. Given your morals I don't feel bad about mine. I have seen this type of "skills" in other ABF managers and I am a firm believer that it all starts at the top.

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my stained shirt, abf ID card, logbook, ue logbook, dirty gloves and hats, gps made for truckers

This is enough proof, especially since it's still the weekend - but I'm sure you'll still insult everyone's intelligence by still insisting that I'm not a teamster. I figured you would try the same old childish mindgames in order to avoid answering the questions. How about answering the questions now?

Brother NextGen.....Give Brother ABFer a break for being a little suspicious. There is absolute proof that management does monitor these social media sites, and there is ALMOST absolute proof that some managers have posed as touch-labor personnel,....especially during the contract talks. What trips them up is what always trips up a consummate liar. At some point he, or she, says something that's not quite believeable,......to a truck driver. I guess years of being lied to by pretty much anyone associated with trucking helps you develop an especially sensitive antenna.....maybe not an infallible one,....but a very sensitive one. You had asked for me, specifically, to answer,..or give an opinion on,...your post, and I gave it a good shot. Instead of this degenerating into whether you have to provide a blood sample to see if you have diesel in your veins, to prove you're a truck driver,....how about you respond to what I had posted? I'm willing to take you at your word,.....How'bout it, Brother? Did anything I posted resonate with you? Or,......did I just re-inforce your belief that us "old-schoolers" are a bunch of lazy wind-bags? I await with bated breath, your response.......

Sooner or later he will find out where being the first and the fastest gets him. And I am sure the company will be very understanding of him come judgement time. You are just a driver to them and the week after your dismissal, they won't even remember your name. You ever stop and think that those other drivers are trying to slow you down for your own good, before your frantic race to to be the first noticed by the TM back fires on you ? I run UE bids. I would be hard pressed to see a driver with his thumb up his ass on the dock. I do things slow and steady, gives me time to think about the situation. Not because I am lazy, or milking the clock, so you say. Keep trying to impress the bosses, I am sure they will back you up when the time comes.

Unfortunately, I haven't read any reply yet that addresses the questions in my original post. You seem to be assuming that I don't appreciate the older teamsters and that I expect them to work as fast as I do. This simply isn't true - The older teamsters have helped me tremendously with their advice and knowledge, and some of them get the job done very well at their pace, without milking the clock. I have tremendous respect for them for this.

If you reread my original post, you'll notice that what I'm asking is your opinion on these specific old school teamsters that not only milk the clock, but they also DEMAND that I do the exact same amount of milking that they do, so that they wont look bad, and so there wont be any higher expectations of them.

Noone has addressed my experience on the dock where I was told that I need to slow down, even though I was working very safely, and not damaging any product. Nor has anyone addressed the UE terminal situation where the old-schoolers DEMANDED that I not take a break, even if I arrive 45 minutes early. No one has given their opinion on these same old-schoolers that demanded that I not ever take breaks while at the UE terminal, nor anywhere in the general vicinity.

I am waiting for one of you "old-schoolers" to address these specific situations that I gave in my original post, and let me know what you think about those specific old-school teamsters that demand that I milk the clock exactly how they do it, so they don't look bad. Does anyone have the stones to address my original post? Or are you simply going to try to go off on a tangent (old guys vs. new guys) so you can ignore the questions.

ABFer, if you close your eyes and plug your ears and ignore my original post, that wont make it go away. I am curious about your opinion of these specific situations that I've presented, and I assure all of you that I appreciate all the responses that everyone has given thus far (at least the one's that don't accuse me of not being a teamster).

Let's refocus on the original questions please.

I'll entertain you for a bit and act like I believe your assertions. BTW I already have all the proof I need that you are being less than up front and honest with us here and that irreparably costs you your credibility. I would tell anyone who tried to tell me how to work that everyone is responsible for themselves and their own work ethic. The only person who can make one look bad is themself and everyone has their own pace at work. I might even tell them to, "tend their trough and I'll tend mine". Or I might tell them that I take a break later on as well as the one I take on site and that they should do the same, it makes the day go faster. I'm not saying that there aren't those out there who might act as you say but I seriously doubt that it is anywhere near the level you say it is.

I am curious as to where you work out of. I find it very difficult to believe that every teamster where you work is a slack a$$, or that you are the second coming of Christ as you seem to paint yourself. In my experience the people that are always giving their resume or telling everybody they are so great are trying to convince themselves and are looking for approval

Maybe, Brother NextGen,....You are mistaking honest advice from older, experienced employees, ....for criticisim on your style of working. Maybe you perceive they are "demanding", when,....if you asked them, they would say they are trying to keep you from getting in trouble. Honest advice, as it were... How long have you worked in a Union job? Usually, everyone at a Union carrier has pretty much the same work ethic. You seem to be sticking out like a sore thumb there. As I had said, have you talked to any of your Union representatives? Speaking as a steward, I try to bend heaven and earth to get all of my guys to get along, because as we all know, management has a tendency to exploit personality conflicts. Makes s steward's job a lot easier if he,....as I had told you, tries to get everyone on the same page. Hard to answer "specifics' when you only have one side of the story. It would be your opinion that you were working "very safely, and not damaging any product." Would that be the consensus of everyone else on that dock?