ABF | Any results from the 7% giveback?

bad slavin

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One of the selling points of the giveback was that we could not compete with the other carriers. Has anyone seen an increase in freight from our competitors ? Our freight levels are flat, no new accounts from what i can see. We've lost some accounts, but have not taken anything away from the other carriers. Does anyone have a direct -"we got an account from another carrier because of pricing from the giveback " tale to tell ??? Do the salespeople have any good news to tell at your terminal ? Today i see "one more" stickers posted around the terminal- Most drivers only have contact with the person on the forklift. If you can talk to anyone in charge they will tell you that the freight is already set up and there is nothing they can do. any driver have luck securing other shipments? Where is the sales force ??
 
One of the selling points of the giveback was that we could not compete with the other carriers. Has anyone seen an increase in freight from our competitors ? Our freight levels are flat, no new accounts from what i can see. We've lost some accounts, but have not taken anything away from the other carriers. Does anyone have a direct -"we got an account from another carrier because of pricing from the giveback " tale to tell ??? Do the salespeople have any good news to tell at your terminal ? Today i see "one more" stickers posted around the terminal- Most drivers only have contact with the person on the forklift. If you can talk to anyone in charge they will tell you that the freight is already set up and there is nothing they can do. any driver have luck securing other shipments? Where is the sales force ??
Nothing new to report here just lucky to hold on to what we have...
 
Container box shipments are up,....since less is made here every year, domestic tonnage is down. A good bit of all business is re-transportation of foreign goods from warehouses. And,....since fewer Americans have family-sustaining jobs, less of those foreign goods are required. All this holds off the worst effects of the driver shortage,..... companies, for now , are holding steady. But I still think that the next trucking company collapse will occur because inability to fill seats will directly affect service to the point where the company's reputation for reliability suffers. This is probably the reason FedEx and other carriers are increasing pay so dramatically. They seem to understand the dynamics of attracting the very few remaining drivers out there. ABF does not. ABF has never encountered the hiring problems they have now in the history of the company, ...so therefore, upper management is flummoxed as to why they can't hire like they always have. IF.......ABF survives, it will be in spite of upper management short-sightedness,....and the economic stupidity of negotiating a cut-rate contract in the midst of a skilled labor shortage.
 
Any results from the 7% giveback?

Before the giveback, ABF had a very uncertain future. In fact, there were several consecutive years of the company losing money. Many of my brothers didn't care about the longevity of the company, probably because they were close enough to retirement that it didn't matter to them anymore. They wanted what was best for them, now - not caring about ABF's ability to compete in the market in the future ...so they voted No

Thank you ABF'er - I love your comment "just lucky to hold on to what we have". HOW TRUE! We are truly blessed that ABF, the company most of us love and rely on, is still going!

To answer the poster's question: besides the company now earning a profit (that's the most important difference), I've seen a few more differences... I've noticed a lot of new trailers roll in, also many new tractors, new uniforms, at my barn they are even washing our trucks again, etc

Now I'll pause and allow several greedy brothers who are close to retirement to bash me...
 
Any results from the 7% giveback?

Before the giveback, ABF had a very uncertain future. In fact, there were several consecutive years of the company losing money. Many of my brothers didn't care about the longevity of the company, probably because they were close enough to retirement that it didn't matter to them anymore. They wanted what was best for them, now - not caring about ABF's ability to compete in the market in the future ...so they voted No

Thank you ABF'er - I love your comment "just lucky to hold on to what we have". HOW TRUE! We are truly blessed that ABF, the company most of us love and rely on, is still going!

To answer the poster's question: besides the company now earning a profit (that's the most important difference), I've seen a few more differences... I've noticed a lot of new trailers roll in, also many new tractors, new uniforms, at my barn they are even washing our trucks again, etc

Now I'll pause and allow several greedy brothers who are close to retirement to bash me...
Im not close to retirement. I got 15 years left. And if you can't see that ABF was cooking the books you are blind. Funny how when they thought they had the contract in the bag they magically made a profit! Funny how the corporation themselves claims 67% of their profits come from ABF Freight. They are just charging the freight side exorbitant amount of fee's to show a loss. Not tough to see they wanted what YRC had so they started crying
 
Any results from the 7% giveback?

Before the giveback, ABF had a very uncertain future. In fact, there were several consecutive years of the company losing money. Many of my brothers didn't care about the longevity of the company, probably because they were close enough to retirement that it didn't matter to them anymore. They wanted what was best for them, now - not caring about ABF's ability to compete in the market in the future ...so they voted No

Thank you ABF'er - I love your comment "just lucky to hold on to what we have". HOW TRUE! We are truly blessed that ABF, the company most of us love and rely on, is still going!

To answer the poster's question: besides the company now earning a profit (that's the most important difference), I've seen a few more differences... I've noticed a lot of new trailers roll in, also many new tractors, new uniforms, at my barn they are even washing our trucks again, etc

Now I'll pause and allow several greedy brothers who are close to retirement to bash me...

This post is a joke.

Typical management response. Your screen name says it all!!!
 
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Any results from the 7% giveback?

Before the giveback, ABF had a very uncertain future. In fact, there were several consecutive years of the company losing money. Many of my brothers didn't care about the longevity of the company, probably because they were close enough to retirement that it didn't matter to them anymore. They wanted what was best for them, now - not caring about ABF's ability to compete in the market in the future ...so they voted No

Thank you ABF'er - I love your comment "just lucky to hold on to what we have". HOW TRUE! We are truly blessed that ABF, the company most of us love and rely on, is still going!

To answer the poster's question: besides the company now earning a profit (that's the most important difference), I've seen a few more differences... I've noticed a lot of new trailers roll in, also many new tractors, new uniforms, at my barn they are even washing our trucks again, etc

Now I'll pause and allow several greedy brothers who are close to retirement to bash me...
Those greedy Brothers you speak of are what built ABF so you could have a job. So you need to be respectful of those of us that grew ABF so you would have plenty of butts to kiss. Greedy no knowledgeable yes. You should be thanking us. And by the way ಠ▄ಠ gave the Jews uniforms and I bet they complained too.

You have your opinion and we have ours. Just keep kissing and you will be happy.
 
One of the selling points of the giveback was that we could not compete with the other carriers. Has anyone seen an increase in freight from our competitors ? Our freight levels are flat, no new accounts from what i can see. We've lost some accounts, but have not taken anything away from the other carriers. Does anyone have a direct -"we got an account from another carrier because of pricing from the giveback " tale to tell ??? Do the salespeople have any good news to tell at your terminal ? Today i see "one more" stickers posted around the terminal- Most drivers only have contact with the person on the forklift. If you can talk to anyone in charge they will tell you that the freight is already set up and there is nothing they can do. any driver have luck securing other shipments? Where is the sales force ??
I don't like to talk about business specifics on an open forum so I will just say..........to the first couple questions..............no not really.
 
Any results from the 7% giveback?

Before the giveback, ABF had a very uncertain future. In fact, there were several consecutive years of the company losing money. Many of my brothers didn't care about the longevity of the company, probably because they were close enough to retirement that it didn't matter to them anymore. They wanted what was best for them, now - not caring about ABF's ability to compete in the market in the future ...so they voted No

Thank you ABF'er - I love your comment "just lucky to hold on to what we have". HOW TRUE! We are truly blessed that ABF, the company most of us love and rely on, is still going!

To answer the poster's question: besides the company now earning a profit (that's the most important difference), I've seen a few more differences... I've noticed a lot of new trailers roll in, also many new tractors, new uniforms, at my barn they are even washing our trucks again, etc

Now I'll pause and allow several greedy brothers who are close to retirement to bash me...
No greed here. I asked a question about freight levels from the giveback. the uniforms are nice, we have gotten new 53's here. No new tractors here at an e.o.l. terminal, most are up around 800,000 plus miles. New pups roll in and then are loaded out- washing tractors is nice ,and look good - but my question was about how much freight we got out of the giveback? . B.T.W. - I'm not even close to retirement. I want the company to succeed . So can you answer the question my original post ? And i think that - "just lucky to hold onto what we have " might not be what you think is the meaning of the reply......
 
I don't keep track of which customers we gain and which ones we lose. But I know at my barn we have been overflowing with business so much that we are looking into expanding our yard and possibly even the dock to accommodate the increased traffic. I don't know how it is in other cities, I can only speak for my barn. We even had to park many of our trailers on the street (until the cops put a stop to it).
 
I don't keep track of which customers we gain and which ones we lose. But I know at my barn we have been overflowing with business so much that we are looking into expanding our yard and possibly even the dock to accommodate the increased traffic. I don't know how it is in other cities, I can only speak for my barn. We even had to park many of our trailers on the street (until the cops put a stop to it).
But,.......Does new trailers and spiffy uniforms attract new business? Does having enough cash to wash tractors and build new corporate headquarters for both ArchBest and Panther bring in more freight? Shouldn't the sales force been more.......active? I'm glad you've got freight falling off your dock.
.....our terminal is dead slow. We're wearing out brooms. Now that FedEx,...who has given out their fourth pay raise this year,....and OD, and Estes, and even Pitt Ohio and Ward,..,..are making three and four dollars an hour more than we are, and are just as busy, if not more so,........would you say their sales force is so much better than ours? Would you say that they have decided to invest in their most valuable asset, instead of treating their most valuable asset,......as a bunch of parasites killing the company? The non-Union companies are doing just as well as us, if not much better. No pay cuts there,........and they wash their tractors and have new equipment and uniforms, too. Don't you think that if ABF was truly in trouble, they would've buckled down and hustled freight on those older trailers, in drivers with those older uniforms? .....The evidence is plain,........With either the compliance,.....or the incompetence,...... of the IBT,....ABF lied to,....( remember YRC offer to buy, conveniently right in the middle of our contract talks..).....and abused their employees. We are now the second-lowest paid LTL carrier out there, YRC being the lowest, .....and for the first time in company history, they can't attract drivers. Upper management's short-term gain will be the root cause of this company's demise.........And, yes...... They'll blame that on us greedy Teamsters.........
 
This post is a joke.

Typical management response. Your screen name says it all!!!
And,..,..If I may gently admonish my Brother Teamsters, let's keep in mind that just because a Brother has a different opinion than we do, doesn't make him management. We've got a responsibility to educate the next generation of Teamsters as to why we think the way we do. We know we're not dumb or greedy,........and we know that management is ever so....."helpful" in pointing out to the younger employees just how........" dumb and greedy" ......we are. You guys who are on here a lot know that I use that cumbersome term "Brother" quite a bit, probably ad nauseum, as they say.......Well, I'm trying to prove a point, in my old-fashioned, 19th Century-style way. I will take Brother NextGen Teamster at his word,.......if he's lying about who he is,......that'll be between him and whichever god he prays to,.........In the meantime, I will use this open forum to help educate ALL the Next Generation Teamsters out there as to why and how I've arrived at my opinions about upper management, and our so-called......."leadership".......with the IBT. Hopefully, many younger Brothers,.....and Sisters,........... will begin to look at some of the company's propaganda, with a rather more jaundiced eye.
 
Im not close to retirement. I got 15 years left. And if you can't see that ABF was cooking the books you are blind. Funny how when they thought they had the contract in the bag they magically made a profit! Funny how the corporation themselves claims 67% of their profits come from ABF Freight. They are just charging the freight side exorbitant amount of fee's to show a loss. Not tough to see they wanted what YRC had so they started crying
Isn't it funny, the contract was finally approved , by Chicago on a Friday. Three days later Abf was showing a profit. We must of made a whole bunch of money over the weekend.
 
I also think it's funny that nary a word has been said about the ..."offer"...of purchase YRC CEO James Welch had made to ABF CEO Judy McReynolds during the middle of our contract talks. Somehow,...that meeting got......"leaked"....to DC Velocity magazine just prior to our contract vote. If I was a shareholder, ...and my first notification that the company was to be potentially sold to a competitor,.....was a ...."leak"....to an industry magazine,.....I think I'd be pretty upset. And,.....after confirmation of the tender offer from both CEO's,......somehow, in the following years,....ABF never again became a potential acquisition for YRC,....or anyone else, for that matter. You mean that after taking a cut-rate contract, and almost immediately showing a profit,....YRC executives would be chomping at the bit ,.......shareholders, too,........to make another offer of purchase? I've asked these questions to various VP's and managers that have come through our terminal,.....and the answer I've invariably gotten was that: "The market is full of vagaries and possibilities that a layman.....(...meaning, in this instance: a big dummy truck driver....)......could never understand the hows and whys of corporate purchases, and why it was..."good"... then, and not now. In other words: Sit down, shut up, you don't have the education to understand......A year before the contract ratification, ABF purchased Panther,......and where did that money come from? And,.....why was that good in a contract negotiation year, when potential Labor costs could've risen dramatically? And.....why wasn't an...."official"....announcement made when Mr. Welch offered to buy ABF?....instead of a....."leak".... to a magazine? And,........Of course,.........Where was Mr. Hoffa?...Mr. Sweeton?,....Mr. Johnson? As I've stated,....I'm just a Big Dummy Truck Driver,......but after 40 years, I've learned a few things,....and I am completely flummoxed as to why Mess'r's Hoffa, Sweeton, and Johnson didn't IMMEDIATELY throw on the brakes on the contract talks and tell the company no contract negotiations UNTIL the potential buyout offer is either approved or disproved......Kind of a waste of time to finalize a contract,...and a week later, have a new "owner" to contend with.....Plus,.......I don't know much,...but I think it would've made a great tool for putting pressure on the company to negotiate HONESTLY,.....instead of through...."leaks"....in trade papers,....that could potentially affect the outcome of contract votes.....But,.....I guess we live in a New Age now,.....where lies and deception are standard and accepted business practices,.....and that corporations disdain their employees so much that they can't bear to NEGOTIATE with them,....so they must use......"leaks"....to affect the contract talks..........Easier to Trick 'em, than to Talk to 'em....
 
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