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ABF | Any uniform grievance updates? I am sick of wearing this crap!

I know the shirts do not fit right, you tuck the shirt into the pants, and when you sit in the truck ,then get out at the consignee, your shirt is hanging out like you just rolled out of bed and threw it on. The pants make you look like you have a load in your pants ( my ever suffering wife pointed that out to me, she only points out the negatives about me , like , you look like you just rolled out of bed and threw that shirt on ). The uniforms are very uncomfortable......by design. You will not see any upper management wearing clothing that the peasants have to wear.
 
Some companies require management to wear uniforms like hourly employees while on company property except in some meetings with outside people.I think Tyson Foods is one that did at one time. I remember seeing the late Don Tyson in a brown Tyson uniform. If hourly employees wearing uniforms improve the image of the company then management wearing the same uniforms would do likewise.
 
I brought up that uniform idea for management to my TM , and he told me that they have to wear a "uniform".......a suit and tie , usually.

But ,.......as usual,......upper management misses the point......

They make a big deal about the "ABF culture" ,........DIRTFT, ....Skill and the Will....... we're the most " professional"......."honest"
.....

They forget........or willingly don't want to know..........,that the employees that make this culture,......this set of standards.......ALSO has standards of our own.

Most of us have been in a Union for a long time. Many of us bounced around after deregulation from job to job, consciously choosing Union carriers. We are steeped heavily in the Union culture. My self, as a veteran, regard my Union membership as an expression of my First Amendment rights....I'm sure I am not the only one who feels that way.......

The language in Art. 12 was to bolster solidarity and to help us feel pride in our Union membership by wearing American-Made , Union-made, Union delivered clothing. When the Art.12 language was put in the (now defunct.......at least for ABF employees). NMFA 25 or 30 years ago,......I think both sides respected that culture,........and an "out" was even given to the companies who pled "poverty"....... don't make the uniforms mandatory......your choice.

ABF took advantage of that "choice" with the previous uniform policy........not mandatory, so therefore, we could give them to a select group regardless of seniority........and no Teamster patch.

Well, now they have mandatory uniforms, and we all look like Freight Stormtroopers. .......and, of course,.....the upper management officers completely disregarded OUR culture and values,..........while using us as walking billboards.,......And,......of course,......our Union........"leadership".........had to help facilitate that.

I don't know what's more insulting..........the companies' complete disregard of our values and culture...........or the IBT's........
 
bad slavin said:
You will not see any upper management wearing clothing that the peasants have to wear.
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Nor our 'union' representatives. :ranting2: I can understand that nowdays the company isn't the least bit concerned with our discomfort but the people we pay to look out for us don't care either.:soapbox:
 
our uniforms are made in cambodia,nicaragua,and honduras not american made! That is sad enough,but to have language in a contract in black and white and mean nothing thats just sickening!OUR entire contract is being ignored!OUR freight is being sent to Marketing partners that dont use the PDA's ,wear uniforms,have the same endorsements on their license,and don't make the same wages even though the contract states they're required to.Our volume freight is being circumvented to our Logistic partners although when the trailer that picks up the freight was subcontracted by the logistic company! They don't wear uniforms! When I'm making a pick-up at a customer I hear the comments when the other truckers that wear uniforms are called barney for the purple guys and pumpkin for the yellowish brown guys! I'm sure they got a name for ours! I wonder what the total cost of my hard earned give back to compete dollars was waisted on them.
 
And yet.......even though the IBT bargained away half our contract, and the company snickers at the other half,..... because they know enforcement is non-existant........there are still freight guys who will VOTE for Hoffa's slate !

I hung up a Zuckerman sign,........and either a UE guy or a road guy , hung a Hoffa- Hall sign right next to it!

Seriously? .......... after the dismantling of the NMFA, .....and the shuck'n'jive obfuscation of the remaining language?

One more Hoffa contract, .....and ABF will have a bunch of new employees......... non-Union of course............with just a tiny core of Union guys,.........to complete the illusion that ABF is a Union carrier. They'll replace the 70% of us who will retire over the next 5 years..........with subcontractors.
 
ABFer said:
Hoffa doesn't care, he said that we should just be thankful that we have jobs.
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Why,...... that came right out of the management playbook.

It's actually Mr. Hoffa that should be thankful to have a job......If he wasn't "working" for the Teamsters,........he'd be just another ambulance-chaser..........or one of the faceless horde of attorneys employed by Wall Street......

His resume might change in October, though..........
 
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