What's new

ABF | finally

grovercxl said:
Or maybe Naturally unnatural?:cool:
Click to expand...
Anyone involved with LTL freight is naturally unnatural.......Why,...I'm a case study in just that very thing. Naturally, I'm sure you'll find other examples on this site,....it would be wildly unnatural if you didn't. To paraphrase Dr. Hunter S. Thompson : "When the going gets Weird,...the Weird turn Pro.......(...or haul freight....).."
 
mlang216 said:
Yeah that's why I have to take one or two classes max. It's not easy, but I want to finish. Especially hard doing P&D in the evenings right now.

I fully expect a graveyard shift to start at ABF.
Click to expand...

I worked the graveyard shift for ten years. I thought that was part of being in the trucking industry.
 
DCM_Doc said:
I worked the graveyard shift for ten years. I thought that was part of being in the trucking industry.
Click to expand...
Some places, yes. But there are many places you don't have to. Saia and SEFL start you off around 10 or 11 in the morning and you'll never see a dock, straight driving.

I'm at an LTL carrier who put me on a 1 pm shift right of the bat. Not exactly graveyard. Additionally, if I take into account the food and beverage jobs I've worked in the past 6 years or so, most were day shifts, and some were weekends off.

Consequently, I would have to disagree respectfully. Graveyard is on now way a part of the trucking industry. That would be far too general of a statement.
 
mlang216 said:
Some places, yes. But there are many places you don't have to. Saia and SEFL start you off around 10 or 11 in the morning and you'll never see a dock, straight driving.

I'm at an LTL carrier who put me on a 1 pm shift right of the bat. Not exactly graveyard. Additionally, if I take into account the food and beverage jobs I've worked in the past 6 years or so, most were day shifts, and some were weekends off.

Consequently, I would have to disagree respectfully. Graveyard is on now way a part of the trucking industry. That would be far too general of a statement.
Click to expand...
And those are some very good points. To many of us all we know is what we have lived and many are stuck in a rut (not saying I'm not part of that). There is other life out there for those who look for it and sometimes it is not easy to find and can take a while for the right thing to come up. For me, in freight, nights, midnights and afternoons are all part of the business. As is for most of us at ABF.
 
ABFer said:
And those are some very good points. To many of us all we know is what we have lived and many are stuck in a rut (not saying I'm not part of that). There is other life out there for those who look for it and sometimes it is not easy to find and can take a while for the right thing to come up. For me, in freight, nights, midnights and afternoons are all part of the business. As is for most of us at ABF.
Click to expand...
Everything has a trade off, right? I hate that! Haha
 
mlang216 said:
Some places, yes. But there are many places you don't have to. Saia and SEFL start you off around 10 or 11 in the morning and you'll never see a dock, straight driving.

I'm at an LTL carrier who put me on a 1 pm shift right of the bat. Not exactly graveyard. Additionally, if I take into account the food and beverage jobs I've worked in the past 6 years or so, most were day shifts, and some were weekends off.

Consequently, I would have to disagree respectfully. Graveyard is on now way a part of the trucking industry. That would be far too general of a statement.
Click to expand...

Wilson freight is a lot like that. For city drivers the terminals close about 11 pm and open around 4 am (depending on the terminal size). When I left Martin-Brower (food service delivery) I was looking for a job with weekends off. That turned out to be a lesson in “be careful what you wish for.” I received what I was looking for (weekends off and a better schedule) but my pay dropped by approx 45% and my health insurance premiums rose by approx 28%. I did gain a little on the compensation part when I transferred to the road board but I lost the good schedule and I had to worked most of the Saturday's. From a road drivers perspective, the work at Wilson freight and ABF freight is basically the same. The major differences are that wages are higher here, I have paid health benefits that are better than I had at Wilson freight, my retirement is a company paid defined pension (annuity), and I have work rules that allow me to get more of the weekends off than I had at Wilson freight.
 
Homesick said:
Wilson freight is a lot like that. For city drivers the terminals close about 11 pm and open around 4 am (depending on the terminal size). When I left Martin-Brower (food service delivery) I was looking for a job with weekends off. That turned out to be a lesson in “be careful what you wish for.” I received what I was looking for (weekends off and a better schedule) but my pay dropped by approx 45% and my health insurance premiums rose by approx 28%. I did gain a little on the compensation part when I transferred to the road board but I lost the good schedule and I had to worked most of the Saturday's. From a road drivers perspective, the work at Wilson freight and ABF freight is basically the same. The major differences are that wages are higher here, I have paid health benefits that are better than I had at Wilson freight, my retirement is a company paid defined pension (annuity), and I have work rules that allow me to get more of the weekends off than I had at Wilson freight.
Click to expand...
I spent 6 months at Martin-Brower! Tough schedule.
 
Homesick said:
Wilson freight is a lot like that. For city drivers the terminals close about 11 pm and open around 4 am (depending on the terminal size). When I left Martin-Brower (food service delivery) I was looking for a job with weekends off. That turned out to be a lesson in “be careful what you wish for.” I received what I was looking for (weekends off and a better schedule) but my pay dropped by approx 45% and my health insurance premiums rose by approx 28%. I did gain a little on the compensation part when I transferred to the road board but I lost the good schedule and I had to worked most of the Saturday's. From a road drivers perspective, the work at Wilson freight and ABF freight is basically the same. The major differences are that wages are higher here, I have paid health benefits that are better than I had at Wilson freight, my retirement is a company paid defined pension (annuity), and I have work rules that allow me to get more of the weekends off than I had at Wilson freight.
Click to expand...
Oh-Oh,.....Maybe I'm showing my age a little,....but are you talking about the same Wilson Freight,.....Ol' Dirty W,....that was part of the NMFA, and went out of business around 1982?
 
t-scan said:
called to take a road test for abf everything else is done hope it is the right choice baby steps t-scan
Click to expand...
Welcome aboard. If dispatch is on you about how slow you are, tell them 2 things. You prefer to be late & alive, than early & dead. Besides, they never remember how fast you are, just your mistakes.
 
You guy's are hiring for full time city/dock in my area. Do you have to start out casual? What is the starting rate? thanks
 
cracker said:
You guy's are hiring for full time city/dock in my area. Do you have to start out casual? What is the starting rate? thanks
Click to expand...
Whether or not you start as casual depends on the TM. Not sure what casual rate is but $20 or so per hour. Once past casual and on probation it's 90% of the rate there. Here you would be at about $21/hr. Full rate after one year and that's about $23.50/hr here. No vacation for two years, then one week for the next six. No sick days until next year for you either.
 
cracker said:
You guy's are hiring for full time city/dock in my area. Do you have to start out casual? What is the starting rate? thanks
Click to expand...
Hiring at $21/Hr and its a casual position. At least where I'm starting from. Plus a minimum 2 week training in Carlysle, Pa. or Fort Smith, AR (depending on your experience and/or how fast you adapt I guess). The transition is taking a while (on my 4th week) between interview, DOT physical, peeing in a cup, background check (F-O-R-E-V-E-R), and 8 hrs of videos on safety and forklift. Good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top