ABF | First paragraph tells you how bad it is. 87 year old as a "new" employee!

2009. Never forget.

Every March 10th I remember the beginning of my union career with Yellow. And I remember the piece of garbage who lead us into ruin.
I interviewed with a roadway tm in Fayetteville NC back in 2002. Great guy he was very honest with me and told me he couldn't get me the hours I would need having just bought a new home and starting my family. I went down to Holland in Lumberton NC a few years later and when I went for an interview I was just handed the paperwork for my physical and drug screen. I passed then as it didn't seem right. Glad I did they closed that terminal a year or so later. If youvyo gotten 10 years of solid empolyment
with the benefits still offered you've still been blessed.
 
I interviewed with a roadway tm in Fayetteville NC back in 2002. Great guy he was very honest with me and told me he couldn't get me the hours I would need having just bought a new home and starting my family. I went down to Holland in Lumberton NC a few years later and when I went for an interview I was just handed the paperwork for my physical and drug screen. I passed then as it didn't seem right. Glad I did they closed that terminal a year or so later. If youvyo gotten 10 years of solid empolyment
with the benefits still offered you've still been blessed.
It's a helluva thing, carving out a union career, anymore. Yellow, ABF, now UPS. And I thought it was just going to be Yellow. How naive I was at 26.
 
It's a helluva thing, carving out a union career, anymore. Yellow, ABF, now UPS. And I thought it was just going to be Yellow. How naive I was at 26.
Trust me I'm in my 40's now trying to just get my children raised in a few more years and then figure out the rest. I'm half way through the game now and union is the better way to go to me. I'm at NEMF now and while we're not as strong as the teamsters it's still way better than the others to me.
 
I was 30 years old when I was hired at Roadway.
I am so glad I had work experiences elsewhere.
I work alongside some guys now that started at 19-20 years old.
And they are younger than I. 56-58 years old. I'm at retirement age now.
Not that we have one. Much of one.
But at 30 years old we did. At 52 years old the merge happened.
Nothing I could do but go with the flow.
 
I was 30 years old when I was hired at Roadway.
I am so glad I had work experiences elsewhere.
I work alongside some guys now that started at 19-20 years old.
And they are younger than I. 56-58 years old. I'm at retirement age now.
Not that we have one. Much of one.
But at 30 years old we did. At 52 years old the merge happened.
Nothing I could do but go with the flow.
That was the blessing and the curse of the merger happening 2 years into my Yellow career. I was too low in seniority not to be laid off, but I also didn't have anything holding me there like a bid run or extensive time in the union.

At ABF it was more... I was miserable because of all the hours, the time away from home, and the bid runs still being out of reach at 5 years of experience.

it has been very hard to keep in mind that I'm working for the union, and not my companies, because I've had a couple bad experiences. I finally have a company that at least currently feels like a perfect fit.
 
Just because we don't, or won't, have a pension doesn't mean we have to be poor or retire as a hobo (I liked that comment a lot LOL). We still have social security. Not the best retirement money but not bad. I'm not fully certain our pension will disappear; change and be cut, yes, disappear no. And retiring as a hobo may not be as bad as you think. I have some thoughts on that that you may find interesting. Along with a hobo lifestyle I find enticing. I have a good friend, a longtime union steward and smart guy who has just over a year left before retiring and is currently preparing for the hobo life.
 
I'm gonna be a hobo in my own comfortable living room with Netflix. Hulu. Amazon prime. Maybe Dish satellite TV . Not gonna be on the rail or any way involved with freight. (trains)
:17142:
 
Really.........for a good hobo squirrel stew, you need reasonably fresh roadkill squirrel.........

Just a hint of Goodyear brings out the nutty essence,.........and tenderizes the ......tougher ..........parts of the squirrel....

Try to pick out the larger pebbles and chunks of asphalt as you prepare your squirrel.....Nothing ruins a fine dining experience like having to spit out stones and cracked teeth in the midst of scintillating conversation.
 
Brother, most individuals in the CSPF will be cheated when the fund closes its doors. And that is going to hurt but I don't think these MEPF are the safest retirement vehicles. Let me break this 50 years of MEPF down a little to illustrate why I disagree with you.

When MEPF's first came into the union the requirement was10 years of service to be vested. What that means is no one took money out of the MEPF for the first 10 years. Money in but none out.

In the second 10 year span most people where not old enough to receive retirement but where looking into the 20 years and out. So no money out the first 10 years, little money out the second 10 years.

In the 3rd 10 year span more employees started retiring and deregulation occurred (very bad for the trucking industry). This is where the flaws in the MEPF started started showing up. Union companies where leaving the industry and non-union non-MEPF companies started growing in the trucking industry. The number of retiring union employees was increasing because of job loss and a lack of new union jobs.

By the 4th 10 year span (this is where I became employed with ABF and a union member) warnings where starting to appear from CSPF and, I assume, other MEPF's. Employees received letters stating that CSPF was going from 2% to 1%, that UPS was trying to buy its way out of the MEPF's, that ABF was saving money and going to try and buy their way out of the MEPF.

In the 5th 10 year span some MEPF's cut retirement benefits, the retirement age was increased, the 20 year and out was eliminated, buying time in the pension funds (for people who where close to retirement) was eliminated and MEPF default notices where common.

We are currently in the 6th 10 year stretch, at least for CSPF, and the fund managers have announced that CSPF and other MEPF's are no longer viable and are issuing termination notices for these funds. The fund managers, the companies, teamsters, the government, and outside financial and accounting firms are saying this experiment is not working for most MEPF's.

I wish us all good luck in retirement and the best for everyone but life is a hard mistress. And if it was easy everyone would do it.


The obituary for Jeremy Gold, an actuary for Morgan Stanley, is in the New York Times today. This gentleman raised the issue of financial debacles in pension funds due to Wall Street's rapaciousness 25 years ago.

He called for reform of actuarial rules in the 1990's,...to prevent corporate raiders like Carl Icahn from acquiring "surplus funds" from pension funds.

He claimed that,.....due to the lax nature of rules protecting long-term investments in pension funds,....they were vulnerable to fast'n'loose unscrupulous investors, who only worried about their client's bottom line,....and not the long-term damage done to pension funds.

He spent his entire life advocating for actuarial rules changes,....mostly falling on deaf ears in Congress.

He warned of a "collapse in the viability of pension funds"....resulting in vulnerable elderly retirees losing their retirement funds.

Mr. Gold was a voice in the wilderness,.....warning of the inherent rapacious nature of our "investment" class,............who would steal money from anyone,..regardless of the human impact,.......in the name of profits.

I like your timeline above,...but I think Wall Street, et al,....had far more to do with pension fund collapses than anyone would admit,............an indictment of Darwinistic Capitalism........
 
Really.........for a good hobo squirrel stew, you need reasonably fresh roadkill squirrel.........

Just a hint of Goodyear brings out the nutty essence,.........and tenderizes the ......tougher ..........parts of the squirrel....

Try to pick out the larger pebbles and chunks of asphalt as you prepare your squirrel.....Nothing ruins a fine dining experience like having to spit out stones and cracked teeth in the midst of scintillating conversation.

Guess I was lucky, didn't need to rely on roadkill.
I had shells for my Stevens 20 ga. most times, just be careful and don't bite down on #6 shot.
Hobos were our best friends in the coal burning locomotive days, we threw rocks when they were riding the
coal tender, they threw coal back at us, it would keep our house heated.
 
I have a good friend who is going to retire in 2019. He spoke with the local two weeks ago and he needs 180 or 188 tours (I forget which) in 2019 to retire with 20 years and keep his health insurance. My friend is so ready to leave he sold his house and moved into his travel trailer. And that is going to be his home for the next 20 years or longer (I hope longer). I never considered this as a retirement plan but I see the merits of it. No large property tax bills, no homeowner insurance, traveling across America, part of a small subculture in America, changing locations when the weather is uncomfortable, etc. This may not be quite the hobo lifestyle but I don't think it is far off. My friend tells me he very much enjoys the people and the lifestyle. I can't help but think there is something to this, with all the campers and RV's I see on the road and Camping World and other such business popping up everywhere. I will ask him if he knows how to make roadkill squirrel and crab apple.
 
I have a good friend who is going to retire in 2019. He spoke with the local two weeks ago and he needs 180 or 188 tours (I forget which) in 2019 to retire with 20 years and keep his health insurance. My friend is so ready to leave he sold his house and moved into his travel trailer. And that is going to be his home for the next 20 years or longer (I hope longer). I never considered this as a retirement plan but I see the merits of it. No large property tax bills, no homeowner insurance, traveling across America, part of a small subculture in America, changing locations when the weather is uncomfortable, etc. This may not be quite the hobo lifestyle but I don't think it is far off. My friend tells me he very much enjoys the people and the lifestyle. I can't help but think there is something to this, with all the campers and RV's I see on the road and Camping World and other such business popping up everywhere. I will ask him if he knows how to make roadkill squirrel and crab apple.


........and tell him it’s not.........”sporting”.........to aim the motor home.......

No fair leaving the asphalt, either.........

There are rules for “fair game” roadkill.........
 
Oh,...........and one more thing..........87 year old insurance man "never saved enough for his pension".........

You CAN outlive your 401(k)!

And this is the.....filthy, lousy "choice" that's left to this guy............

Special place in Hell for the corporate 401(k) "salesman" who told you that you'll be a..."millionaire".....

Wreck those defined-benefit pensions!........that'll "fix" the employment shortage!
How many 40 years old at YRC will outlive their Teamster pensions???
Better yet how many 40 years olds at YRC will ever get a pension check??
 
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