ABF | Hope for our pensions!

a pension is earned, its compensation paid on your behalf, its NOT a benefit. its like social security, does that help clarify? and yes, unlike you, many union guys CAN get laid, as we don't have garbage health insurance that will bankrupt us with a child!! please tell us more about how much more you make than abf, lol.......

You just made my argument for me. Social security is MY money, deducted from my earnings. It reduces the amount of my paycheck every week. Look at your pay stub, take the gross, subtract the taxes and social security and you get your net.

Yes I'm sure you're loving that screwing you're getting every week. Too bad it costs you 15% of your pay and it's being done by a big yellow pig. Hope they give you a kiss after.
 
The flaw in your reasoning is that when conditions of employment were negotiated (the contract), the monetary portion was left to the Union and the members to decide how much went to wages and how much went into H.W.&P. So in a very real sense it is "our" money.

But when the wage reductions were voted in, the pension reduction % was a separate item, right? If it weren't your pension reduction should have been no more than 15% or 7% depending on who you work for, right?That's what doesn't add up to me.
 
So, when did you disagreeing with something make it right. It is our money and yes they did steal it and yes our wages would have been even higher prior to 2008 when you non- union leaches were praying for all of the union companies to get another raise so you could get 1/4 of what we did. All that while you were sweating 10 to 15 hours of overtime for your entire career with no overtime compensation. Oh yea, while I'm on a roll how does everyone at OD like sitting in the break room with no starting time while their freight is being cross-docked and loaded on a city unit. Oh yea, hope those deductibles were not to high at the Dr. And Hospital your entire career while our insurance was 100% paid for as another part of our contract. You may gloate a little today now that the union companies are struggling but OD has ripped you off your entire freight career and they have you so brainwashed that you now believe them to be telling the truth.

Gee von, I didn't know that disagreeing with you meant I was wrong.

I can't speak to 2008, I was unfortunately still in the truckload sector. There was this little thing called a recession going on that prevented me from moving to ltl until 2010. All I know is that our wages are on par with yours. More in fact, dollar for dollar. We get raises every year too. And I can't imagine any non-union leech staying in business over 80 years like we have been, or Southeastern for over 50, hell even Wilson out of Virginia is over 80 years in business if they couldn't attract drivers with decent wages and a decent place to work. I remember seeing a picture of a CF trailer taken shortly before the shutdown advertising I think $.46/mile. JB Hunt was almost that much back on the early 2000s. Their other benefits weren't as good, sure, but their mileage pay wasn't too far off.

Yes, OD should pay their city drivers overtime after 8. I have ALWAYS said that, and have argued extensively with some of my fellow employees on the OD page about that. But where you're wrong is that they DO have start times, and they sit on the clock at full wage if their load isn't ready for the street when it's their time to clock in. Back when I was in the city I remember sitting one particular morning for 2 1/2 hours drinking coffee at $24 per. Wasn't at top pay, that's why it was so low.

Now on to health insurance. Yes, I pay a weekly premium for my family coverage. I cover my wife and 3 kids. My insurance as an employee is free. You had me beat on the family, but I look at it like this: you may not pay premiums but your wages have been reduced a percentage per week. That is money NOT going in your pocket. It may not be directly for insurance but I guarantee you that wage reduction is helping pay for your insurance. That is a variable number. The more you work the more it affects you. My family premium does not change. My wife had her gall bladder out earlier this year, and out of an 18k bill I think the insurance covered all but $250.

I'm not being ripped off. And I'm not brainwashed either. In fact, I am of sound enough mind and body to realize that it's not 1970-something, deregulation did in fact occur and most of the manufacturing done for this country is not done here. Bottom line is that times and business climates change. Most of that can be blamed on the folks in DC that don't have our best interests in mind. Gone are the days of no competition among freight carriers, asinine rules from the ICC and the ability to pass on costs to customers because they couldn't find a better deal from another carrier. It comes down to choice. My job isn't perfect, but it is mine and I'm happy. It's not because of cowardice or stupidity. I have looked and for a total package, I haven't found a better deal. To come over to your side of the street I would be giving up something somewhere. Vacation or retirement. I fall under central states so my defined benefit (there's that pesky word again!) would be nonexistent by the time I get to retirement. Plus, my 401 doesn't decrease when I die. The pension payment reduces to a surviving spouse, but all that money I and my employer invested is mine once I cash out. And I can take it wherever I go. If YRC and ABF go the way of the dodo, what's left? UPSF isn't in CSPF. I apologize for my long winded response, but I felt I needed to fully respond to your allegations.
 
Gee von, I didn't know that disagreeing with you meant I was wrong.

I can't speak to 2008, I was unfortunately still in the truckload sector. There was this little thing called a recession going on that prevented me from moving to ltl until 2010. All I know is that our wages are on par with yours. More in fact, dollar for dollar. We get raises every year too. And I can't imagine any non-union leech staying in business over 80 years like we have been, or Southeastern for over 50, hell even Wilson out of Virginia is over 80 years in business if they couldn't attract drivers with decent wages and a decent place to work. I remember seeing a picture of a CF trailer taken shortly before the shutdown advertising I think $.46/mile. JB Hunt was almost that much back on the early 2000s. Their other benefits weren't as good, sure, but their mileage pay wasn't too far off.

Yes, OD should pay their city drivers overtime after 8. I have ALWAYS said that, and have argued extensively with some of my fellow employees on the OD page about that. But where you're wrong is that they DO have start times, and they sit on the clock at full wage if their load isn't ready for the street when it's their time to clock in. Back when I was in the city I remember sitting one particular morning for 2 1/2 hours drinking coffee at $24 per. Wasn't at top pay, that's why it was so low.

Now on to health insurance. Yes, I pay a weekly premium for my family coverage. I cover my wife and 3 kids. My insurance as an employee is free. You had me beat on the family, but I look at it like this: you may not pay premiums but your wages have been reduced a percentage per week. That is money NOT going in your pocket. It may not be directly for insurance but I guarantee you that wage reduction is helping pay for your insurance. That is a variable number. The more you work the more it affects you. My family premium does not change. My wife had her gall bladder out earlier this year, and out of an 18k bill I think the insurance covered all but $250.

I'm not being ripped off. And I'm not brainwashed either. In fact, I am of sound enough mind and body to realize that it's not 1970-something, deregulation did in fact occur and most of the manufacturing done for this country is not done here. Bottom line is that times and business climates change. Most of that can be blamed on the folks in DC that don't have our best interests in mind. Gone are the days of no competition among freight carriers, asinine rules from the ICC and the ability to pass on costs to customers because they couldn't find a better deal from another carrier. It comes down to choice. My job isn't perfect, but it is mine and I'm happy. It's not because of cowardice or stupidity. I have looked and for a total package, I haven't found a better deal. To come over to your side of the street I would be giving up something somewhere. Vacation or retirement. I fall under central states so my defined benefit (there's that pesky word again!) would be nonexistent by the time I get to retirement. Plus, my 401 doesn't decrease when I die. The pension payment reduces to a surviving spouse, but all that money I and my employer invested is mine once I cash out. And I can take it wherever I go. If YRC and ABF go the way of the dodo, what's left? UPSF isn't in CSPF. I apologize for my long winded response, but I felt I needed to fully respond to your allegations.
You're still wrong. End of story. Your definition has pension and health care right in it. tell me why you're the only person that agrees? Must be everybody else
 
Gee von, I didn't know that disagreeing with you meant I was wrong.

I can't speak to 2008, I was unfortunately still in the truckload sector. There was this little thing called a recession going on that prevented me from moving to ltl until 2010. All I know is that our wages are on par with yours. More in fact, dollar for dollar. We get raises every year too. And I can't imagine any non-union leech staying in business over 80 years like we have been, or Southeastern for over 50, hell even Wilson out of Virginia is over 80 years in business if they couldn't attract drivers with decent wages and a decent place to work. I remember seeing a picture of a CF trailer taken shortly before the shutdown advertising I think $.46/mile. JB Hunt was almost that much back on the early 2000s. Their other benefits weren't as good, sure, but their mileage pay wasn't too far off.

Yes, OD should pay their city drivers overtime after 8. I have ALWAYS said that, and have argued extensively with some of my fellow employees on the OD page about that. But where you're wrong is that they DO have start times, and they sit on the clock at full wage if their load isn't ready for the street when it's their time to clock in. Back when I was in the city I remember sitting one particular morning for 2 1/2 hours drinking coffee at $24 per. Wasn't at top pay, that's why it was so low.

Now on to health insurance. Yes, I pay a weekly premium for my family coverage. I cover my wife and 3 kids. My insurance as an employee is free. You had me beat on the family, but I look at it like this: you may not pay premiums but your wages have been reduced a percentage per week. That is money NOT going in your pocket. It may not be directly for insurance but I guarantee you that wage reduction is helping pay for your insurance. That is a variable number. The more you work the more it affects you. My family premium does not change. My wife had her gall bladder out earlier this year, and out of an 18k bill I think the insurance covered all but $250.

I'm not being ripped off. And I'm not brainwashed either. In fact, I am of sound enough mind and body to realize that it's not 1970-something, deregulation did in fact occur and most of the manufacturing done for this country is not done here. Bottom line is that times and business climates change. Most of that can be blamed on the folks in DC that don't have our best interests in mind. Gone are the days of no competition among freight carriers, asinine rules from the ICC and the ability to pass on costs to customers because they couldn't find a better deal from another carrier. It comes down to choice. My job isn't perfect, but it is mine and I'm happy. It's not because of cowardice or stupidity. I have looked and for a total package, I haven't found a better deal. To come over to your side of the street I would be giving up something somewhere. Vacation or retirement. I fall under central states so my defined benefit (there's that pesky word again!) would be nonexistent by the time I get to retirement. Plus, my 401 doesn't decrease when I die. The pension payment reduces to a surviving spouse, but all that money I and my employer invested is mine once I cash out. And I can take it wherever I go. If YRC and ABF go the way of the dodo, what's left? UPSF isn't in CSPF. I apologize for my long winded response, but I felt I needed to fully respond to your allegations.
Brother Songrrmainsthesame, the point about a Union carrier is that the pay scale is negotiated and published. It can not be changed by the whim of a company executive,..... Any changes, for good or I'll, must be approved by the membership. Anyone can view the contract, as it is a published document. There can be no side deals or individual deals that are so prevalent with non-Union companies. As we have seen with FedEx recently, half of their terminals received a $1.40 pay raise.....determined by management to forestall organizing. Your wages can go up, or down, depending on the COMPANIES' perception of the Labor market, with NO input from the workforce. Currently, the Teamsters who had historically set the benchmark for the Labor market in trucking, are vastly underpaid,......and although we had to vote for those wage cuts,.....there is a big question in the rank-snd-file as to whether we were lied to and tricked into accepting lower wages,......mislead by our own elected leaders. If this is truly the case, what are the ramifications for the rest of the trucking industry? There is a driver shortage now,driving up wages,.....but what happens when there is a Labor glut of drivers, like back in the '80's , when drivers were " A dime a dozen"? The Teamsters upheld their Labor rates, but everyone else cut their pay, causing some bad problems in Truckload. The synopsis is: " The Employer Giveth, And the Employer can Taketh Away."..........unless you have a contract. ALL of the trucking industry, Union and non-Union , should be asking whether employers manipulated the Labor market by lies
andd deceptive tactics, in the middle of the worst driver shortage we've ever seen......... And, if those are the tactics now, how badly will they take advantage of the "unprotected"?..... meaning those without a contract?
 

  • Definition of "compensation package" - Business English Dictionary
    compensation package
    noun [C]

    total payment and benefits that an employee receives for doing their job: Health and dental insurance might be considered a vital part of the compensationpackage.
    (Definition of compensation package from theCambridge Business English Dictionary
Your own posted definition refutes your claim. :hysterical:
Our pension was not reduced. We did not take pension reductions at ABF
And that's a fact.
 
I disagree. If it was not paid to you as wages and then deducted from YOUR paycheck as an investment, then it wasn't your money. You voted in pay raises through the years as well, so that argument holds no water.
Negative you need to read the guidelines for our pension funds. NOBODY can make self payments into the fund. And yes it is my money and not abf's. Do you think ABF would put $350.00 or more a week if it was their money? Well I will give you a clue. When pigs fly ABF would put money that is theirs into a pension fund for any Teamster. And since you seem to know very little if anything about our history I will begin your schooling. For several decades we would have contract meetings and it was always stated that we should ask for less in wages and more into our pension funds. I can't believe you actually thought ABF had money in our pension fund.
 
Why to some hare to see others get ahead. We have a pension one way or the other. He does not. All he will get is what he takes out of his check each week and saves in a 401k or some other retirement management fund. I personally wish him well. He is after all a driver like us and deserves a good long healthy retirement. Unlike some others I wish no driver or dockworker any shortfalls in retirement or on the job.

Yes I feel we have the best all around package as Teamsters but I hope all the others can enjoy our standard of life at work also.
 
We have enough people riding our backs making a great living and none of them are truck drivers. If you do not move freight as a dockworker or driver then you are a support system for us.

If we do not move the freight NOBODY GETS PAID! That is why I believe that we must be respected as workers at all cost. Without you drivers and dockworkers we would all be out of work. THANK YOU! YOUR BROTHER ALWAYS!
 
OD charges as much if not more than abf. But the only difference is abf has to pay out more into retirements and overtime than them.

They even took the abf idea of UPACK. now that should tell you something. And yes they charge more than us. Where is all the money going? Not to the drivers and dockworkers.

But if you work there and you are happy GREAT I wish you the best of luck.
 
The day is coming when we the truck drivers and dockworkers of this country are going to need each other for our very own survival. Why wait until they are at your front door.

Come and see how we operate you will be very surprised.
 
Gee von, I didn't know that disagreeing with you meant I was wrong.

I can't speak to 2008, I was unfortunately still in the truckload sector. There was this little thing called a recession going on that prevented me from moving to ltl until 2010. All I know is that our wages are on par with yours. More in fact, dollar for dollar. We get raises every year too. And I can't imagine any non-union leech staying in business over 80 years like we have been, or Southeastern for over 50, hell even Wilson out of Virginia is over 80 years in business if they couldn't attract drivers with decent wages and a decent place to work. I remember seeing a picture of a CF trailer taken shortly before the shutdown advertising I think $.46/mile. JB Hunt was almost that much back on the early 2000s. Their other benefits weren't as good, sure, but their mileage pay wasn't too far off.

Yes, OD should pay their city drivers overtime after 8. I have ALWAYS said that, and have argued extensively with some of my fellow employees on the OD page about that. But where you're wrong is that they DO have start times, and they sit on the clock at full wage if their load isn't ready for the street when it's their time to clock in. Back when I was in the city I remember sitting one particular morning for 2 1/2 hours drinking coffee at $24 per. Wasn't at top pay, that's why it was so low.

Now on to health insurance. Yes, I pay a weekly premium for my family coverage. I cover my wife and 3 kids. My insurance as an employee is free. You had me beat on the family, but I look at it like this: you may not pay premiums but your wages have been reduced a percentage per week. That is money NOT going in your pocket. It may not be directly for insurance but I guarantee you that wage reduction is helping pay for your insurance. That is a variable number. The more you work the more it affects you. My family premium does not change. My wife had her gall bladder out earlier this year, and out of an 18k bill I think the insurance covered all but $250.

I'm not being ripped off. And I'm not brainwashed either. In fact, I am of sound enough mind and body to realize that it's not 1970-something, deregulation did in fact occur and most of the manufacturing done for this country is not done here. Bottom line is that times and business climates change. Most of that can be blamed on the folks in DC that don't have our best interests in mind. Gone are the days of no competition among freight carriers, asinine rules from the ICC and the ability to pass on costs to customers because they couldn't find a better deal from another carrier. It comes down to choice. My job isn't perfect, but it is mine and I'm happy. It's not because of cowardice or stupidity. I have looked and for a total package, I haven't found a better deal. To come over to your side of the street I would be giving up something somewhere. Vacation or retirement. I fall under central states so my defined benefit (there's that pesky word again!) would be nonexistent by the time I get to retirement. Plus, my 401 doesn't decrease when I die. The pension payment reduces to a surviving spouse, but all that money I and my employer invested is mine once I cash out. And I can take it wherever I go. If YRC and ABF go the way of the dodo, what's left? UPSF isn't in CSPF. I apologize for my long winded response, but I felt I needed to fully respond to your allegations.
Gee von, I didn't know that disagreeing with you meant I was wrong.

I can't speak to 2008, I was unfortunately still in the truckload sector. There was this little thing called a recession going on that prevented me from moving to ltl until 2010. All I know is that our wages are on par with yours. More in fact, dollar for dollar. We get raises every year too. And I can't imagine any non-union leech staying in business over 80 years like we have been, or Southeastern for over 50, hell even Wilson out of Virginia is over 80 years in business if they couldn't attract drivers with decent wages and a decent place to work. I remember seeing a picture of a CF trailer taken shortly before the shutdown advertising I think $.46/mile. JB Hunt was almost that much back on the early 2000s. Their other benefits weren't as good, sure, but their mileage pay wasn't too far off.

Yes, OD should pay their city drivers overtime after 8. I have ALWAYS said that, and have argued extensively with some of my fellow employees on the OD page about that. But where you're wrong is that they DO have start times, and they sit on the clock at full wage if their load isn't ready for the street when it's their time to clock in. Back when I was in the city I remember sitting one particular morning for 2 1/2 hours drinking coffee at $24 per. Wasn't at top pay, that's why it was so low.

Now on to health insurance. Yes, I pay a weekly premium for my family coverage. I cover my wife and 3 kids. My insurance as an employee is free. You had me beat on the family, but I look at it like this: you may not pay premiums but your wages have been reduced a percentage per week. That is money NOT going in your pocket. It may not be directly for insurance but I guarantee you that wage reduction is helping pay for your insurance. That is a variable number. The more you work the more it affects you. My family premium does not change. My wife had her gall bladder out earlier this year, and out of an 18k bill I think the insurance covered all but $250.

I'm not being ripped off. And I'm not brainwashed either. In fact, I am of sound enough mind and body to realize that it's not 1970-something, deregulation did in fact occur and most of the manufacturing done for this country is not done here. Bottom line is that times and business climates change. Most of that can be blamed on the folks in DC that don't have our best interests in mind. Gone are the days of no competition among freight carriers, asinine rules from the ICC and the ability to pass on costs to customers because they couldn't find a better deal from another carrier. It comes down to choice. My job isn't perfect, but it is mine and I'm happy. It's not because of cowardice or stupidity. I have looked and for a total package, I haven't found a better deal. To come over to your side of the street I would be giving up something somewhere. Vacation or retirement. I fall under central states so my defined benefit (there's that pesky word again!) would be nonexistent by the time I get to retirement. Plus, my 401 doesn't decrease when I die. The pension payment reduces to a surviving spouse, but all that money I and my employer invested is mine once I cash out. And I can take it wherever I go. If YRC and ABF go the way of the dodo, what's left? UPSF isn't in CSPF. I apologize for my long winded response, but I felt I needed to fully respond to your allegations.
I am confused. But then I saw the last letter of von was different from vol. My BP just dropped 20 points on the diastolic side after I found the spelling error.. Boy do I feel better now. Be safe out there. von.
 
You just made my argument for me. Social security is MY money, deducted from my earnings. It reduces the amount of my paycheck every week. Look at your pay stub, take the gross, subtract the taxes and social security and you get your net.

Yes I'm sure you're loving that screwing you're getting every week. Too bad it costs you 15% of your pay and it's being done by a big yellow pig. Hope they give you a kiss after.
YOU HAVE TO PAY INTO SS. So to even compare them to one another shows that you know nothing about our funds or our culture. And that is right we have a culture that we have been a part of for many years.

We the Teamsters have set the industry standard for decades. What once was a no paying job with no benefits and no home life at all. And what do we get for that? Drivers that have benefited from our fights that now hope to see the end of the Teamsters in the trucking industry.

It would be nice to see these same drivers a few years after such happenings. Does anyone on this site think that the trucking industry would be better off without the Teamsters in it?
 
YOU HAVE TO PAY INTO SS. So to even compare them to one another shows that you know nothing about our funds or our culture. And that is right we have a culture that we have been a part of for many years.

We the Teamsters have set the industry standard for decades. What once was a no paying job with no benefits and no home life at all. And what do we get for that? Drivers that have benefited from our fights that now hope to see the end of the Teamsters in the trucking industry.

It would be nice to see these same drivers a few years after such happenings. Does anyone on this site think that the trucking industry would be better off without the Teamsters in it?

That's were you're wrong, about me anyway. I don't want to see teamsters lose their job, or any driver for that matter. What we do is hard work, and I wish no one ill will. All I can say is that I believe and sincerely hope higher wages and benefits are going to remain a standard in trucking. All this freight has to get moved somehow, and with fewer and fewer individuals picking trucking as a career, no company can afford to slash pay and wages. Only the strong carriers will survive as long as drivers are in short supply.
 
But the carriers DID siash pay and benefits. Remember what all the non-Union carriers did when YRC first voted in their pay cuts in 2009. Every non-Union carrier cut their pay, whether they needed to or not. ABF had to wait until they terrorized enough guys into voting in a pay cut. The bottom line here is that there seems to be a colluded effort here between trucking management, Wall Street, and,......sadly,.......the IBT....."leadership "...to manipulate the wage market for the trucking industry . IF that is true, wages won't remain high for very long. Compared to other laboring occupations, we are underpaid for what we do,.,.....same as airline pilots, and we all see how their wages have fallen in the midst of their pilot shortage. Many drivers know this is happening, but they shrug their shoulders and turn away,........until it happens to them. That's usually when you see the half-hearted organizing efforts, but by then it's too late. There is a concerted plan out there to keep YOU and I away from each other, ....,because if WE would join together and DEMAND higher wages,......there would be nothing the corporate people could do.......But, it's almost too late......the effort to drive organized Labor out of the transportation industry is almost complete. They''ve convinced enough of us to stand by and watch it founder. When it does go, completely,......how long do you think it will be before the toilet bowl starts flushing and wages start dropping.......to be " competitive"?......... Too late to organize then......
 
All I'm saying is that if you think OD is paying a wonderful wage and a great benefit package, that's great,.....So, why don't you ask OD to codify that into a legal contract?...... Asking no more than what you are getting now, so it won't cost them anything extra........Let us know what OD management thinks of that.........
 
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