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ABF | How Do Teamsters Matter Anymore.

GO40 said:
UPS still contributes into my fund (central Pa) ABF paid in over $21,000 to my pension. Their are a lot is smaller companies the contribute towards the pension besides YRC....
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I hope it works out well for you, I'm not here bad mouthing anybody or their situation, all these freight jobs have pros and cons, it's what works for you, I have many friends at yrc run companies, they have families, kids in college, as I'm sure many do, would never want to see all their years of hard work, and efforts, be for nothing, alot of good people, paying for others mistakes
 
Skyking68 said:
You are right, choices, nothing guaranteed, I got 26 years invested, who knows, but I wouldn't count on a house full of Republicans to bail the pension out
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You've been at this a while.......Your choice was based on what you know and saw over the years...I don't think anyone wishes you I'll for the choice you made.
But, I would hope you'd realize the value of Unions......having been in one so long. Giving up 26 years is a tough choice.....

You've got....what? 10 to go?
Good Luck, Brother.....
And I hope CSPF will be there for you.....as many other Teamster plans are for others.
 
canaryinthemine said:
You've been at this a while.......Your choice was based on what you know and saw over the years...I don't think anyone wishes you I'll for the choice you made.
But, I would hope you'd realize the value of Unions......having been in one so long. Giving up 26 years is a tough choice.....

You've got....what? 10 to go?
Good Luck, Brother.....
And I hope CSPF will be there for you.....as many other Teamster plans are for others.
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I totally agree with you,I actually enjoy going to work again, lol,I left because of the work environment, it's toxic, and unfortunately it has spread to new Penn, Holland, people who had nothing to do with the mess, yrc created, its shameful, and I feel for everyone who continues to endure it,I tip my cap to them, and hope things change for the better for all involved
 
I suppose it’s a matter of perception. I spent my last 25 years at ABF........16 a a steward.
I only got threatened with firing twice...both times had to do with my actions as steward.....

I enjoyed going to work......and fighting unreasonable management. Not that management was.....unreasonable all the time.....We had a few good ones,......some that have moved into upper management,....and those ones I have a lot of respect for....

Even if we did butt heads a few times.....

Hard to believe Holland was That desperately bad......I worked for some real human scum,....and I did walk off a job once, because the manager was a walking cockroach.....
But I had a friend who worked at the Mars, Pa. facility.....before they moved it......and he thought they were no better or worse than any other LTL company.......Union or non-Union...
 
canaryinthemine said:
I suppose it’s a matter of perception. I spent my last 25 years at ABF........16 a a steward.
I only got threatened with firing twice...both times had to do with my actions as steward.....

I enjoyed going to work......and fighting unreasonable management. Not that management was.....unreasonable all the time.....We had a few good ones,......some that have moved into upper management,....and those ones I have a lot of respect for....

Even if we did butt heads a few times.....

Hard to believe Holland was That desperately bad......I worked for some real human scum,....and I did walk off a job once, because the manager was a walking cockroach.....
But I had a friend who worked at the Mars, Pa. facility.....before they moved it......and he thought they were no better or worse than any other LTL company.......Union or non-Union...
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Unfortunately you can't negotiate in a contract whether management treats you like a human or cockroach
 
canaryinthemine said:
I suppose it’s a matter of perception. I spent my last 25 years at ABF........16 a a steward.
I only got threatened with firing twice...both times had to do with my actions as steward.....

I enjoyed going to work......and fighting unreasonable management. Not that management was.....unreasonable all the time.....We had a few good ones,......some that have moved into upper management,....and those ones I have a lot of respect for....

Even if we did butt heads a few times.....

Hard to believe Holland was That desperately bad......I worked for some real human scum,....and I did walk off a job once, because the manager was a walking cockroach.....
But I had a friend who worked at the Mars, Pa. facility.....before they moved it......and he thought they were no better or worse than any other LTL company.......Union or non-Union...
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I hear you, but as with Holland and new Penn, they both had good people at the top, good managers, yrc basically ran them off and replaced them with their own, just created a ::shit:: show, changing how they run, firing the salesman, now yrc supposedly sells all the brands, which alot of customers want nothing to do with, just seems they bring that toxic energy and ruined 2 well run companies, and as employees you watch it change for the worse, after awhile it wears you out, it's a shame that the drivers and dockworkers pay the price,
 
Skyking68 said:
I hear you, but as with Holland and new Penn, they both had good people at the top, good managers, yrc basically ran them off and replaced them with their own, just created a :::shit::: show, changing how they run, firing the salesman, now yrc supposedly sells all the brands, which alot of customers want nothing to do with, just seems they bring that toxic energy and ruined 2 well run companies, and as employees you watch it change for the worse, after awhile it wears you out, it's a shame that the drivers and dockworkers pay the price,
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Excellently put. And that’s exactly what happened...those at the bottom paying the biggest price for the failures of those at the top. And so it goes.
 
GO40 said:
Why is that? Maybe you would like to tell us what a great pension plan Estes has.
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Estes doesn’t have a “pension plan”. Estes has a 401k plan that employees can chose to participate in if they so choose. You can look up how 401k plans work if you don’t know. I have been in the plan for about 10 years and have grown quite a nest egg.
 
canaryinthemine said:
A fair response.........
But,...Keep in mind,....Your part about "screw-ups".....That's what's known as a relative term. If the COMPANY designates you as a "screw-up"......you have no recourse of action,...and you've already lost the respect of your peers,...merely by company designation......
You may have made an error,....Your dispatcher may have a personal dislike of you,.......You may have become a "victim of circumstances"........like a guy I know who was eating his lunch in a mall parking lot,..and the wife of a Judge backed her car under the trailer...
It was...politically expedient to...fire him for "Unsafe Parking",...Employment-at-Will.

This is Trucking,....The most Improbable things occur in this occupation.......Ever tell you about the time I was delayed getting through the Lincoln Tunnels in NYC...because of the Elephants?

Remember something I always told people when they complained about "lazy Union guys"....
The Union doesn't Hire,....nor does it Fire.....But it is required By Law to unilaterally represent the...."screw-ups"...the COMPANY hires.
Or the ones they designate as...."screw-ups".....

All companies have a "probationary period",...in which the company decides whether to continue employment,..or cut the person loose with no recourse. Union companies, too.......
Companies hire guys,....work them a number of years,.....and then, sometimes..."find" reasons to designate them as undesireable......Age? Attitude? Personality Conflicts? Changing business needs?

NONE of these things should require you,....AND your family,....to go through an occupation change. At least,...not without a chance at FAIR representation, and binding Arbitration.

You're a good employee,......and you're proud of your company.....Nothing wrong with that. But, those of us who have been around for the last few turbulent decades in trucking ,...have seen the unjust, unexpected, vindictive destruction of FAMILY income,....sometimes happening on the...stupidest,...of circumstances.....

To good employees........

Don't wish that on anyone. Would prefer that you non-Union guys see the strength in numbers and understand how a company will.....smile on you, as long as things are going their way.........

Or not,...when they don't.

Unions are not your Enemy,...I am not your Enemy,...You are not my Enemy,.......
But the Companies wish it were so....
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When I say screw ups I mean employees that basically don’t appreciate the job. They are continually late, always having invalid excuses, have no respect for their equipment i.e., hit poles in parking lot because too lazy to get out and look, hit dollies on yard because not being aware of their surroundings, forgetting, more than once to unhook air lines from trailer and shatter rear window, Hit other tractors on yard, hit cars in parking lot because too lazy to carry bag out of vehicle to truck. Most of these happen multiple times and they all cost the company money which in turn affect profits and driver compensation. Are those the type people you would want meeting you on the interstate or driving around your family at 70mph? I understand accidents can happen because in this business we are on the move and up against a constantly running clock but, if you are consistently underperforming or damaging equipment and the company has afforded you chance after chance you are a screw up and a liability and need find a new career.
 
Kam2010 said:
Estes doesn’t have a “pension plan”. Estes has a 401k plan that employees can chose to participate in if they so choose. You can look up how 401k plans work if you don’t know. I have been in the plan for about 10 years and have grown quite a nest egg.
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Good for you on your nest egg. Now what’s the real deal with your health coverage, is it free? Another poster from Estes said it was....
 
GO40 said:
Good for you on your nest egg. Now what’s the real deal with your health coverage, is it free? Another poster from Estes said it was....
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There's 3 different plans,free, and two plans that run around 40 a week, with extra supplemental disability plans
 
TruckinGod77 said:
Unfortunately you can't negotiate in a contract whether management treats you like a human or cockroach
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No,....that part is up to the group of....men. You're not looking for their Love,......Just their Respect.....
If their personal standards allow them to.....rank people to some sort of hierarchy,.....based on..economics?..social standing?..snobbishness?.......

Well,..then,...if they want to find a "cockroach",.....I'd suggest they look in a mirror.....

A contract delineates what's fair,....between two equal groups of Americans......If you want to......discriminate....that's your own Private failure. As a Human,...and American.....

Americans stand up for their rights. ....And don't allow someone to degrade them to economic "slavery"....

Even if he's a "God-like, Almighty, All-Seeing, All-Knowing...Branch Manager!"......with an Expense account, no less!
 
Kam2010 said:
When I say screw ups I mean employees that basically don’t appreciate the job. They are continually late, always having invalid excuses, have no respect for their equipment i.e., hit poles in parking lot because too lazy to get out and look, hit dollies on yard because not being aware of their surroundings, forgetting, more than once to unhook air lines from trailer and shatter rear window, Hit other tractors on yard, hit cars in parking lot because too lazy to carry bag out of vehicle to truck. Most of these happen multiple times and they all cost the company money which in turn affect profits and driver compensation. Are those the type people you would want meeting you on the interstate or driving around your family at 70mph? I understand accidents can happen because in this business we are on the move and up against a constantly running clock but, if you are consistently underperforming or damaging equipment and the company has afforded you chance after chance you are a screw up and a liability and need find a new career.
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Who decides between "screw-ups" ....and honest mistakes? Who decides what the standard is for "underperforming"?

Who hired these...."underperforming screw-ups"? Why? What changed? Apparently, at one time,...they were good employees,....otherwise they would have never lasted beyond the probation period....

What changed? Does the ..."underperforming screw-up" ever get a chance to have an impartial hearing? Or, do they have to live forever by how the company branded them?
Can they have fellow employees vouch for them....without fear of retribution? Is there honest Peer review,.....without company oversight?

In many years of truck driving,.....Union, non-union,..O/O....I've seen companies rid themselves of....troublesome employees...by many methods...
And a "troublesome employee".......is,...in many cases,...a stellar driver....

If a guy works for a company for 10 years,....and then is designated an "underperforming screw-up"........does the company take into account the impact on his.....family? Obviously, THEY don't think he's an "underperforming screw-up"......

If you don't "appreciate" your job to your local Branch Manager's satisfaction.......is that when you become an "underperforming screw-up" ?

Accidents happen....Murphy's Law was created in the trucking industry....everyone deserves a fair hearing....not a company ruling on your "performance".
That's what Unions are for.
 
canaryinthemine said:
Who decides between "screw-ups" ....and honest mistakes? Who decides what the standard is for "underperforming"?

Who hired these...."underperforming screw-ups"? Why? What changed? Apparently, at one time,...they were good employees,....otherwise they would have never lasted beyond the probation period....

What changed? Does the ..."underperforming screw-up" ever get a chance to have an impartial hearing? Or, do they have to live forever by how the company branded them?
Can they have fellow employees vouch for them....without fear of retribution? Is there honest Peer review,.....without company oversight?

In many years of truck driving,.....Union, non-union,..O/O....I've seen companies rid themselves of....troublesome employees...by many methods...
And a "troublesome employee".......is,...in many cases,...a stellar driver....

If a guy works for a company for 10 years,....and then is designated an "underperforming screw-up"........does the company take into account the impact on his.....family? Obviously, THEY don't think he's an "underperforming screw-up"......

If you don't "appreciate" your job to your local Branch Manager's satisfaction.......is that when you become an "underperforming screw-up" ?

Accidents happen....Murphy's Law was created in the trucking industry....everyone deserves a fair hearing....not a company ruling on your "performance".
That's what Unions are for.
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I respect your opinion on this issue and hope you do mine. I disagree with keeping someone as an employee who is a liability and continually costing the company money. Their family wasn’t hired to do the job the individual was hired. They are given a 90 day probation period, most make it but some don’t. Just because you make it past 90 days doesn’t mean you get a free pass and a job for life, you should continuously learn and grow. You know better than anyone what you are capable of doing. At bid time you should bid on something you are capable of doing proficiently and not take a position or run you know you going struggle with the amount of work or miles just because of your seniority and you don’t want someone else to have it. Your family depends on you and you just let them down if you cannot do the job and you bidded over your head.
 
Kam2010 said:
I respect your opinion on this issue and hope you do mine. I disagree with keeping someone as an employee who is a liability and continually costing the company money. Their family wasn’t hired to do the job the individual was hired. They are given a 90 day probation period, most make it but some don’t. Just because you make it past 90 days doesn’t mean you get a free pass and a job for life, you should continuously learn and grow. You know better than anyone what you are capable of doing. At bid time you should bid on something you are capable of doing proficiently and not take a position or run you know you going struggle with the amount of work or miles just because of your seniority and you don’t want someone else to have it. Your family depends on you and you just let them down if you cannot do the job and you bidded over your head.
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I do respect your opinion.....
And,...the situation you just described is an Idealistic one,.....where if everyone followed those principles,.....you wouldn't need Unions.....
Unfortunately,...Companies violate those principles just as much,...if not more,....than employees. Their driving focus is the Bottom line.
To put it simply: Companies are there to make Money....and Unions are there to remind them of the Human Cost to make that Money.
and to make it Fair......not just Economic Darwinism.
 
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