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ABF | How has been starting over at ABF been for you

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[/URL][/IMG]All I can say is I hope I'm done collecting hats until I retire. The trucks will be self driven by 2050 I read in an article, so I don't think anyone should think about starting a career in over-the-road trucking beyond 2025. Could maybe have a self driven truck rescue and recovery business though. I think the long term goal of all LTL trucking companies just by looking at what ABF and YRC took little bites for now is: All line haul will be sub-contracted and yard and dock operations will be near poverty wages with limited benefits if any at all.:9529:
 
Southern Man said:
IMG_20140125_131239_933_zps74227cf0.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]All I can say is I hope I'm done collecting hats until I retire. The trucks will be self driven by 2050 I read in an article, so I don't think anyone should think about starting a career in over-the-road trucking beyond 2025. Could maybe have a self driven truck rescue and recovery business though. I think the long term goal of all LTL trucking companies just by looking at what ABF and YRC took little bites for now is: All line haul will be sub-contracted and yard and dock operations will be near poverty wages with limited benefits if any at all.:9529:
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The only one im missing is Conway....
 
GO40 said:
Yesterday I pull in the yard noticed a yrc truck against the fence, It was a driver I knew said he was looking for a app. but was told he had to fill it out online, he is a 20+ year man. His reason for looking for another job was that he is tired of worrying about his future, he said if its not abf it will be someone else....
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Yep, that`s how I feel. If this mou goes through, they`ll be back for more in 24 months or less.
 
canaryinthemine said:
Yup,....I now log in every break,....not in fear of a letter, but just to make sure I'm getting everything owed to me. If you're going to steal from my family, I'm not going to stand there with an open wallet so that mgmt. could help themselves. Slowly,....ever so slowly,....ABF upper mgmt. is changing the culture of this company from co-workers doing a job together,... to the ol' victim and perpetrator setup that so many companies seem to run on nowadays. The younger managers seem to need to prove,....mainly to themselves,....that they are "In Charge", by nit-picking the Labor force,.....and this so-called contract provides them with enough nit-picking materiel to really get under the skin of the guys who are really providing the revenue to this company. (In case you're a management spy, and you're confused by that last statement,......the people actually making the revenue are,.....the drivers and dockworkers. Not the salesmen. Not the clerks. Not the terminal managers. ...to coin a phrase, those are all "parasites to profit."...............so are company spies. ...Parasites, I mean....) A couple of years from now, ABF upper mgmt. will have to form a "focus group" to determine why the quality of our service has dropped dramatically,....why it seems so hard to hire experienced and motivated employees,......and whether or not they should ......"crack down" on the employees ,...to improve productivity. I laugh,.......not merrily, but with a hint of sadness. Once again , a good, honest company gets taken over by weasels who think employees and their wages interfere with profits, and the only way to make a company "successful" is to continually grind down on the employees. "The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves.".....See: YRC....See: The reasons good freight guys quit YRC. See: the reason good non-Union freight guys USED to aspire to get hired at ABF, YRC , Holland, or New Penn,......and now they're shrugging their shoulders, and saying: "What's the point?" Quick! Quick! ABF Upper mgmt! More than half of your work force is over 55! You'd better start figuring it out quickly how to make this occupation attractive to younger people. Good Luck! ......because this job isn't even mentioned at any High School Job Fair, or college Job Fairs,...........young people with college debt are NOT going to come here...........so you, as an employer, will get what you pay for. "Good is never Cheap, and Cheap is never Good." ............And,....after looking at the UPSF agreement that was ratified last week,....how does ABF upper mgmt. feel about continuing to say that "We have the best wage package in the industy."? They'll be almost $4.00 an hour more than us within 4 years, with a solid single-employer pension plan. If I was a young man looking to get into freight.........for whatever arcane reason, given that there are many, many better choices out there,........I certainly would go for the highest- paying company with the most stable pension..........If I was smart,......and I presume that's what upper mgmt. is looking for. Don't see that here, anymore,......certainly don't see that at YRC,......Whaddy'Ya Got, Freight carriers, to attract younger people, when all of your old geezers,.....more than half your work force,....is gone in two years?
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Ill focus on the break issue although you said a bunch of stuff I agree with wholeheartedly.
They not only are stealing money form me and my family with the give backs they are stealing something that sometimes is much more valuable than money.... my time to spend with them.
What with vacations being the absolute worst in almost ANY industry I have to agree with another member who said that at the end of the day I just want to go home and not sit somewhere for ten minutes thinking about all the stuff I am not doing at home. But that's my choice I guess. I turned down a really good job that had low pay, and not so good insurance to stay here and make the big bucks.
Maybe I will get tired of it and try something else out. It wont take much of that nit picking to send me to it.
 
Boilerpeddle said:
Me too. If I had only known. Even thought they are closing my terminal I am better off than if I had stayed at Holland. I would do it again.
ABF around here is kinda disorganized compared to Holland but they are much better at treating you like a human.
Although I am getting little hints that they might be changing a little bit with the fact that upper management is pressuring local management to give out lots of letters for stupid things like forgetting to log a break in the pda.
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Companies are being fined with these new laws also. So it important to take 1/2 hours lunch breaks and make it all match...
 
I made the jump to ABF in 2011 after being laid off at Reddaway. It was my second time starting over in a union shop. Needless to say it sucked. All though the group of men I was laid off with had been recalled after 2 1/2 months, Gave up three weeks vacation, my own route and tractor. Almost any bid of my choice. I stayed on with ABF. It had alot of up side for me. That upside was multiple men retiring and back into a pension plan that YRC had quit paying in after it was voted on to let them do so. After three years at ABF I am now met my retirement obligations. I am making more money than my buddies that stayed at Reddaway.I also have 10 employees below me on the seniority list and a choice of four bids when the time arrives. Loosing the vacation sucks. It sucked being on the callboard. It sucked all the times before too. Evaluate what you need from ABF and don't look back.
 
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253r said:
I made the jump to ABF in 2011 after being laid off at Reddaway. It was my second time starting over in a union shop. Needless to say it sucked. All though the group of men I was laid off with had been recalled after 2 1/2 months, Gave up three weeks vacation, my own route and tractor. Almost any bid of my choice. I stayed on with ABF. It had alot of up side for me. That upside was multiple men retiring and back into a pension plan that YRC had quit paying in after it was voted on to let them do so. After three years at ABF I am now met my retirement obligations. I am making more money than my buddies that stayed at Reddaway.I also have 10 employees below me on the seniority list and a choice of four bids when the time arrives. Loosing the vacation sucks. It sucked being on the callboard. It sucked all the times before too. Evaluate what you need from ABF and don't look back.
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I agree, When you make a move never look back...
 
253r said:
I made the jump to ABF in 2011 after being laid off at Reddaway. It was my second time starting over in a union shop. Needless to say it sucked. All though the group of men I was laid off with had been recalled after 2 1/2 months, Gave up three weeks vacation, my own route and tractor. Almost any bid of my choice. I stayed on with ABF. It had alot of up side for me. That upside was multiple men retiring and back into a pension plan that YRC had quit paying in after it was voted on to let them do so. After three years at ABF I am now met my retirement obligations. I am making more money than my buddies that stayed at Reddaway.I also have 10 employees below me on the seniority list and a choice of four bids when the time arrives. Loosing the vacation sucks. It sucked being on the callboard. It sucked all the times before too. Evaluate what you need from ABF and don't look back.
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Nice post .I have been offered a job at ABF .I told terminal manger I just can`t get over the vacation issue .Not only the issue of the one week after 2 years but 8yrs for the 2nd one that is just too long to wait. I`m pursuing a job at one of the non union carriers where money would be about the same , pay a little on the insurance and get 2 weeks vacation after 2 yrs. WE`ll see what happens. I do sincerely believe that things at YRC are going to get worse before they get better. Don`t get me wrong I don`t want to see things get bad ,I know alot of people who want to continue working there and that's there choice . I just see the way the customers are being treated, the poor management of people on the dock and the disorganization of P and D and realize that YRC problems are much deeper than just refinancing interest on some loans . They have people problems. I do believe it starts with leadership from the top down . Like I said, I`m not trying to bash just trying to be honest, if not with anyone else, at least with myself.
 
I left Holland 3 years ago with 25 years...No regrets...Starting over isn't easy knowing your giving up seniority, and your vacation... 2 years is a long time for a vacation, but personally I don't have faith in YRC management to bring their company back...

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR DECISION!!!
 
Skeeter said:
Companies are being fined with these new laws also. So it important to take 1/2 hours lunch breaks and make it all match...
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I went through a DOT inspection in Temple Ga. last week and the inspecting officer (female) looked at my past logs for the previous 5 weeks. I know she was only legally allowed to look at the previous 8 days but with the attitude she had I just shut up and watched. What she was looking for was my 1/2hr breaks. I watched her use scratch pad and pen to keep track of how many hours I worked before and after any ½ hr off duty time. I got a “no violation” inspection but it was not from her lack of trying. I am unsure how this applies to city drivers but keep in mind the DOT is watching.
 
canaryinthemine said:
Yup,....I now log in every break,....not in fear of a letter, but just to make sure I'm getting everything owed to me. If you're going to steal from my family, I'm not going to stand there with an open wallet so that mgmt. could help themselves. Slowly,....ever so slowly,....ABF upper mgmt. is changing the culture of this company from co-workers doing a job together,... to the ol' victim and perpetrator setup that so many companies seem to run on nowadays. The younger managers seem to need to prove,....mainly to themselves,....that they are "In Charge", by nit-picking the Labor force,.....and this so-called contract provides them with enough nit-picking materiel to really get under the skin of the guys who are really providing the revenue to this company. (In case you're a management spy, and you're confused by that last statement,......the people actually making the revenue are,.....the drivers and dockworkers. Not the salesmen. Not the clerks. Not the terminal managers. ...to coin a phrase, those are all "parasites to profit."...............so are company spies. ...Parasites, I mean....) A couple of years from now, ABF upper mgmt. will have to form a "focus group" to determine why the quality of our service has dropped dramatically,....why it seems so hard to hire experienced and motivated employees,......and whether or not they should ......"crack down" on the employees ,...to improve productivity. I laugh,.......not merrily, but with a hint of sadness. Once again , a good, honest company gets taken over by weasels who think employees and their wages interfere with profits, and the only way to make a company "successful" is to continually grind down on the employees. "The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves.".....See: YRC....See: The reasons good freight guys quit YRC. See: the reason good non-Union freight guys USED to aspire to get hired at ABF, YRC , Holland, or New Penn,......and now they're shrugging their shoulders, and saying: "What's the point?" Quick! Quick! ABF Upper mgmt! More than half of your work force is over 55! You'd better start figuring it out quickly how to make this occupation attractive to younger people. Good Luck! ......because this job isn't even mentioned at any High School Job Fair, or college Job Fairs,...........young people with college debt are NOT going to come here...........so you, as an employer, will get what you pay for. "Good is never Cheap, and Cheap is never Good." ............And,....after looking at the UPSF agreement that was ratified last week,....how does ABF upper mgmt. feel about continuing to say that "We have the best wage package in the industy."? They'll be almost $4.00 an hour more than us within 4 years, with a solid single-employer pension plan. If I was a young man looking to get into freight.........for whatever arcane reason, given that there are many, many better choices out there,........I certainly would go for the highest- paying company with the most stable pension..........If I was smart,......and I presume that's what upper mgmt. is looking for. Don't see that here, anymore,......certainly don't see that at YRC,......Whaddy'Ya Got, Freight carriers, to attract younger people, when all of your old geezers,.....more than half your work force,....is gone in two years?
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I know as I get older I work a lot less than I did when I was young. I have fewer bills, more assets, and the experience to know that I have sacrificed enough. I now work to maintain rather than build equity. What I missed seeing with my kids; I will see with my grandkids!!!!
 
18+ years with Roadway (YRC). Started out today at ABF Dayton, OH linehaul. Most of the laid off YRC drivers are already there & like it. Gave up 3 weeks vacation but that was the price I had to pay to get most of my pay & pension back.
 
What, like $.52/mile? I'm thinking top is $.57. So no casual garbage then, that's a good thing.
 
3. New Hire Wage Progression:
CDL Qualified Employees and Mechanics:
First day: 90% of top rate
1 year: 100% of top rate
Non-CDL Qualified Employees (excluding mechanics):
First day: 70% of top rate
1 year: 75% of top rate
2 year: 80% of top rate
3 year: 90% of top rate
4 year: 100% of top rate
1. General Wage Adjustments
a. Effective payroll period following ratification:
-7.0% on all hourly and mileage rates
b. Effective July 1, 2014:
+2.0% on all hourly and mileage rates
c. Effective July 1, 2015:
+2.0%% on all hourly and mileage rates
d. Effective July 1, 2016:
+2.0% on all hourly and mileage rates
e. Effective July 1, 2017:
+2.5% on all hourly and mileage rates
NMFA doubles rate is .62150 per mile - 7%=.57779 - 10%=.52019
 
series60 said:
18+ years with Roadway (YRC). Started out today at ABF Dayton, OH linehaul. Most of the laid off YRC drivers are already there & like it. Gave up 3 weeks vacation but that was the price I had to pay to get most of my pay & pension back.
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Congratulations Series60... Glad you made it over here. Unfortunately I don't think there is much future left over there...Good luck!!!
 
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