I am a 25 year veteran Yellow Freight driver, now YRC, but will be starting with ABF on Monday replacing a retired driver. I will be on vacation from YRC while starting to continue my career with ABF. I am blessed to be getting this break! Hence, my fellow drivers have nicknamed me TurnCoat! But, it was an opportunity I was faced with and the TM at ABF was my boss at Yellow for nearly 10 yrs. and was very helpful in getting me on the ABF team. The last 2 years with YRC, I have seen some pretty amazing financial wrangling by YRC, the Teamsters and the Lenders. No one would have won in a court ordered bankruptcy. I always felt ABF had a legitimate gripe, especially after they changed the length of the NMFA. The concessions were necessary in my opinion for YRC to survive, but the extra 2 years was over the top. With this new money coming available to YRC, ABF simply wants a piece of the pie. They won't get $750,000, and with their strong cash position they won't get any concessions from the Union membership, but rest assured, they will get something. How much hush money they get we will probably never know. Let's just pray that our economy can recover to the point that all the freight lines can get back to capacity again, and then the rates can start picking back up and they can all get profitable again. I hope to get 7 more years paid into my pension, that's the gamble I'm taking! Working at YRC with the cuts was still better than being with a non-union outfit. Keep it high and tight ladies and gentlemen! Look for the Headline later this year, "ABF settles suit with YRC and Teamsters for undisclosed sum"
ABF | Lawsuit will be settled for undisclosed sum later this year
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Welcome to ABF and good luck. I am not so sure about settling in the manner that you have proposed here. Where I come from when a TM brings one of his old driver buddies with him we have a term for him also but it is not turncoat.
Yes, I have been called an A**Kisser too! We had our disagreements in the 10 years I worked for him, I was a 24 yr. old hothead when we first starting working together, but he knows I'll get the job done and won't whine and complain about whatever assignments I get. I may get bumped onto Utility in October, but I ran it by choice at YRC for 10 months until they cancelled the run and gave it back to linehaul. They couldn't let a senior man have a run he enjoyed! I will go to 90% of NMFA since the YRC concessions have not been in effect for more than 36 months and get a 75% raise on my pension contributions, so that's an 80% raise! I'm all puckered up over it! I'm giving up four weeks vacation and the top spot on my board, but old YRC's still got a alot of digging to do...I'm gonna cut my losses and take my chances at ABF. The last few weeks I have helped them casual on Friday, (working a Sunday thru Thursday bid at YRC) and I already see I'm going to like the job much better. YRC is just running us senior guys ragged, to keep the bottom guys laid off or on that modified work day. I've been done with them for a while but had to wait until the guy at ABF retired. Thanks for the luck!
Bankruptcy has become YRC's favorite word, and ABF as well as all the other interested parties know they will get little if anything if YRC has to declare in court. So, ABF like all the others will settle, out of court, of course...the sum being sealed to protect the innocent...I mean the guilty. Of course they may disclose the amount of the settlement, but I don't think they would be required to, but I may be wrong there. If the economy continues to show improvement, the big money is going to let YRC run. That Wall Sreet hedge fund poured millions into the stock to bring it back up over $1 a share. It is unbelievable the stuff that has been done to keep this thing afloat. Some of these billionares like Buffet or Soros, once they get all this restructuring stuff inked and this lawsuit down to an agreed upon sum to settle, they can buy that company and never blink an eye. Everybody ain't broke! Some of us drive trucks for the company! Some ride in lear jets and buy distressed companies! They drop a half billion in a huge company and in 4 or 5 years take a billion and a half back out. That ain't working, that's the way ya do it! Me tho, I prefer workin'
Welcome aboard, myself along with many others are former yrc. You will notice a diffrence at abf in how your treated as for turncoat you have to do whats best for you & your family and dont look back......good luck
Thanks! My buddies, see, they are truckdrivers you know, and they love ribbing ya! But since I was on top of the board they were all telling me what a great move I was making! I hope we all benefit from my decision....especially ME! I remind them I ain't resigned yet...not till that vacation pay-out is in the bank! Another driver I worked with at YRC, who was a junior laid-off guy got a job with ABF at another barn, and when I told him what I thinking about, he said he would highly recommend doing it, so I had an inside look from a guy who really didn't have anything to gain by me being a TurnCoat! I will miss the drivers, well, some of them. But I will bump into them on P&D, but I may be on Utility in October. I had good bosses too. They normally handled my grievances well....you know, after the 2nd or 3rd week after it was filed, they would get over it. Never filed one I lost, and never filed one I didn't give em' a fair chance to make it right. So it is, in love and war!
Thanks! I'm pretty stoked about the move. We have taken a pretty good thrashing at old YRC, but it's still rolling and the way I see it, a bad job at YRC still beats a good job at Con-Way or Fed-Ex. I wish them the best. But the time has come for me to roll dem dice! Lookin for a 7, I need 7 more years paid on my pension! By the grace of God, hopefully I will see it happen!
Well, just remember, the only person's attitude you have ultimate control of is YOURS! Life's too short too be down all the time. I have my bad days like anybody, but I realize that ultimately the Good Lord is gonna take care of me, if I will try to do the best I know how to do at the time. These companies, they gonna take care of their bottom line, and that don't always go so good for us on the bottom of the board. If you have a good grievance, and business agent or steward think it's a hill worth dying for, then by all means stand your ground, but don't think they won't shoot back. If it's some BS you just gotta let go, then let it go....get out to the golf course, or whatever you enjoy, and be thankful that you're not NON-UNION! Union ain't perfect, but I've done both, and a bad Union job beats a non-union outfit. Be cool! Never letem' see ya sweat the BS!
If you have been employed at full NMFA wages within the last 36 months and another NMFA carrier hires you, your new hire rate is 90% of current NMFA wages. $14 is for dock casual only. If you drive on your shift it is $20.07. I am getting $14 right now, but the TM held the spot for me 2 weeks so I could get my 4 weeks vacation from YRC, which is worth about $3200 before taxes, plus the month of health and welfare they will pay, about a $1000, so I'm just letting that petty stuff ride. I've worked a total of about 25 hrs. casual over there at ABF, so I'm out about $150, but gaining essentially $4200 because of the TM's patience. But when my probation is over I will appeal to him for the 90% of current NMFA because our concessions at YRC have not been in effect for 36 months. YRC began contributing at 25% of the pension in June, ABF is still paying 100%, so that is a 75% raise on pension. Hopefully I will get my 5% on the hour too. I'm not going to be a smartA** about it, but I will ask for it at the proper time.
The new hire rule I am talking about is on page 208, Article 55, Section 2-A, 2nd paragraph of the NMFA Southern Region Area Local Freight Forwarding Pickup and Delivery Supplemental Agreement. The combination/casual rates are in Section 2-C., which is currently $20.07, if you perform driving duties on your shift. Dock only, then it's $14. I cannot appeal for this new hire raise until I relinquish my seniority at YRC anyway. That will happen after I get my vacation deposited and will be effective the day I am to return from vacation. I should have about a week or so left on my probation at ABF at that time. And I'm not going to rock the boat until I get the 30 day probation behind me. I will let you know how it works out. Trust me brother, I've been doing this stuff a long time, you don't ask for it, you won't get it, but ask at the wrong time, in the wrong way, and you may get more than you ask for! Oops! Choose your battles wisely! A good Teamster is a smart Teamster, not a Smart*ss Teamster!
The new hire rule I am talking about is on page 208, Article 55, Section 2-A, 2nd paragraph of the NMFA Southern Region Area Local Freight Forwarding Pickup and Delivery Supplemental Agreement. The combination/casual rates are in Section 2-C., which is currently $20.07, if you perform driving duties on your shift. Dock only, then it's $14. I cannot appeal for this new hire raise until I relinquish my seniority at YRC anyway. That will happen after I get my vacation deposited and will be effective the day I am to return from vacation. I should have about a week or so left on my probation at ABF at that time. And I'm not going to rock the boat until I get the 30 day probation behind me. I will let you know how it works out. Trust me brother, I've been doing this stuff a long time, you don't ask for it, you won't get it, but ask at the wrong time, in the wrong way, and you may get more than you ask for! Oops! Choose your battles wisely! A good Teamster is a smart Teamster, not a Smart*ss Teamster!
Shaggybx check my post # 14. Let me know if you get your raise! Don't push for it until your probation is over and get with your business agent and make sure he is going to go to bat for you if you plan to file for it. A grievance that a local won't back is a slap in the face, but you should have no problem if you approach it with the right attitude. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If your agent says you should get it, just approach your boss to give it to you going forward, but let any back pay ride, unless you are forced to file a grievance, then ask for the whole deal every how many weeks you were not paid correctly. You know a little give and take! Give them the benefit of the doubt, let him blame it on payroll or something, unless he wants to be ugly, but be sure your grievance is rock solid, not just cause I showed it to you in the book. YOUR LOCAL BA has to back YOU, to get it to committee, if they fight it.
