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ABF | Mass Exodus?

RonnieJames

RonnieJames

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ABF can't wait to hire you, then the dock guys get laid off and LH drivers sit at home. Looks like many at the break bulks are getting ready to go elsewhere again. Is ABF that slow right now?
 
RonnieJames said:
ABF can't wait to hire you, then the dock guys get laid off and LH drivers sit at home. Looks like many at the break bulks are getting ready to go elsewhere again. Is ABF that slow right now?
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I've heard others mention that their terminal is slow, but my terminal has more than we can handle! (small terminal). Maybe it's just certain areas?
 
I would imagine the sales force is already trumpeting that one to potential customers. Slow as I've ever seen it at 310.........Shame, 'cause I don't get a chance to smear dirt on my spiffy uniform,..........or even get a chance to splash mud on the new trailer side-skirts that are sitting around waiting to be used..........Wonder what else they can waste money on while we all stand around looking for something productive to do,.......besides wearing out brooms.....
 
In August of 2008 my terminal hired a new road driver. The first week they could not get him out. They got him out the second week but in October he was laid off. My terminal is supposed to hire another road driver now but our bottom guy did not get out until Saturday just after midnight. July and August have been slow. I keep hearing that we are hiring because we are going to go to more meet and greet turns to cut down on hotel bills but just where are the trailers and converter gear going to come from so that we can meet them with empties? Do they expect us to bob tail on some of these meet and greets? They have been keeping 2009 and 2010 tractors in the system for the road but all that does is create tow bills because the trucks with 950,000 miles are breaking down for some unknown reason. Sure wished we could drive the 2015s on the road besides in Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays.
 
Sumting Wong said:
In August of 2008 my terminal hired a new road driver. The first week they could not get him out. They got him out the second week but in October he was laid off. My terminal is supposed to hire another road driver now but our bottom guy did not get out until Saturday just after midnight. July and August have been slow. I keep hearing that we are hiring because we are going to go to more meet and greet turns to cut down on hotel bills but just where are the trailers and converter gear going to come from so that we can meet them with empties? Do they expect us to bob tail on some of these meet and greets? They have been keeping 2009 and 2010 tractors in the system for the road but all that does is create tow bills because the trucks with 950,000 miles are breaking down for some unknown reason. Sure wished we could drive the 2015s on the road besides in Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays.
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950,000 miles? At YRC that would be considered just broken in.
 
The company usually tries to sell trucks before the 800K range. The majority of the road tractors will go to 1 million miles before major component repair or replacement. If buyers can expect to get 200K then the truck will pay for itself. The company skipped one year buying new equipment & bought some used Freightliners. It takes about 3-4 years to get the equipment up to date after skipping a year. The fourth year a tractor is in road service is when it costs more to maintain it & depreciation is greater than buying new tractors.
This is one reason I am glad to see funds spent on new equipment. If the company is buying new equipment they plan to stay in business instead of going for a quick profit. I prefer to work for a company that is in business for the long haul. I don't fuss about the company spending funds on improvements.
 
Ironically I left YRC. Just different colored trucks I guess. Seems like ABF doesn't know what the other hand is doing either. Pretty pathetic.
 
Road drivers at 094 get the sterling and the 10's and 11's because the city men come out of the terminal and walk over the bridge and take the best trucks while their city junk sits idle on the other side of the buildiing. Go figure
 
The terminal manager should stop this. The city tractors should be used in the city till the city pool is exhausted. I have known of times when there were no road tractors available for bid runs because they were all in the city when city tractors were available.
 
RonnieJames said:
Ironically I left YRC. Just different colored trucks I guess. Seems like ABF doesn't know what the other hand is doing either. Pretty pathetic.
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The freight industry has always been hard on the new hires and that is not any different at ABF. Some get lucky and don't lose much work and others starve and struggle at the beginning. If you have neighboring terminals they will use you at them if they can. And I believe that they pay your benefits to your home funds if you cross jurisdictions while doing it. That being said...ABF is not what it used to be and for the most part what compassion they used to have for us went out the door, most of it with Robert Young (III?) and the rest of it with Judy and Co. ABF is quickly becoming a run of the mill freight company and not a place that I would want to spend 20 years or so working.
DCM_Doc said:
A company is only successful when it can attract & retain good employees. I remember interviews with Roger Penske & Joe Gibbs. They both said you do it with people. You hire good people & compensate them so they will stay with you. Nobody can argue with these two successful men.
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For now ABF is enjoying the remnants of their history as a good place to work but I don't think that will last much longer. The only thing that they have going for themselves at the moment is that they are better than YRC and that's not saying much.
 
DCM_Doc said:
The terminal manager should stop this. The city tractors should be used in the city till the city pool is exhausted. I have known of times when there were no road tractors available for bid runs because they were all in the city when city tractors were available.
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Listen to you guys. The city driver can not take a road tractor UNLESS THE DISPATCHER ASSIGNS IT TO HIM. I have seen road drivers do things to get the tractor they want. It is not a Teamsters problem it is a management problem because we can only take the tractors THEY ASSIGN US! End of story. Again we blame a Teamster and that really makes us look bad. Does anyone on this site blame a man that would choose not to drive a 1,000,000 mile plus tractor?
 
Muler said:
Listen to you guys. The city driver can not take a road tractor UNLESS THE DISPATCHER ASSIGNS IT TO HIM.
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This is not necessarily true but it would take some balls to take a tractor other than the one that has been assigned to you. In the city the driver can change his tractor in the PDA. I have done it myself when dispatch inserted the wrong number. I never heard a word about it but I suspect that it caused a little trouble what they went to assign the other unit.
 
ABFer said:
The freight industry has always been hard on the new hires and that is not any different at ABF. Some get lucky and don't lose much work and others starve and struggle at the beginning. If you have neighboring terminals they will use you at them if they can. And I believe that they pay your benefits to your home funds if you cross jurisdictions while doing it. That being said...ABF is not what it used to be and for the most part what compassion they used to have for us went out the door, most of it with Robert Young (III?) and the rest of it with Judy and Co. ABF is quickly becoming a run of the mill freight company and not a place that I would want to spend 20 years or so working.
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Could be like me, bottom guy that is full time got laid off & now he is the casual. No work for me so I drive 120 miles couple days a week to Tampa just to work.
If I had moved closer to Tampa I would have been hired full time by now.
Oh well, Fedex is building a major hub 7 miles from my house. Might get to work there. Don't want to do that but have to make living some how.
 
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