Adding a lot of details
Rand McNally pay: .39 cpm/42K (LTLs pay 65k-95k)
*OTRs use because consignee's milage varies.
*LTLs use terminal-terminal exact milage.
Dock pay: $19 main terminals; $18 sub-terminals
*no direct deposit
*1st check held 2 weeks
Tractor/Trailer Defects
*If you get a daycab without a mechanical defect...Be sure to take a picture!
*Slip-seating not assigned. 1st-come-1st-serve, seniority, or load priority.
...heater mirror/cruise control doesn't work
...cracked/loose/missing/duct-taped mirrors
...missing door handles/knobs/locks
...doors don't open/close
...cracked/leaking windshields
...cracked panel unit, two hands to disengage brakes
...headlights held in place by clear tape
...missing clutch/brake/accelerator pedals
...ABS light on
...'check engine' light on
...interior lights out
...speedometer/odometer/fuel gauges not working
...panel lights not working
...bent/broken/missing steps
...engine breaks don't work
...bungy-corded swing doors to ensure closure
...roll-down doors, need forklifts to shut
...broken panels on placard units
...holes in trailers' ceilings or floors
...ac/heater/defroster doesn't work
...hooked to loaded red-flagged trailers
*Central's trucks not under two years.
*Tactic OTR starter companies use to get new drivers, having a 20% retention ratio.
*LTLs have a 95% rr. Explains why so few openings in small towns. LTLs value their drivers, reward them. Slip-seats are assigned, two drivers only, lowering equipment costs and damages.
*Central's 10% rr tells all. Drivers quit...overworked, underpaid, belittled...no rewards, incentives, encouragement
*Insult to injury, being paid more for unskilled dock work. Good starting place for college students, though. The professional driving took years of training. LTLs understand this logic, use it to their benefit. By doing this, they get eager, well-rested individuals, working their docks, driving their trucks. Pups set, ready to go upon arrival.
*Bonus Story: An 8 oz serving of molded mac & cheese near the accelerator pedal was staring up at me the other day. Who would do such a thing? With multiple drivers, no telling. If a lunch offering, no thanks!
Docks
...broken dock plates, months to replace
...bent/broken dock doors
...forks of different lengths/widths/heights
...not enough forklifts, drivers stand around unpaid
...uncharged forklifts, lost pay, lost production
...worn down wheels, bumpy ride
...some forklifts so aged, can't lift heavy loads
...inadequate lighting on dock, hard to read the handheld, dangerous for pedestrians
...no ac/fans/heaters on docks. May have a sweat-pouring during mid-summer, a freeze-your-:0-off during mid-winter. Fill in the blank with any body part of your choosing. Doesn't matter! It's frozen!
...handheld devices lose power, won't scan, reboots, or locks up
*Dock pay starts when a piece of freight is scanned to a designated trailer. If the first half of trailer goes to the floor, you go unpaid. Floor staging not counted in production, either. Dock pay stops when last freight scanned to a trailer. If the last part of your trailer goes to the floor, you lose pay.
*When restacking pallet or trailer, device will stop your pay clock. The stopage will not be known until next freight scan informs you you've been logged off. The next 10 minutes go unpaid as you reboot your handheld and rescale your forklift.
*Sub-terminal drivers lock down their terminals Saturday, alone, without pay, closing/locking dock doors, (un)hooking each trailer with freight to close doors. Another hour given freely to Central.
*20 handling units per hour is production goal, one every three minutes. Bulky items require recouping trailer each time to make it fit. When load is mostly crates of all differents sizes/shapes, it takes a lot of time.
*Management doesn't realize those who make production are the worst offenders for damages. They load freight on freight, cover up holes behind their piece. Next loader loses production recouping.
*LADIES BEWARE: Most terminals restrict males from using the womens restroom...but not all!
NOT DISCOURAGED? KEEP ON TRUCKIN' AND READIN'!
Managers:
*Do research! Your job is learning about loading, hazmat, DOT rules. safety.
*Big difference between being a leader (knowledgible, informative, organized, possessing a well-mannered vocabulary when negotiating between upper management and the needs of your employees wanting reliable equipment, incentives, and better wages, and then being competent enough to find answers to questions.) versus a bossy boss (Incompetent. Barks out orders just to have control, with no meaning as to what really needs to be accomplished. Never opposes or questions upper management's thoughts or requests.) But, all this was learned in Management 101. Managers at Central are good leaders when dealing with their own terminals, seeming to listen and decipher employees' concerns. The only thing lacking; courage to stand their ground with upper management about how the employees are losing faith, needing encouragement.
*Hearsay is that managers get a bonus for each piece of freight moved. Everything managers seem to say does pertains to dock production. Where's the advise for yard. road, hazmat, safety rules?
*Managers need to get off dock, check yard. Why? See below:
Minor infractions with write-ups given: (all seen from dock)
1) 10 minute break violation
*Federal law says an employee is entitled to one after each two hour interval. Central does not comply.
*Of course, this is the same company asking you to come in an hour earlier than your scheduled time, so you can hook, inspect, and be ready at dispatch time, on your own unpaid time, and not start DOT clock.
2) not wearing seatbelt while on a forklift in motion violation
*Employers have to supply a workable seatbelt per OSHA, that's it.
*Insurance firms do not have to pay a claim if a seatbelt is not worn.
*Our amendment states one has the freedom of choice as long as it does infringe upon another's rights.
*Being written up for not wearing seatbelt was simply a manager throwing his weight around, causing another good employee's departure.
3) taking a nap enroute violation
*No brainer! Too tired to drive, stop. It's worth the write-up from an incompetent manager. Heck...It's even worth the parking ticket from an awnery cop, for that matter. I can get over a reprimand, but killing someone over a material object? Forget it!
Major infractions without write-ups given (all seen from yard)
...An employee
1) broke another's mirror with theirs
2) broke trailer's doors while backing (in their defense, there's no streetlights nor ground painted markings of dock lanes)
3) smoked pot on the premises
4) dropped trailer with landing gear up when unhooking
5) not putting leg supports down on pups at dock
6) smokes cigarettes at the fuel island
...A manager
1) relieved himself on the property
2) used the girl's bathroom (manager being male)
3) slept with his head on desk
4) cussed out employees on the dock
5) told an employee to load a leaking hazmat container from one trailer to another, not cleaning up the spill, nor reporting the incident, saying there was nothing that could be done until the consignee refused it
6) hitched a ride, supposedly with permission from upper management, with not one-but two-Central drivers, to where this particular manager invited a friend, a non-Central employee, to climb aboard for the ride, both tag-alongs drinking beer from conceiled containers which weren't noticed until the second driver smelled it on them and was told if he had anymore to get rid of it, both trucks used during commute only had a driver's seat
...The owner's son-in-law
1) cursed out a main terminal's manager with his employees nearby
WHAT A GREAT COMPANY, CENTRAL! WE KNOW WHERE YOUR PRIORITIES ARE!
Why haven't I left..Small town..Few opportunities..Family needs me at home.