Averitt | Tractor Assignments

[ltl lifer]

Here is a question for Shuttle drivers and I especially want CM's input on this since he IS domiciled at the big house in the land of milk and honey. The question is this:

When a new tandem is sent to your domicile terminal, what/who determines who is assigned that tractor?

At my house in ALL the years we have been opened, the senior driver got first right of refusal. If he takes a new tractor, he then is passed over until he has had his new tractor for at least a year. The shuttle drivers basically take ownership of the assignment process. We now have a service center dictator (one of those wizards of smart from Univ. of Ala.) that states that "We don't bid trucks at Averitt Express". I think the guy is smoking something but that's neither here nor there.

Of course we all know that this scenario has not manifested itself in a long time due there being no new tandem daycabs system wide.

CM, how is this done at the big house?

 

[theoriginalwebidiot]

refer to your new rules of service, the company can assign tractors for drivers who have trucks assigned for safety(road team) this is a past practice on their part. file a grievance envoking your right to past practice and the tractors must be assigned according to seniority.

 

[Iceman]

Personally, since I have been driving, 1991, KNX has never bid tractors. For instance, I inherited the tractor from the retiree I replaced, ugly, but fast,70mph, and strong due to engine work done at Cummins and never detuned when it returned. Well a senior driver needed a tandem for his run so bottom driver , me, surrendered my ride, being there wasn't an extra twin on the yard. I picked an sweat single and drove it until it was traded for a new twin, T7986. So to this day a bottom driver will keep his newly traded tractor regardless of seniority, we do not bid trucks. Well recently number 3,4,5,6,12th and 16th had there tractors sold. We have 6 extra trucks sitting around so a few of them have chosen to drive those pemantly, the others are waiting for KNX to get a few tractors from Cha and Ckv.Those drivers were told that they would accept the number that was assigned to them regardless of seniority. KNX was scheduled to keep the new singles that were traded from our twins, KNX needs tandems more than singles so we are swapping them out with centers that are p/u and deliver lighter tonnage. Long story short, If I go in Monday and my truck has been traded, I will drive whatever number I am told and that will be mine until further notice. Disclaimer, this has not affected me yet, so all this is what drivers have told me and I have not spoken to anyone in authority. Hope this helps.

 

[jeepman]

Saw a sign in DAL this week, telling drivers if they have a twin screw, they must be back by 1900, or come back in a get a single axle. Looks like you WILL drive what you are TOLD to drive. Maybe it's time to put the eyeball on a mt T/L unit to do your bid.

 

[ltl lifer]

I just do not see what the big deal it is about tractor assignments. Every shuttle driver out of my house drives a tandem. We have only so many of them so why are we not able to bid them? What do the managers care? Heck they don't have to sit their a$$es in them all night. Seniority should count in this situation. Hell, do it once and it's done, for the most part, for 5 years or so. Why does it have to be such a secret procedure and why does it matter to them? They have ZERO good reasons why we cannot bid them.

jeepman, the sign in DAL is pertaining to city drivers having tandems in the city, not the shuttle guys. I am talking about being able to pick a better tandem in your local fleet ahead of a combo driver getting the better truck.

But then again, look who we work for...3rd tier low-rent outfit that will never be any more than it is right now and being run by incompetent upper management. There are some that think these guys are great but I view them as what they are, unqualified and over the hill.

 

[bigdog88]

Lifer avrt mngt just does whatever feels good at the moment. They dont care about seniority, they only care if benifits them or whoever is kissing their butt at the time. I have seen it to mant times where i was at and just reading the posts on avrt's forum it is a company wide thing. Hang in there cause as you say you only have a little while to go and then avrt can kiss yours. It is a shame that they shaft so many good people in so many ways that most are looking a way out of good ole avrt. I know what some folks reaction will be "dont like it here then leave" but i have never understood that because as you said about your scd (Univ. of Ala) one would think if mngt were so dang smart they could come up with a better answer than that. Nothing will ever change as long as the same old stale mngt is in place. Glad yall got the raise but it was not enough, wonder how much mngt got?

 

[ltl lifer]

I am sure that the managers and the suits in corp. have gotten an annual raise all along. When you fabricate numbers and figures to put out to your associates and 90% of said associates eat it up like it is the gospel...well need I say more. I don't see this happening as long as this old, tired and ineffective management has control of it. Until AE can be bought out or become a publicly traded company, we will be fed the bull crap that the suits want to feed us. Many of us that can see through their smokescreen know much better. It is a sad statement and has been sad since I have been here (15+ years). Same leadership (or at least that is how they are classified) with zero changes speaks volumes. Slow to no growth is the recent past and the foreseeable future.

Until then, we either eat the bowls and bowls of apathetic crap or we move on. I continue to show up so that I can get my daily belly laugh with the latest edition of "WTF happened that is laughable today". I am surprised that the place is still in business. If it is headed off the cliff (I can so see that happening), I guess I will stick around to the bitter end. When they go under, I will retire at that point.