well i am well in to my 10th month of being laid-off.yet there is still guys from my barn running out of hours come friday (whats the deal)5 to 6 hours overtime everyday its not just 1or2 guys it is 6or7 and still the copany and union says that they are not close to tripping the formula that is in the contract about overtime and having to call a man back(this really sucks) i have had to move 3 times give my house back and sell my four wheeler i got a job driving over the road (i hated it) abf calls and said they had 6 weeks worth of work and maybe more so i quit my job go back and it lasted a week and a half.not really sure if its even worth it anymore i have been here over two years and have worked a total of 8 months

I am in the same boat your are brother. You have seen more work than me. They only call me in when its lousy weather and the senior girls don't feel like coming in. Or wait until 20 minutes before midnight and call me to come in with no sleep, like they are doing me a favor. I finally found a local non-freight gig who was not afraid to hire someone with teamster background. Which I fully believe was my problem for the longest time on the job search. It has normal day hours M-F, pay is less then ABF but at least its steady and the head games don't happen there at all.

I am still "laid off" but I don't think this its worth going back if I hear, "oh its getting busy again, be ready". It cost me everything to stay there as long as I did. Lastly the other thing that always bothered me was being called in on a Friday after 2 or 3 weeks of no work, and having to listen to the senior girls complaining about that they are working 60 hours a week, meanwhile here I am with 2 dollars in my pocket to get me through 12-14 hours. Something is definitely wrong with the whole set up. So don't feel bad about doubting whether to stay or not, I am thinking its more trouble than its worth, Especially if YRC folds up (which I hope they don't), ABF in my opinion will be right behind them when the non unions go crazy and continue slashing rates to sink us.

Same at my barn. Most guy's who were fortunate enough to stay on steady during this time turned into O.T. whores and claim it is forced. I asked the TM why is he forcing these guy so much O.T and he says he isn't. That they are volunteering. If these so called Teamsters would just sign the NO O.T. list the company has to due everything possible to get them off as close to their 8th-10th hour. If the company continues to work them 12-14 hours they need to file on it. So, Obviously, They want to O.T. If these guys call themselves Teamsters I'm ashamed to call myself one. Call me Old school, I believe in watching your brothers back and giving up some time for a jr brother can get some time in. I worked 16 years for a union food company and have only 5 years at ABF. So I've been on both sides. Senior and Junior.

You may have seen a Truckingboards member with the tagline "Seniority over Solidarity." That is the most honest description of our union today. My brother worked in the auto industry and when their union brothers were laid off they all pitched in and helped out. Our brothers at the Teamsters have created a system that starves out the guys at the bottom with not a care in the world for our well-being.

When I try to explain to friends and family that the union has created a system where everyone of my "brothers" cuts in line in front of me they cannot understand it for the life of them. I have not worked in over two weeks but for the guys above me they get right in front after a 10-hour break.

This system used to not be as unfair as it is now. There was a day when you could just look at the junior man and tell him that this is how everyone started; there will be times when you only get 2-3 runs a week but you'll appreciate the system when you get seniority. Those days do not compare to our current situation. Like others, I have had to quit jobs to come back. For this latest recall, I quit a job and worked one week and two partial weeks and have now sat for over two weeks thanks to the hog board. Obviously the job I had was not better than ABF but it was a paycheck and now I have none.

If the company would have dreamt up something as unfair as this it would be decried far and wide. But, it was our own brotherhood that came up with this. I started in 06 and I have less than a year of service credit toward retirement. City drivers work all the overtime they can and road drivers shave time off of runs to get back in front so that fewer people are offered work.

I see in the news all the time where police and fire unions are agreeing to plans that allow their brothers and sisters to avoid layoffs. Not in trucking, not at the IBT.

I know I'm wasting my time to even suggest this--because the haves outnumber the have-nots--but I think we should be more like other unions and look for ways to make sure there's a chicken in every pot. There has got to be a better way than what is happening now on the city side and the road side.

Well said CDL Holder! Well said

By the way, Ther're is a hand full of guys I'd call true Teamsters at 140 and they know who they are!!!!