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TForce | 2023 Contract negotiations.

stunhsif said:
I never hated my job, I worked my butt off and was very successful winning numerous awards for my performance. I would not have been as successful as I was during my tenure with UPS Freight/TForce had it not been for the dock, city and linehaul drivers as well as all the others that it takes to make a carrier network perform. My only gripe is how much you guys ( and some gals) bash the company with endless negativity. I guess this website is where all the negative nellies show up to **** and moan. Most the drivers i interacted with were fully engaged and locked in on our success. Some bitching did take place but not much. I have moved on but look back at my tenure as being a positive force for helping the company be profitable and successful. i still have friends that work there so I like to stay engaged.
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How do we survive with out such wonderful employees such as yourself. I'll bet the company you went to is just tickled to death to have someone of such high caliber as yourself working there.
 
Toliet Paper said:
How do we survive with out such wonderful employees such as yourself. I'll bet the company you went to is just tickled to death to have someone of such high caliber as yourself working there.
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legend in my own mind! lol . You and I survived because of team work, nuttin more, nuttin less.
 
stunhsif said:
I never hated my job, I worked my butt off and was very successful winning numerous awards for my performance. I would not have been as successful as I was during my tenure with UPS Freight/TForce had it not been for the dock, city and linehaul drivers as well as all the others that it takes to make a carrier network perform. My only gripe is how much you guys ( and some gals) bash the company with endless negativity. I guess this website is where all the negative nellies show up to **** and moan. Most the drivers i interacted with were fully engaged and locked in on our success. Some bitching did take place but not much. I have moved on but look back at my tenure as being a positive force for helping the company be profitable and successful. i still have friends that work there so I like to stay engaged.
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This guy sounds like current management fronting as a driver
 
Cookiecutter said:
This guy sounds like current management fronting as a driver
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Hey, he won numerous awards. Now I have no idea what he is talking about, since the company doesn't give awards(unless you consider a service plack, or a sleeve patch and award). Those awards go to the landfill, they are highly valuable as compost.
 
stunhsif said:
I never hated my job, I worked my butt off and was very successful winning numerous awards for my performance. ike
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I appreciate your efforts to make the Company work, but in my experiences over the 15 years I was with UPGF/TFI you are the exception not the rule. IMHO 95% of TFI's drivers and dockworkers feel the same, they want to secure a future, they want to do the job they are given and do it well, and safely, they want to ensure their families and future are not for naught.
The major, IMHO, percentage of part-time, mediocre pay, poor benefit low and mid-level managers don't feel the same. I can't really blame them, the pension has been eliminated, the healthcare costs have skyrocketed for lesser coverage, the lack of vacation time makes a difficult atmosphere to attract the best in the field. The late arrivals of daily freight, the pressure to make on-time cuts, the constant "you can only run 8 drivers today", fielding calls from customers on late deliveries, missed pick-ups, lost or damaged freight would depress me too. The "conference calls" getting torn a new one for things out of your control, and I have heard many of those calls over the years is no incentive to excel. Being set up to fail is the only way to describe it.
As far as the pi$$ing and moaning it is part of life. To be second guessed and berated by a manager who has never operated a heavy vehicle, never dealt with an angry customer, never put a 53' van in a 40 foot spot, never pulled a set of doubles through rush hour traffic without incident is a problem. "Do a pre-trip", but be off the yard in 12 minutes, including secure your load. Not paying legitimate time "on property' when the readiness of your hooks is out of your control. To be charged with an "at fault accident" even when it is clear it was unavoidable, i.e. the other driver was cited, admitted fault is counter-productive at least.
 
IMHO, TFI has failed so far to separate from the toxic cloud of UPS, case in point, the condition of the equipment, unstaffed repair shops, lack of fuel and DEF at major hubs. Inability to staff properly, retention of "problem" managers and supervisors all add to the frustration. The lack of training, both dock and drivers could be vastly improved. The "sign this" safety program is a "cover your a$$" poor excuse for safety.
This forum, and others is an important tool in expressing the things that affect us all. How else can a message be shared with so many? What you perceive as "pi$$ing and moaning" is a by-product of the high stress industry we are involved in. I believe this board is a direct link to upper management as I am sure it is monitored by senior mangers and hope they read it with an open mind.
I am not directly actively involved in the day to day activities but after investing my best 29 years I have not lost my will to help my fellow Brothers and Sisters improve their lives.

Thank you: Crum.......
 
No port said:
Hey, he won numerous awards. Now I have no idea what he is talking about, since the company doesn't give awards(unless you consider a service plack, or a sleeve patch and award). Those awards go to the landfill, they are highly valuable as compost.
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Give me cash instead
 
I honestly believe that Bedard wants to change the culture and the CEO of T-Force wants to do the same but somewhere between the ivory tower and the corner office there's a huge disconnect. TM's don't want more freight ops mgr whos way of discussing a problem is "I don't give a Fuc%" city dispatchers who bully and purposely **** of P&D drivers the list of problems is long. The boots on the ground want to do better but it gets frustrating although some of them act like children who are entitled and lazy most are doing the best they can.
 
Crumudgeon said:
I appreciate your efforts to make the Company work, but in my experiences over the 15 years I was with UPGF/TFI you are the exception not the rule. IMHO 95% of TFI's drivers and dockworkers feel the same, they want to secure a future, they want to do the job they are given and do it well, and safely, they want to ensure their families and future are not for naught.
The major, IMHO, percentage of part-time, mediocre pay, poor benefit low and mid-level managers don't feel the same. I can't really blame them, the pension has been eliminated, the healthcare costs have skyrocketed for lesser coverage, the lack of vacation time makes a difficult atmosphere to attract the best in the field. The late arrivals of daily freight, the pressure to make on-time cuts, the constant "you can only run 8 drivers today", fielding calls from customers on late deliveries, missed pick-ups, lost or damaged freight would depress me too. The "conference calls" getting torn a new one for things out of your control, and I have heard many of those calls over the years is no incentive to excel. Being set up to fail is the only way to describe it.
As far as the pi$$ing and moaning it is part of life. To be second guessed and berated by a manager who has never operated a heavy vehicle, never dealt with an angry customer, never put a 53' van in a 40 foot spot, never pulled a set of doubles through rush hour traffic without incident is a problem. "Do a pre-trip", but be off the yard in 12 minutes, including secure your load. Not paying legitimate time "on property' when the readiness of your hooks is out of your control. To be charged with an "at fault accident" even when it is clear it was unavoidable, i.e. the other driver was cited, admitted fault is counter-productive at least.
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I cannot disagree with anything you said, all valid points. Managers as noted above should have been terminated for berating and talking down to employees. If I had been king for a day ( during my six years) I would have whacked much of the higher level mgmt team and brought in new blood that knows how to run an LTL carrier. The single biggest roadblock to this companies success is the antiquated hub and spoke linehaul network they run and their inability to get terminals to adhere to cut times. This is partly due to worker shortages ( on the dock) and the fact the company routes drivers rather than freight because of the union contracts. Non union LTL carriers route freight, not the drivers. Non union linehaul networks are fluid rather than static and they change with the ebb and flow of freight. This allows them to better service the freight on time, reduces empty miles and drives profitability.
 
stunhsif said:
I cannot disagree with anything you said, all valid points. Managers as noted above should have been terminated for berating and talking down to employees. If I had been king for a day ( during my six years) I would have whacked much of the higher level mgmt team and brought in new blood that knows how to run an LTL carrier. The single biggest roadblock to this companies success is the antiquated hub and spoke linehaul network they run and their inability to get terminals to adhere to cut times. This is partly due to worker shortages ( on the dock) and the fact the company routes drivers rather than freight because of the union contracts. Non union LTL carriers route freight, not the drivers. Non union linehaul networks are fluid rather than static and they change with the ebb and flow of freight. This allows them to better service the freight on time, reduces empty miles and drives profitability.
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The single biggest roadblock is managements unwillingness to change. If a driver, any driver has available time they can be routed where needed. The bids can be setup according to need, and allow for limited flexibility as needed. Extra board can be expanded allowing all the coverage that pops up. Using drivers as dockworkers burns up the time they could be used to efficiently move freight. The hub and spoke can be successful if trailers are loaded at origin "to ride", but the advent of vans makes that difficult. The "load it, don't dock it" mentality doesn't allow for proper head loading. The loss of full time loaders at the hubs makes cuts difficult.
If they can't operate under the weak contract we have now, they never will.
 
Crumudgeon said:
The single biggest roadblock is managements unwillingness to change. If a driver, any driver has available time they can be routed where needed. The bids can be setup according to need, and allow for limited flexibility as needed. Extra board can be expanded allowing all the coverage that pops up. Using drivers as dockworkers burns up the time they could be used to efficiently move freight. The hub and spoke can be successful if trailers are loaded at origin "to ride", but the advent of vans makes that difficult. The "load it, don't dock it" mentality doesn't allow for proper head loading. The loss of full time loaders at the hubs makes cuts difficult.
If they can't operate under the weak contract we have now, they never will.
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Part of the companies problem is the fact that they have to abide by what you call a "weak contract" while non union carriers ( who own the market) don't have to be hamstrung by any contracts.
 
stunhsif said:
Part of the companies problem is the fact that they have to abide by what you call a "weak contract" while non union carriers ( who own the market) don't have to be hamstrung by any contracts.
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The contract is company friendly, unfortunately for the company it isn't idiot proof. Every grievance ever filled and won was done so by a manager choosing not to follow simple rules. I have had managers who are a grievance mill, and others who get no grievances. It is commonly based on their own stubbornness or out right stupidity.
95% of all paid grievances are seniority violations. If a manger can't read a seniority rooster, then they really aren't qualified to work here. Unfortunately for us, this is an all too common occurrence.
 
stunhsif said:
Part of the companies problem is the fact that they have to abide by what you call a "weak contract" while non union carriers ( who own the market) don't have to be hamstrung by any contracts.
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I believe we will have to agree to disagree. No disrespect, but you sound like a one string banjo. In a perfect world we would not need Union rep., with the "profits over people" mentality of the modern day corporations unwilling to follow their own rules some protection is needed. Your "flexibility" is a two way street, make the place a superb place to work and see what happens.
I'm lookin' for a job, {my Ol' woman made me say that}, Labor Consultant to Mangement has a nice ring to it..... Crum.............
 
Crumudgeon said:
I believe we will have to agree to disagree. No disrespect, but you sound like a one string banjo. In a perfect world we would not need Union rep., with the "profits over people" mentality of the modern day corporations unwilling to follow their own rules some protection is needed. Your "flexibility" is a two way street, make the place a superb place to work and see what happens.
I'm lookin' for a job, {my Ol' woman made me say that}, Labor Consultant to Mangement has a nice ring to it..... Crum.............
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I appreciate your civility but have to believe the drivers and dock workers at Old Domi, Dayton, PittOhio and others see no need for a union.
 
stunhsif said:
I appreciate your civility but have to believe the drivers and dock workers at Old Domi, Dayton, PittOhio and others see no need for a union.
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A little history lesson here. After the acquisition of Overnite by UPS, we were offered up to the Union as part of the negotiation to allow UPS to leave the Teamster Pension Fund. Was a simple card check, it was a done deal.
 
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