ABF | New termanels

I'm going to toot my own horn here...... When I retired, I had TM's, dispatchers, B.A.'s and Union Presidents all sitting at the same table..........along with my most treasured co-workers, family and friends........

And,....this was within a year that I had an argument with management that resulted in a threat of firing for causing a work stoppage in my capacity as steward........

I'm proud of the fact that,....even if we weren't best friends,.....they respected what I stood for....Both management and Union.....

Their showing up at my retirement party,...was an affirmation of their respect for my ideals.....and maybe a little professional friendship...

....(....Now if I can arrange it that the same crowd shows up for my funeral,........along with the brass bands, circus elephants,....and minor local celebrities,.......I'll be really happy,....and dead...)....

My point is that I was proud of the work I did,...both as employee and steward,....and that other people recognized that......

As human beings.....we can ask for nothing more, to be satisfied that you did a good job.......

Now,....I've been married for 41 years...I asked my wife if I've been a good husband,......She said she'll let me know in twenty or so years......


Sounds like quite a career to be proud of!! I too am retired, but from a competitor- Reddaway Trucklines on the West Coast. I too was a Shop Steward of 27 years, worked the Dock, and then drove for over 10 years before retiring suddenly upon the death of my Wife in 2015. At the time I had also helped Negotiate 5 Labor Agreements, and was on a personal basis with Managers up to and including the CEO of the Company, and with Union Officials from all the effected Locals within our Regional Agreement, and even Officials of the International Freight Division, and including James Hoffa Jr.
My Company truly appreciated my work . So much so I was one of a very select few who was able to take my truck home at night to avoid an over two hour drive back to the terminal. I lived about 30 miles South of the Portland Terminal, so many was the time I'd call in to dispatch in the morning to let them know I was rolling, and they would tell me not to come in, but divert to Salem, Oregon for the day. We used to have a Terminal there but it was closed down after YRC bought us , so drivers would shuttle trailers down from Portland to a drop lot, and I'd work out of there. I was also the guy who got sent on a run whenever freight missed a load, or we had a mad customer. Didn't matter if it was local, or way out of the service area. I did runs to the Coast, or to Central Oregon, and the company didn't hold me to any bill count standard. They just knew if they sent it out on me, it got delivered on time, and they had a happy customer.
The Company still calls me Offering to put me back to work in any capacity I choose, but at 68, I no longer have my CDL, and probably couldn't pass a Medical. Work in the Terminal doesn't interest me, because I couldn't stand the Soap Opera BS that goes on there. Sadly, when I left, there was no retirement party, no quick driver's meeting with coffee and cake, nothing. I left when the company was going to go through a seasonal layoff, and as I was working part time after my wife's death, I was training new drivers. We had just hired a few newbies, and I figured if I took a voluntary layoff, it would at least save one of them from being laid off. I left on layoff on February 1, 2016, but as my medical card expired and the company wouldn't pay for it as per the labor agreement, I didn't go back. Officially, I'm still on Layoff !!
 
Sounds like quite a career to be proud of!! I too am retired, but from a competitor- Reddaway Trucklines on the West Coast. I too was a Shop Steward of 27 years, worked the Dock, and then drove for over 10 years before retiring suddenly upon the death of my Wife in 2015. At the time I had also helped Negotiate 5 Labor Agreements, and was on a personal basis with Managers up to and including the CEO of the Company, and with Union Officials from all the effected Locals within our Regional Agreement, and even Officials of the International Freight Division, and including James Hoffa Jr.
My Company truly appreciated my work . So much so I was one of a very select few who was able to take my truck home at night to avoid an over two hour drive back to the terminal. I lived about 30 miles South of the Portland Terminal, so many was the time I'd call in to dispatch in the morning to let them know I was rolling, and they would tell me not to come in, but divert to Salem, Oregon for the day. We used to have a Terminal there but it was closed down after YRC bought us , so drivers would shuttle trailers down from Portland to a drop lot, and I'd work out of there. I was also the guy who got sent on a run whenever freight missed a load, or we had a mad customer. Didn't matter if it was local, or way out of the service area. I did runs to the Coast, or to Central Oregon, and the company didn't hold me to any bill count standard. They just knew if they sent it out on me, it got delivered on time, and they had a happy customer.
The Company still calls me Offering to put me back to work in any capacity I choose, but at 68, I no longer have my CDL, and probably couldn't pass a Medical. Work in the Terminal doesn't interest me, because I couldn't stand the Soap Opera BS that goes on there. Sadly, when I left, there was no retirement party, no quick driver's meeting with coffee and cake, nothing. I left when the company was going to go through a seasonal layoff, and as I was working part time after my wife's death, I was training new drivers. We had just hired a few newbies, and I figured if I took a voluntary layoff, it would at least save one of them from being laid off. I left on layoff on February 1, 2016, but as my medical card expired and the company wouldn't pay for it as per the labor agreement, I didn't go back. Officially, I'm still on Layoff !!

Very interesting, Brother! Congratulations on a successful career that you can be proud of.......Pardon me, but since you're still on Layoff,....I should be congratulating you on your.....continuing....career.....

Part of my post was to counteract the company "talking point" that all Union guys are...inherently lazy.... Yours is another story of how Union guys can be trusted to hold BOTH the companies' and the Union's best interests at heart,...with no conflict of interest.
We are just as industrious and innovative as any other high-quality employee out there.........More so, perhaps,.....because we made good long-term employment choices, instead of just jumping for the first carrier to offer reasonable wages.......Takes a little thought to insure you're contractually protected once you're out on the Public streets.

I've gotten a few "polite" queries from companies asking if I would grace their terminal/trucks with my presence behind the wheel.......Hah! They don't know the trouble they're asking for.........
Since I've retired,.....My ascent into true Curmudgeon-hood was rapid and all-encompassing........If they hired me,....I'd have to tell them constantly how wrong they are running their operation,......and I would have no Problem refusing to do some of the work they request of me.....purely on the grounds that I think it's ...Stupid......

They would have to accommodate my frequent coffee breaks and "social" stops....where I tell other businesses how ..wrong..they are with THEIR operation while I deliver/pick up their freight.......
And my afternoon 2 hour nap......can't forget that....I'm now a Creature of Habit......
....Oh,....and NO Overtime......forget it......If you can't conduct your companies' daily workload within an 8 hour period,...don't expect me to ....enable your dispatcher's Stupidity by working Overtime ...to cover his Incompetence......

Alright! Let the Line form for all the ....desperate...employers out there who will accommodate me (...at $100 an hour....)..
 
Very interesting, Brother! Congratulations on a successful career that you can be proud of.......Pardon me, but since you're still on Layoff,....I should be congratulating you on your.....continuing....career.....

Part of my post was to counteract the company "talking point" that all Union guys are...inherently lazy.... Yours is another story of how Union guys can be trusted to hold BOTH the companies' and the Union's best interests at heart,...with no conflict of interest.
We are just as industrious and innovative as any other high-quality employee out there.........More so, perhaps,.....because we made good long-term employment choices, instead of just jumping for the first carrier to offer reasonable wages.......Takes a little thought to insure you're contractually protected once you're out on the Public streets.

I've gotten a few "polite" queries from companies asking if I would grace their terminal/trucks with my presence behind the wheel.......Hah! They don't know the trouble they're asking for.........
Since I've retired,.....My ascent into true Curmudgeon-hood was rapid and all-encompassing........If they hired me,....I'd have to tell them constantly how wrong they are running their operation,......and I would have no Problem refusing to do some of the work they request of me.....purely on the grounds that I think it's ...Stupid......

They would have to accommodate my frequent coffee breaks and "social" stops....where I tell other businesses how ..wrong..they are with THEIR operation while I deliver/pick up their freight.......
And my afternoon 2 hour nap......can't forget that....I'm now a Creature of Habit......
....Oh,....and NO Overtime......forget it......If you can't conduct your companies' daily workload within an 8 hour period,...don't expect me to ....enable your dispatcher's Stupidity by working Overtime ...to cover his Incompetence......

Alright! Let the Line form for all the ....desperate...employers out there who will accommodate me (...at $100 an hour....)..

Canary, your career was a lot like mine, although I didn't bankrupt but one company, I receive numerous calls
each day begging me to work for them.
When I mention salary, all companies say they are willing to pay me what I'm worth,.... Sorry, but no thanks,
I'm pretty sure I can't live on that! Guess I'll stay retired.
 
Canary, your career was a lot like mine, although I didn't bankrupt but one company, I receive numerous calls
each day begging me to work for them.
When I mention salary, all companies say they are willing to pay me what I'm worth,.... Sorry, but no thanks,
I'm pretty sure I can't live on that! Guess I'll stay retired.


Ahh!....but you're worth far more than you realize! You're probably basing your "worth" on last century truck driver availability....
This is the Twenty-First Century....where carriers are willing to hire elderly 70-80-year olds,...merely because the work ethic of older drivers is...uhh..."better" ...than this century drivers....
...(..or they pay so cheaply, they'll hire a near corpse just to warm the seat...and more "lively" drivers want better pay than what they offer..).....

Your "experience" is the same,..or better,..than mine! That means you are worth at least $100 an hour! Stand firm and hold out for that figure, Brother! It's about time they paid us for what we know.....Lord knows we won't get paid for our Looks......
 
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