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ABF | What Happened To This Company?

6PakAbs said:
I know that Wes Kemp and David Stubblefield were first class, but wasn't sure about Davidson, but I can buy into your thoughts.
But I knew Roy Slagle was bad news...from what I heard...
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Dave Stubblefield wanted to put us all in sleepers to compete with YRC after they went sleeper. But he and his wife Peggy wanted to pray for us all. Robert Young and John Dale (VP of Trans) stopped that nonsense. Don't know if the prayers helped or not. But I was damn glad not to go on sleepers, though. Yes, it was a better company back then. Robert Young was the anchor that held us from the storm. I will always respect his leadership. I remember when we turned down the 15% giveback they wanted to defeat the hostile takeover attempt by Razorback Aquisitions in !988?, Razorback, by the way, was a Corporate raider and intended to buy up ABF and tear it apart and sell it off piecemeal, like Carl Icahn did with Continental Airlines. Robert Young said he respected our vote and they would find a way to work around it. AND THEY DID! Their mistake was to have let too many shares of common stock out on the open market so that Razorback could buy up nearly controlling interest in ABF, and they needed the funds to repurchase the rest of the common stock back before that could happen. They mortgaged their souls and prevented it. An absolute class act! He is largely the reason ABF is still here. No company could have asked for a better CEO.
 
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Dave Stubblefield, by the way, was the company president that pushed through the purchase of Carolina Freight. He later apologized to Robert Young for nearly bankrupting ABF with that one. They came VERY close to losing it all. Bob Young just said it was alright, just learn from it and move on... Robert Young will be remembered as one of the titans of the industry. When so many CEOs' looked for an excuse to fail, He stayed focused on his vision to succeed. Had his son lived to carry on after him, ABF would be in competent hands still.
 
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hangbelly said:
Dave Stubblefield wanted to put us all in sleepers to compete with YRC after they went sleeper. But he and his wife Peggy wanted to pray for us all. Robert Young and John Dale (VP of Trans) stopped that nonsense. Don't know if the prayers helped or not. But I was damn glad not to go on sleepers, though. Yes, it was a better company back then. Robert Young was the anchor that held us from the storm. I will always respect his leadership. I remember when we turned down the 15% giveback they wanted to defeat the hostile takeover attempt by Razorback Aquisitions in !988?, Razorback, by the way, was a Corporate raider and intended to buy up ABF and tear it apart and sell it off piecemeal, like Carl Icahn did with Continental Airlines. Robert Young said he respected our vote and they would find a way to work around it. AND THEY DID! Their mistake was to have let too many shares of common stock out on the open market so that Razorback could buy up nearly controlling interest in ABF, and they needed the funds to repurchase the rest of the common stock back before that could happen. They mortgaged their souls and prevented it. An absolute class act! He is largely the reason ABF is still here. No company could have asked for a better CEO.
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I have personally met Mr. Young and John Dale and you are absolutely correct. They are both class acts all the way. John Dale was one of the most honest people I have ever met. Very polite and respectful, but would tell you exactly how it is, not necessarily how you wanted it to be. I have nothing but respect for both of these gentlemen.
 
hangbelly said:
Dave Stubblefield, by the way, was the company president that pushed through the purchase of Carolina Freight. He later apologized to Robert Young for nearly bankrupting ABF with that one. They came VERY close to losing it all. Bob Young just said it was alright, just learn from it and move on... Robert Young will be remembered as one of the titans of the industry. When so many CEOs' looked for an excuse to fail, He stayed focused on his vision to succeed. Had his son lived to carry on after him, ABF would be in competent hands still.
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You are also correct about Mr. Young's son. He trained with our dock supervisors here at the Rock when he was getting started in the business and he got along very well with all of the workers. He would listen to what you had to say and treat you as his equal. You could definately tell he had a lot of the values that his father had. Very sad day when he passed away. We all knew then that it would never be the same at ABF.
 
hangbelly said:
Dave Stubblefield wanted to put us all in sleepers to compete with YRC after they went sleeper. But he and his wife Peggy wanted to pray for us all. Robert Young and John Dale (VP of Trans) stopped that nonsense. Don't know if the prayers helped or not. But I was damn glad not to go on sleepers, though. Yes, it was a better company back then. Robert Young was the anchor that held us from the storm. I will always respect his leadership. I remember when we turned down the 15% giveback they wanted to defeat the hostile takeover attempt by Razorback Aquisitions in !988?, Razorback, by the way, was a Corporate raider and intended to buy up ABF and tear it apart and sell it off piecemeal, like Carl Icahn did with Continental Airlines. Robert Young said he respected our vote and they would find a way to work around it. AND THEY DID! Their mistake was to have let too many shares of common stock out on the open market so that Razorback could buy up nearly controlling interest in ABF, and they needed the funds to repurchase the rest of the common stock back before that could happen. They mortgaged their souls and prevented it. An absolute class act! He is largely the reason ABF is still here. No company could have asked for a better CEO.
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That is a great story! Thanks
 
canaryinthemine said:
Fair assessment.....Out of the cesspool that LTL freight has become....there's always something that ...floats to the surface.......

It seems ALL management treats the unique lifestyle and challenges of driving,....as an impediment to profits. Yet it remains the highest Liability factor in LTL occupations.

If they could only find a way to ....rid themselves of drivers.....Robot-driven trucks? Investing money in technology that takes away driver decisions? Driver-facing cameras,...because drivers aren't as....trustworthy as robots?

What about honest pay,...in an era of critical driver shortages? Instead of pay and benefit cuts,....to buy technology to eliminate drivers? Most other occupations can pay good money in...8 hours. Trucking relies on 60 hour weeks, and a vast majority doesn't get overtime.

Companies lobby for increases in HOS,....and longer trailers, combination units,....heavier weight. Surface Transportation Act of 1982 allowed for 53'ers.....17% more freight on a trailer......Did we get a 17% pay increase?

The job is more dangerous now,...because of industry lobbying for longer, heavier trucks...driven longer and farther by tired drivers....
..in an era of cell phones and other distractions....It's like driving truck in a nation full of....drunk people......

Yet,.....companies focus on cutting wages, pensions, and benefits......Improves the bottom line.........
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I agree with most of what you say but I will point out that the overtime issue is a federal problem. The law specifically exempts transportation from the overtime after 40 rule.
If the 5 day workweek and required overtime were applied to linehaul, the majority of road drivers would be vehemently opposed. Most of these guys want/demand 6 trips a week and as many miles as they can get.
 
vongrimmenstein said:
Kind of sad the union makes it hard for retired rank & file to work for the very company they made profitable & ensuring the company will survive well in to the future. I understand somewhat the pros & cons. But, that is the way the cookie crumbles. von.
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Yes you must jump through multiple hoops for reemployment when retiring from Central States But alot depends on when you retire If you retire @ 65 years of age and don't work a restricted job for 1 year Almost all of the restrictions are eliminated For example I retired @ 67 with 35 yrs vested 1 year from retirement I could rehire with ABF
 
Razorblade said:
I agree with most of what you say but I will point out that the overtime issue is a federal problem. The law specifically exempts transportation from the overtime after 40 rule.
If the 5 day workweek and required overtime were applied to linehaul, the majority of road drivers would be vehemently opposed. Most of these guys want/demand 6 trips a week and as many miles as they can get.
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Yes we did because it was expected of us and we knew it was impractical to hire the extra manpower required to move the freight 7 days a week. But we were teamsters....so we got 'er done! I hope you can appreciate that. We set the standards for the industry that others had to measure up to. We accepted the trade-offs in lifestyle necessary to accomplish that. We missed a lot in our family life that other Americans enjoyed, but we accepted that. I guess I was lucky. Both my kids are close to me now, but I have a hole in my heart where their young lives should have been. And the sacrifices my wife made are beyond measure. But I will always be proud of the work ethic we displayed to America. Yeah, I'm proud to be a Teamster, and I believe you are as well. The history of the Teamsters IS the story of America. It could only have happened here...
 
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hangbelly said:
Dave Stubblefield wanted to put us all in sleepers to compete with YRC after they went sleeper. But he and his wife Peggy wanted to pray for us all. Robert Young and John Dale (VP of Trans) stopped that nonsense. Don't know if the prayers helped or not. But I was damn glad not to go on sleepers, though. Yes, it was a better company back then. Robert Young was the anchor that held us from the storm. I will always respect his leadership. I remember when we turned down the 15% giveback they wanted to defeat the hostile takeover attempt by Razorback Aquisitions in !988?, Razorback, by the way, was a Corporate raider and intended to buy up ABF and tear it apart and sell it off piecemeal, like Carl Icahn did with Continental Airlines. Robert Young said he respected our vote and they would find a way to work around it. AND THEY DID! Their mistake was to have let too many shares of common stock out on the open market so that Razorback could buy up nearly controlling interest in ABF, and they needed the funds to repurchase the rest of the common stock back before that could happen. They mortgaged their souls and prevented it. An absolute class act! He is largely the reason ABF is still here. No company could have asked for a better CEO.
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Think that would happen under our current leadership?
 
GO40 said:
Think that would happen under our current leadership?
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Not a chance in HELL!!! That is unless it was something that would benefit the shareholders and the almighty stock price. It really got bad when Slagle was in charge. So glad he is gone. It will take a very long time to recover from the damage he brought on ABF with the 2013 contract. That man was the spawn of Satan in my opinion.
 
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GO40 said:
Think that would happen under our current leadership?
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No. It was a different time and a different leadership mentality. Robert Young thought of the Company and his father's legacy. The new generation of leadershp thinks only of the corporate model and stockholders. I know I have implied that Robert Young was the glue that held us together, but he truly wqs. He guided this company through the ravages of deregulation and made ABF the sole survivor of that wasteland by his iron will alone. No one was willing to bet on a bunch of unappreciated dehydrated chicken haulers from Arkansas to weather the storm of deregulation, but they didn't know him and his loyalty to his father's legacy. That was the magic. That is the legacy. And yes, that is the story of America. We are the beneficiaries of that struggle. What we do with that legacy is up to us.....
 
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