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ABF | What Happened To This Company?

BIG R GUY said:
Is this what you mean by adapting to change?
https://apple.news/Aog0HtnAWSd6lgwfzKwWMhQ
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canaryinthemine said:
Very interesting article. Ms. McReynolds said the "one bright spot" was the e-commerce business, in which residential deliveries were up 12% the first quarter,...and 39% the second quarter...
Ms. McReynolds:
"We have had to get comfortable going into neighborhoods and the requirements to delivering to a home....."

Ms. McReynolds says ABF has a competitive advantage,....since the company recognized the rise of computer-based home deliveries way back in 1997.....

I would have to say that.....as much as we may not like it,......Home deliveries will end up driving our industry,.....especially as brick-and-mortar disappear.
And,.....Being Union is a great advantage. As a former Steward,...I was on many private home deliveries. I was able to "call the shots",...as it were..... on what was safe,..what was needed to be safe..and to set the parameters where the DRIVER could make the call per stop,......as the DRIVER was the "boots on the ground".....not someone in an office 50 miles away.

This don't happen at non-Union shops, believe me........The rules there are: "Hunker down, ignore problems, do it as fast as you can,.....and hope there's no liability invoked....." Makes the dispatcher happy.......

Stewards need more training from the Union,....on what a "safe" private home delivery is......What is required for safe handling, what PPE is required to reduce liability to the Customer....AND the DRIVER.

Personally,...I see the rise of many, many legal problems if a customer who had a home delivery hears that the DRIVER who did the delivery.....tested positive. Conversely,.....I see many, many problems if the DRIVER hears the home he was ordered to deliver to.....had Coronavirus in it......Worker's Compensation, for beginners...........

PPE is Critical.........Even more so...the DRIVER'S DISCRETION is even more Critical..........

Yes,.....Private home deliveries will be vital to ABF's future,.....Can't help that guys,...inevitable......
But,....the smartest thing ABF AND the Teamsters could do,....is work together to establish safe private home deliveries......from a DRIVER'S viewpoint.

Much to the disgust of some of my guys I represented,........I fought for refrigerator dollies, four-wheeled carts, furniture blankets, shoe covers, latex gloves,.........If we were going to deliver homes,...By God, we were going to....Do It Right.

Now add PPE,.....and training to prevent the driver getting hurt without the proper equipment,....AND the ability for the DRIVER to "call the shots"....even if it means more than one driver to do it safely.......

And the backing of the Union,...if the Driver has an argument with the.....customer. We all know that they are never...."unreasonable".....
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Yes get a union involved with a house delivery.. That's the ticket to ABF's future..
Don't engineer better processes let the union examine the delivery location first.
No wonder there are only 2 union LTL carriers left from the hundreds that once existed...
But then you were a steward….
 
Puff Driver said:
Yes get a union involved with a house delivery.. That's the ticket to ABF's future..
Don't engineer better processes let the union examine the delivery location first.
No wonder there are only 2 union LTL carriers left from the hundreds that once existed...
But then you were a steward….
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Yes I was , Young Man........and I had the ability to require the company to review and accept improved Safety Standards.

And you?

The reason there are "only 2" Union LTL carriers is because of people that are willing to work cheaper, and with less benefits,...than the Union standard.
Not Safer.....Not Compensated better......Not represented at all....

I'd recommend reading "Sweatshops on Wheels, Winners And Losers In The Age Of Deregulation", By Dr. Michael Belzer , PhD.

You might learn a thing or two other than the usual company propaganda......

Even has Pictures!
 
GO40 said:
Plenty of incomplete management busting balls while working through a pandemic, look inside your on glass house before throwing stones
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Thought I would hit this thread again because nothing has changed only seemed to get worse. Company claims they can’t find drivers so mind as well treat the ones you have like ::shit::. Seems like every morning I come in there is a new thing the supervisor has to go over with everyone & we have to sign that we understand it’s known as D.I.R.T.S.T or something like that. They just seem to be nit picking over the simplest things. Maybe they should start looking at the management team they have in place for instance the TM that came to my place 7 years ago had gone through 4 salespeople, the first one transferred to Maryland because she couldn’t get along with him the next two just quit & the final one transferred to ArcBest & is no longer in our region because he couldn’t work for the TM. Now we have a outbound supervisor retiring (quitting) for the same reason, can’t get along with our arrogant TM. I sure hope the powers that be can finally see the nonsense that goes on at my terminal on a daily basis....
 
GO40 said:
Thought I would hit this thread again because nothing has changed only seemed to get worse. Company claims they can’t find drivers so mind as well treat the ones you have like ****. Seems like every morning I come in there is a new thing the supervisor has to go over with everyone & we have to sign that we understand it’s known as D.I.R.T.S.T or something like that. They just seem to be nit picking over the simplest things. Maybe they should start looking at the management team they have in place for instance the TM that came to my place 7 years ago had gone through 4 salespeople, the first one transferred to Maryland because she couldn’t get along with him the next two just quit & the final one transferred to ArcBest & is no longer in our region because he couldn’t work for the TM. Now we have a outbound supervisor retiring (quitting) for the same reason, can’t get along with our arrogant TM. I sure hope the powers that be can finally see the nonsense that goes on at my terminal on a daily basis....
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I wish I could say they will read it and respond, but my faith in the company caring about such things has decreased. I have my reasons to think they look at these boards but I don't think they care. The only reason that my TM is gone is because his wife had to relocate due to her job. The company had a chance to be rid of him but they hired him for another job, not a transfer mind you, because he had told them he was going to quit. You must remember this is a man that had a history of workplace violence. With all that being said I hope they finally see the light with your TM.
 
GO40 said:
Seems like every morning I come in there is a new thing the supervisor has to go over with everyone & we have to sign that we understand it’s known as D.I.R.T.S.T or something like that.
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Many years ago, ABF had a thing called D.I.R.T.F.T. It stood for "Do It Right The First Time". I guess that ABF has now lowered their standard. The new thing would be D.I.R.T.S.T. (Do It Right The Second Time).
 
ABF381 said:
I wish I could say they will read it and respond, but my faith in the company caring about such things has decreased. I have my reasons to think they look at these boards but I don't think they care. The only reason that my TM is gone is because his wife had to relocate due to her job. The company had a chance to be rid of him but they hired him for another job, not a transfer mind you, because he had told them he was going to quit. You must remember this is a man that had a history of workplace violence. With all that being said I hope they finally see the light with your TM.
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I know for a fact they read this, years ago the Fort sent up copies of replies to our terminal. I also belong to another site who I talk to the owner & he tells me how many people monitor these sites, you would not believe how much they are here around contract time. After all these years I can’t believe they don’t look into our concerns....
 
GO40 said:
I know for a fact they read this, years ago the Fort sent up copies of replies to our terminal. I also belong to another site who I talk to the owner & he tells me how many people monitor these sites, you would not believe how much they are here around contract time. After all these years I can’t believe they don’t look into our concerns....
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I can confirm that as well. Back around 2012, I was flat out asked by our Operations Manager if I was the "Steward of the Rock". If they were watching back then, I can assure you that they are watching now.
 
Steward of the Rock said:
Many years ago, ABF had a thing called D.I.R.T.F.T. It stood for "Do It Right The First Time". I guess that ABF has now lowered their standard. The new thing would be D.I.R.T.S.T. (Do It Right The Second Time).
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Are they making you sign the DIRTFT a few times a week or is it just my place? The laziness at our place is incredible, he can’t even leave his office to have a saftey meeting, instead he puts it on the tv in the dispatch office then sends a mass text on the handheld for everyone to sign the sheet....After 29 years in this industry I’ve never seen anything like this, they can try to blame Covid but this was going on way before then.
 
GO40 said:
Are they making you sign the DIRTFT a few times a week or is it just my place? The laziness at our place is incredible, he can’t even leave his office to have a saftey meeting, instead he puts it on the tv in the dispatch office then sends a mass text on the handheld for everyone to sign the sheet....After 29 years in this industry I’ve never seen anything like this, they can try to blame Covid but this was going on way before then.
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About the only document they have us sign here at the Rock are the yearly traffic violations form, Vacation request form, and Move Personal Holiday form. The safety films that we watch are the same ones we were watching nearly 15 years ago. They no longer make us sign when we watch them though. They don't even have us sign Warning Letters anymore as they send them certified mail to your home address.
 
Steward of the Rock said:
About the only document they have us sign here at the Rock are the yearly traffic violations form, Vacation request form, and Move Personal Holiday form. The safety films that we watch are the same ones we were watching nearly 15 years ago. They no longer make us sign when we watch them though. They don't even have us sign Warning Letters anymore as they send them certified mail to your home address.
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Only confirm’s this TM is nothing more then a tyrant. Can’t get anyone to apply & still act’s like that. Don’t get me wrong if he knew what he was talking about I would respect that but he doesn’t....
 
GO40 said:
Are they making you sign the DIRTFT a few times a week or is it just my place? The laziness at our place is incredible, he can’t even leave his office to have a saftey meeting, instead he puts it on the tv in the dispatch office then sends a mass text on the handheld for everyone to sign the sheet....After 29 years in this industry I’ve never seen anything like this, they can try to blame Covid but this was going on way before then.
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Why is it ABF won't hire retired or current teamsters. Especially for the dock. A new hired manager has no clue how to run a freight dock. Not to say he can't learn, but a well seasoned dock man might make a good supervisor. All ABF cares about is the numbers. And with a good freight man the company would be way ahead of the game. Lafayette, IN used to have 3 drivers a office clerk & 1 TM. The rank & file ran the place while the TM was out making sales calls all day. And it worked. OP ratio was usually around 90, much lower than other barns. von.
 
vongrimmenstein said:
Why is it ABF won't hire retired or current teamsters. Especially for the dock.
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The answer to that one is the Pension Fund rules. I don't know how it works outside of Central States, but under the Central States Pension Fund, you are not allowed to work any Union job and draw your pension until you are 65 or older and have been retired for at least one year. Even then, you are required to inform the fund for approval before you start working a Union job and drawing your pension. If you don't follow their rules, they will cut off your monthly pension.
 
Steward of the Rock said:
About the only document they have us sign here at the Rock are the yearly traffic violations form, Vacation request form, and Move Personal Holiday form. The safety films that we watch are the same ones we were watching nearly 15 years ago. They no longer make us sign when we watch them though. They don't even have us sign Warning Letters anymore as they send them certified mail to your home address.
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Hey does Ben Dover work at your barn. He signed everything put in front of him 15 years or so at one of my barns. Guy was a real clown used to drive the TM nuts.
 
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