Independents Truck Drivers
- Thread starter gottogo
- Start date
retiredTxfeeder
cap'n crunch
basically, feeder management does what ever they want to do. It is up to the individual dispatcher on duty at the time. If a load is missed, it's his arse. If you ask them what's up, they will say they called all the on call people they could, and either they didn't answer, didn't have the hours, etc. At that point management can do whatever is necessary to prevent service failures. If that means call in an independent contractor, so be it. Now if you are laid off or know someone who was told not to come in, then you might have an argument. As a feeder driver you probably shouldn't confront a dispatcher and challenge him to prove everything he says. He isn't the guy you want to winkee in his cornflakes. my .02.
Dracula
Package Car is cake compared to this...
Yeah, well my two cents says if you're afraid to confront a dispatcher busting the rules, then go ahead and tuck your tail between your legs and let them have their way with you.
cachsux
Wah
Confronting a dispatcher here will only get you every shiz run in the biggest POS tractor from now until the end of time. If you disagree with them ,and they're only FT sups with no authority over us than making sure we have something to do, you calmly go over their head and speak to the dispatch manager. Odds are if you're right in your argument they will correct the issue.
That being said, all the subcontracted work and there's tons of it is being dictated to happen by people far above said dispatcher so why start a piss storm that's out of both your hands. Everybody is working here with all the hours you want and they're training a pair of new drivers every two weeks. And those are the guys we can get to come feeder, a whole 'nother issue.
The main issue is the railroad is giving spots to other more profitable trailers. We're subcontracting because we have no other choice.
Dracula
Package Car is cake compared to this...
Look, I'm not saying to fight just to fight. But I've been a bid cover driver, and here, you've got to keep your nose in the dispatch book. If you don't, you'll find the dispatcher will hide work from you. And a lot of our dispatchers tend to get a little too big for their britches. The way I look at it, we can go easy or we can go hard. I'd rather go easy. Heartbeats are lower when things go easy. But you know how it is: this company likes to make things difficult whenever possible. And everything rolls downhill at this place.
The dispatcher gets an earful or a nasty email, then they want to make up ground off the driver's back. Hell, I'll even help if I'm able. But don't expect favors from me when you're acting like some punk that's been bullied too much.
I've got my own run, going to the same place every night. If they want to play the crappy tractor game, we can go down that road. I'll go find my radio box, drag it out, and drag it to the POS tractor. All that does is add time to my leave work. Guess what? Then they get the earful/email about why I left late. I want my tractor everyday, but I won't cry if I don't get it. My hourly rate is the same no matter what my tractor # is.
Cach, I get it about subcontractors. Our dispatchers have no say so over it. And we are adding drivers just like you guys are. The only difference is that here, they go out of their way to keep our hours down. There aren't a whole lot of drivers getting their 60 here. I get 55 on my job, and can usually add another three or four hours a week on top of that. But generally speaking, in our area, most of the 300 + drivers are lucky to get 50 hours a week.
That's fine if subcontractors are nowhere to be seen, but that's not the case here. Last week, they were cutting out mileage jobs on Friday while the gypos were taking out loads.
Again, it's amazing how different things are in different places.
cachsux
Wah
You'll get your 60 here if you want it. Either by work or by filing paper, but you'll get it.
retiredTxfeeder
cap'n crunch
First of all, in my 29 years in feeders I never tucked my tail anywhere. I once cussed a division manager out to his face at our guard shack, and called him every name in the book. Anyone who knows me knows I don't cow down to anyone of them tie wearin bamboozlers. Point I was making was, when they make up excuses like "We called in independents because we couldn't get anybody to work to cover the problem." How you going to check up on them? Talk to everyone who was on call at that very moment when the call had to be made? I think not. You going to run to the center manager and say you don't think dispatch is telling the truth. Do you think center manager is going to throw the dispatcher under the bus?
Even if he does find the dispatcher didn't do everything to assure a bargaining unit employee got a shot at getting his 60 hours, do you think he's going to report that back you? if you were an employee who got laid off and an independent worked, it would behoove you to give your due diligence and look out for yourself. Don't depend upon me or anybody else to be sure you get your hours. Besides, I don't have a tail anymore. My wife chewed mine off many years ago.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Dracula, I'm not trying to start a fight with you and I do admit that I have very limited experience when it comes to feeders, but don't you guys have the same daily guarantee (8 hours) that we do? If so, if you are getting 50-55 (or more) hours per week, I don't see where you have an argument. Yes, I understand that the work should be done by UPS employees, but if all UPS feeder qualified employees are working far beyond their daily guarantees, and there is still work available, it makes sense for the company to use subcontractors to get the trailers moved until such time as they hire and train more feeder drivers.
cachsux
Wah
Upstate, when subcontractors are moving UPS equipment Feeder drivers are allowed to max out their hours, 12 min per day up to their max of 60.
PiedmontSteward
RTW-4-Less
I saw a local job posting for independent owner-operators for UPS Freight earlier today and recently found out about "UPS Truckload", which is some sort of UPS Freight subsidiary that uses non-union drivers for fleet management, etc. Double-breasting helped kill union freight and if we let UPS get away with it, we deserve everything coming to us.
Tons of guys are going to feeder school in my building and getting a shot at going FT, but the PT list is far from exhausted. As long as there is a part-time (or even a FT) employee somewhere that wants a shot at going to Feeders (even if it means a building/local union transfer and end-tailing their seniority) the company should not be allowed to subcontract outside of peak season.
Tons of guys are going to feeder school in my building and getting a shot at going FT, but the PT list is far from exhausted. As long as there is a part-time (or even a FT) employee somewhere that wants a shot at going to Feeders (even if it means a building/local union transfer and end-tailing their seniority) the company should not be allowed to subcontract outside of peak season.
cachsux
Wah
At present at my building they have exhausted all avenues. Everybody is working, 60 hours if they want it. They are training drivers but it's not a fast process. It's not like grabbing someone and telling them to unload a trailer. UPSF guys have been used if available. There is still more trailers than drivers.
I don't like brokers touching our stuff but every trailer is money in all our pockets. Like it or not they have to roll.
PiedmontSteward
RTW-4-Less
If they've exhausted the PT bid lists, are they trying to hire CDL-qualified drivers off the street? I'm sure there's plenty of FedEx Freight/Conway/Old Dominion guys that would jump at the chance for union benefits, a union pay scale, and a pension. I know they're hiring off the street in West PA.
Yea tell me where this place is if you can . My center manager told told me he would give me rehire if I wanted to leave becaues I was told I would get the seasonal feeders and package car since I was the only one willing to do it. Then I was told something happen and no more seasonal so he said if I stay until the can get a replacement he will give me rehire. The terms was I don't care how many hours or what benefits I don't I get I just want to drive seasonal till a FT spot opens and would help load when they needed.
Well they gave 10 people FT jobs and the outside spot to management. Should have 5 or 6 drivers retiring in the next 5 years but I don't even know anymore what the waiting list is like. Last I looked it said 2 people and I was told they was getting FT in the next week but does not mean its the case next time around it could be 5.
If I had a better shot some place else heck yes I would move.
Well they gave 10 people FT jobs and the outside spot to management. Should have 5 or 6 drivers retiring in the next 5 years but I don't even know anymore what the waiting list is like. Last I looked it said 2 people and I was told they was getting FT in the next week but does not mean its the case next time around it could be 5.
If I had a better shot some place else heck yes I would move.
cachsux
Wah
They're pulling from PC and 22.3 so far. You have to go by seniority, clean driving record, pass the first 2 weeks of training, then your 40 working days. Like I said it's not the same as hiring an unloader.
And yes 710 is hiring off the street. 705 still has a pool to draw from.
Overpaid Union Thug
Well-Known Member
So apparently virtually every hub in America is short on feeders. Something like your suggestion might be attempted in my local. The main hub (Whites Creek in Nashville) is about to dip into the part-time pool to fill feeder openings and the next move after that is rumored to be to allow extended centers to bid on them. I've heard this from more than a few sources in that hub and someone from there on this site. They are subcontracting so why not let extended centers in this time? I have no idea when or how they'll do this though. Three from each center or just combine all the extended centers into one list and go by seniority? There is something like 10 buildings in our local outside of Whites Creek so I'm hoping the long commute that would be required for some of them will weed out many of the potential candidates and increase our chances in my center. The last feeder driver from there that I talked to about this said that "they were waiting on it to be approved." I wonder who "they" are and exactly who it is that has to approve it? There are so many unknowns about this.
