Should I move to feeders?

[Anonymous Gearjammer]

Double time, what are you working, 7 days a week?

 

[xracer]

I am wondering about how you are getting double time on Mondays also, I can understand the 8 hrs on Friday as you are running out of hours as many of us do in Feeders but that double pay has me a little baffled. I also work the maximum allowable hours and should come in around $96k this year but will not crack the $100k mark until a couple of more raises and I am hauling doubles, not sure what triples pay because they are not allowed where I from.

 

[Brownnblue]

I'm considering this avenue too; 20 years package car driver. My question is how difficult is it to handle the big rigs. Also, how difficult is it to pass the CDL test?
My wife loves the idea, even I have to work nights and go to the bottom of the senority list.

 

[Joopster]

My dad's a feeder driver, he doesn't hardly work but somehow brings home a 50+ hr. paycheck.

Go for it. It is definetely worth it...

 

[rod]

I never could understand how come feeder drivers were paid more than package drivers. Sit on your butt and drive. Maybe 3 or 4 times a year you have bad road conditions but otherwise you listen to the radio, CB or just enjoy the idea of not having some A-hole riding with you stepping on your heals trying to get more "production" out of you. Oh I forgot the air-conditioning. What pkg driver wouldn't kill for that. I would bet that any feeder driver that disagrees with me didn't start out their full time career as a package driver and if you did you can't remember what real work is. If you have a chance to get into feeders go for it.

 

[Anonymous Fredly]

I never could understand how come feeder drivers were paid more than package drivers. Sit on your butt and drive. Maybe 3 or 4 times a year you have bad road conditions but otherwise you listen to the radio, CB or just enjoy the idea of not having some A-hole riding with you stepping on your heals trying to get more "production" out of you. Oh I forgot the air-conditioning. What pkg driver wouldn't kill for that. I would bet that any feeder driver that disagrees with me didn't start out their full time career as a package driver and if you did you can't remember what real work is. If you have a chance to get into feeders go for it.

The same reason new hire package car drivers get paid less and work the most
demanding routes, while the old hands, have posh high senority routes...
Its just the way it works... it gives you something to hope for... thats how they keep some employees... although the young'ns coming in... often quit.

 

[trickpony1]

I don't recall keeping any of you from signing a feeder bid sheet.

If you get the chance take it. You may be able to walk when you retire.

 

[scratch]

Some of us just don't want to drive a Feeder. I could of went to Feeder School fifteen years ago, I have zero desire to do it. Yes, it can get better in Package, bid on something else if you hate your area. I am amazed that some people will work the same route for decades when they hate it. I got off my "warehouse route" as soon as I could. I may get my butt kicked for three weeks in December, but handling 150 boxes on my "gravy" residential route verses 1000 boxes a day on my first route is a no brainer. If you are driving a P1000 with a TP60 behind it, you need to get away ASAP.

 

[over9five]

"If you have a chance to get into feeders go for it."

Yeah, baby! I'm almost there! Got my CDL (took the UPS school).
I'd like to thank Tieguy, who taught me to parallel park from 500 miles away (seriously!).

 

[trickpony1]

Parallel park in a feeder would involve a "blindside" back which we don't do.
Shame on you tieguy!
Does corporate have your current mailing address?

 

[over9five]

In my state, to get your CDL, you have to do a sight side AND a blind side parallel park.

 

[scratch]

I'm glad I got my CDL twenty years ago. I don't need it anymore, I just renew it when I have to.

 

[stealth8]

Been in package for 26yrs and still love it! This job is what YOU want to make of it. If you have a bad attitude toward the job then you will be miserable no matter what you do. I follow the methods, take my lunch and break, have good days and bad days, but where else can I get a good workout and get paid well for it at the same time? I will probably try feeders before I retire if for nothing else to get a CDL. OK now I will sit back and get ready to be slammed by my fellow drivers who think I am nuts!!

 

[scratch]

Stealth8,

Nope, your not nuts. There are a lot of guys that think just like us. I go home and work the same hours as my family, I enjoy dealing with my customers, I look ten years younger than I am, I'm not owned 24/7 by the company, have weekends off, see pretty women all day........

 

[Anonymous Brown Clown]

MAY VARY BY LOCATION : Potential of having to work 60 hour weeks every week, over 9.5 does not apply in feeders, no 8 hour request, no summer vacations unless you have 27 plus years full-time, potential for being sent far enough away were a layover will be required (seldom but has happened here numerous times here), working nights, bumping that happens if schedule start or finish changes more than a hour or changes directly affect your pay one of the hubs here has about 10 plus bumping events a year effecting up to 86 drivers, annual bid here between three hubs the two are 47 miles apart, imagine living 30 miles north of the northern building and on the annual bid you get stuck at the southern building requiring you to driver to work in rush hour, the 40 minute commute changes into 2.5 plus each way on top of working a 12 hour day, had one driver that bought a RV to park by building for this reason. Not complaining just listing several reasons why no one here is signing the feeder school bid. Highest seniority package driver here 34 plus years did feeders, bid out once he satisfied his commitment said would never go back. I'm single, don't know how the one that are married with kids do it.

 

[teddyr]

That is a no brainer, YES!!! I work 3 days on a sleeper run and have four days off, (Thur,Fri,Sat,Sun), and still make more than the majority of pkg drivers. Life is tough.

 

[opie]

My friend and I had a brief conversation with a feeder driver yesterday, and he was saying he earns around $2,000 a week. He said his job is so easy, and he doesn't know why he gets paid so much for doing nothing.

 

[Folk Fury]

I had 26 years in packages. I had planned to retire there until 2 years ago the overhead door spring in my package car broke. I was trapped in between a loading dock and the wall of packages that fell out of the car when I opened the door. The door came down right on top of me. Two herniated discs and a torn rotator cuff. I tried to keep doing packages after I recovered from surgery but it was tough. I still had alot of pain.
I went to feeders 6 months ago. It is the only way I'm going to make full retirement. Handling the rigs isn't so tough. Working nights take some getting used to but it's nothing most folks can't handle. Going to the bottom of the senority list sucks. I didn't really mind packages that much but they are introducing the PAS system in our center now. I picked the right time to jump out.

 

[dave_socal]

Parallel park in a feeder would involve a "blindside" back which we don't do.
Shame on you tieguy!
Does corporate have your current mailing address?

We do it all the time. Are you in feeder? I see at all the major Hubs in socal. Sometimes you just have to. Feeder is where you go to stop the wear and tear on the knees and back if you can stay in good shape in package stay put. Feeder is a totally different lifestyle one that may cause family problems and you may have to go on a sleeper team but if you can deal with that then learn to sleep when the sun rises and work while you get a moon tan

 

[brown67]

I think I'm in a great spot. I work out of a smaller center away from the hub. We run around 60 cars a day. We only have 3 feeder positions. So if I move I'll be one of the three. Plus, we keep our seniority for bidding unlike other areas of the country.