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  • Would you do it all over again.

    If given the chance would you work for ABF again? Can’t wait to hear your comments.

  • #2
    Re: Would you do it all over again.

    Originally posted by MULER View Post
    If given the chance would you work for ABF again? Can’t wait to hear your comments.
    The truth... yes I would... but I would of headed straight to Carlisle and applied right from the miltary instead of wasting so much time on all those other meaningless... low paying jobs first. That's all we had back then in the Pittsburgh area after the steel and coal jobs faded.

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    • #3
      Re: Would you do it all over again.

      Yes I would, it was a no brainer for me. Local 560 gave a 6% bonus for working beyond age 57. I only worked at ABF 6 years and got a 36% bump in my pension..

      When Red Star shut down in 2004 Red Star drivers were in demand like Wizard and the APA drivers. I got a call from the president of Local 701 offering me a job at Roadway in Trenton. He was a former Red Star coworker, shop steward and then 560 B/A. ( He's now IBT National Freight Director). I thanked him but chose to go to ABF, a 560 job, 2 miles from my house in Avenel. ABF was very good to me.

      Like Docker's wanting to go to ABF earlier mine was a little different. When my first job in Local 478 shut down in 1977 I went up to Red Star. At that time ABF was just moving East into the NY/NJ metro area. ABF had opened a terminal in Newark and a former coworker of mine was the shop steward. He told me ABF was hiring. I applied and past the interview with the TM and everything looked good. But the then 560 B/A squashed it. He said I already had a 560 job at Red Star and that he had other Teamsters who needed a job.

      Had that gone thru and all things being the same I could have had 33 years at ABF. I'm not complaining I made a good living at Red Star. But it would have been sweet to have had all that seniority at ABF.
      Last edited by 2631; 12-09-2020, 01:59 PM.

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      • #4
        Re: Would you do it all over again.

        Originally posted by 2631 View Post
        Yes I would, it was a no brainer for me. Local 560 gave a 6% bonus for working beyond age 57. I only worked at ABF 6 years and got a 36% bump in my pension..

        When Red Star shut down in 2004 Red Star drivers were in demand like Wizard and the APA drivers. I got a call from the president of Local 701 offering me a job at Roadway in Trenton. He was a former Red Star coworker, shop steward and then 560 B/A. ( He's now IBT National Freight Director). I thanked him but chose to go to ABF, a 560 job, 2 miles from my house in Avenel. ABF was very good to me.

        Like Docker's wanting to go to ABF earlier mine was a little different. When my first job in Local 478 shut down in 1977 I went up to Red Star. At that time ABF was just moving East into the NY/NJ metro area. ABF had opened a terminal in Newark and a former coworker of mine was the shop steward. He told me ABF was hiring. I applied and past the interview with the TM and everything looked good. But the then 560 B/A squashed it. He said I already had a 560 job at Red Star and that he had other Teamsters who needed a job.

        Had that gone thru and all things being the same I could have had 33 years at ABF. I'm not complaining I made a good living at Red Star. But it would have been sweet to have had all that seniority at ABF.
        I ended up with 41 years and 55 days. All at ABF well Carolina but ABF bought us so I was on the same seniority list for the whole time.

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        • #5
          Re: Would you do it all over again.

          Originally posted by MULER View Post
          I ended up with 41 years and 55 days. All at ABF well Carolina but ABF bought us so I was on the same seniority list for the whole time.
          Did you like it better when you were at Carolina or ABF?

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          • #6
            Re: Would you do it all over again.

            Originally posted by Docker View Post
            Did you like it better when you were at Carolina or ABF?
            I would have to say CAROLINA!

            Don’t get me wrong ABF allowed me to make a good living.
            It was a tough road for me at ABF because I held them to the contract. They never forgot that either. I had a couple really good VP’s and many bad TM’s. I don’t have to post the names of the bad one’s they know who they are.

            I was the union steward for the better part of my career and I had to stand my ground and some TM’s hated me for that but it made our terminal a better place to work and more profitable.
            Last edited by MULER; 12-12-2020, 06:28 PM.

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            • #7
              Re: Would you do it all over again.

              Originally posted by MULER View Post
              I ended up with 41 years and 55 days. All at ABF well Carolina but ABF bought us so I was on the same seniority list for the whole time.
              you were end tailed at that merger weren't you?

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              • #8
                Re: Would you do it all over again.

                Originally posted by Jimmy View Post
                you were end tailed at that merger weren't you?
                No... we dovetailed

                Originally posted by MULER View Post
                I would have to say CAROLINA!

                Don’t get me wrong ABF allowed me to make a good living.
                It was a tough road for me at ABF because I held them to the contract. They never forgot that either. I had a couple really good VP’s and many bad TM’s. I don’t have to post the names of the bad one’s they know who they are.

                I was the union steward for the better part of my career and I had to stand my ground and some TM’s hated me for that but it made our terminal a better place to work and more profitable.
                I’m sort of partial to Carolina Freight too. We were treated pretty decent until the board of directors took advantage of Mrs. Beam and family and assumed control. What they did to them was just plain hideous. ABF wasn’t bad either… that is until Judy took the helm. Makes you wonder just how many trucking companies were ruined by nothing but pure greed.

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                • #9
                  Re: Would you do it all over again.

                  Originally posted by Jimmy View Post
                  you were end tailed at that merger weren't you?
                  No. the only end tailing occurred up east because it was in the supplements. No I kept my Seniority.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Would you do it all over again.

                    Originally posted by MULER View Post
                    No. the only end tailing occurred up east because it was in the supplements. No I kept my Seniority.
                    almost sure end tail happened at the kernersville terminal. going by a old memory.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Would you do it all over again.

                      Originally posted by Jimmy View Post
                      almost sure end tail happened at the kernersville terminal. going by a old memory.
                      No... I was at Kernersville when it came down and I dovetailed.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Would you do it all over again.

                        Originally posted by Docker View Post
                        No... I was at Kernersville when it came down and I dovetailed.
                        See Jimmy docker is a wealth of knowledge. I will prove it just ask him what flavor icing is on a chocolate cake. lol

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Would you do it all over again.

                          Originally posted by MULER View Post
                          See Jimmy docker is a wealth of knowledge. I will prove it just ask him what flavor icing is on a chocolate cake. lol
                          You can't fool me on that one again Muler... you can put any flavor icing you want on a chocolate cake... lol

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Would you do it all over again.

                            Originally posted by Docker View Post
                            No... I was at Kernersville when it came down and I dovetailed.
                            Were you out of the Kernersville terminal? For some reason I thought you were from Tyson Johnson's local in Dallas.

                            I guess it was around 11 years ago Winston had a road driver run off of 85 and die coming back from Avenel. Did they ever determine the cause? We had heard that they thought he had a heart attack. I can't remember his name. He had a heavy southern drawl. I had hooked him that morning and he was in good spirits.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Would you do it all over again.

                              Originally posted by 2631 View Post
                              Were you out of the Kernersville terminal? For some reason I thought you were from Tyson Johnson's local in Dallas.

                              I guess it was around 11 years ago Winston had a road driver run off of 85 and die coming back from Avenel. Did they ever determine the cause? We had heard that they thought he had a heart attack. I can't remember his name. He had a heavy southern drawl. I had hooked him that morning and he was in good spirits.
                              I was in Turncoat Tyson's local in Dallas too and for some odd reason... he didn't seem to like me much 2631.

                              I started out with Carolina in Carlisle... then transferred with Carolina (then shithole Worldway Corp.) to Kernersville in the beginning of "95" ... months later it was announced that ABF bought us but in reality it was a done deal before they even transferred us months before. Yep... smart... they made it look like we were going under first so not very many people transferred at all which was the plan. That way... our breakbulk in Carlisle turned into an end of the line terminal which they then could close with no transfer opportunities which they did when they announced that ABF bought us. All that senority that didn't transfer... which most went over to ABF to start as casual and the rest over to Roadway. All those people... around 460 of them on the dock... and the 50 man roster didn't even fill for Kernersville and that even included those transferring in from Cherryville (Carolina's senority capital). There were also a few that went to Boston... Phily and Hartford. They also closed Boston and Hartford the same time they closed Carlisle and the ones that went to Phily got to go back and dovetail in at ABF in Carlisle months later after the announcement. You got to admit... pretty damn slick the way the company played that one. I was called crazy from so many for transferring then being stuck there with no job when they shut the doors... but I lucked out in the end.

                              I transferred down to Dallas with a COO in 2008 so I either don't remember about that driver you mention or wasn't there at the time... but sorry to hear about that 2631.

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