Should i switch to feeders ?

[Coldworld]

Something that I've noticed since going in the feeders is that a 12 hour day in feeders only feels like nine hours....The time just goes by differently...

 

[Coldworld]

Yes, as long as it's within the same building/hub

That's not true everywhere and some locals we going to feeders you go to the bottom of the list no matter if you have one you have one year driving or 35 years driving....which I think is absolute crap

 

[Cementups]

That's not true everywhere and some locals we going to feeders you go to the bottom of the list no matter if you have one you're driving or 35 years driving....which I think is absolute crap

Well color me corrected then. Here if I move over to feeders I drop into about the 80th spot out of 220+.

 

[MethodsMan]

Not unless you wanna get fat.

 

[Covemastah]

If UPS gets you your license
You have a two year commitment . You will also have to take your name off the TTQ list which is very much frowned upon

 

[Covemastah]

If you have low seniority , you won't see a summah vaca and you may be cover with a variable start time,,, you will see the family more and your stress level will drop and your body will last longer !!
Put up dark shades in the bedroom and paint it a darker color , you also want to get into a routine where you go to bed same time everyday ! Good luck

 

[Coldworld]

Well color me corrected then. Here if I move over to feeders I drop into about the 80th spot out of 220+.

That is the way it should be and you are very lucky!!!

 

[gorilla75jdw]

If you can get used to sleeping during the day then go for it. I could never go to feeders for that reason. That and we don't have the option of going into feeders in my center.

I thought you guys had a few feeder runs now .

 

[retiredTxfeeder]

shouldn't seniority follow into feeders???? I've heard it should and that would be an incentive!
I mean , we're union

Down here, you start completely over and go to the bottom of the seniority list, with the exception of the vacation week level you are at. I don't have a problem with that. I was #2 in seniority in my package car center when I went into feeders. I was #75 in seniority in feeders, but it doesn't last long. You begin creeping up and people start working behind you. Yes, there is a historically low turnover rate in feeders, and people probably work more years in their career because it is a cushier job. Would it be fair to 10+ year feeder drivers to be bumped off their job by a guy who has been in feeders for a week, but waited 10 years to get there (for whatever reason) from PC? IMHO, that's the way it should be. Same as drivers who live in the frigid wasteland from up north can't decide towards the end of their careers to move to warmer climate to eventually retire down here to bump me off my job.

 

[DC7]

shouldn't seniority follow into feeders???? I've heard it should and that would be an incentive!
I mean , we're union

But you have to have "qualified" and we don't have any qualified drivers so once your in feeders you have to stay unless someone wants to get qualified.

 

[NonDeliverOtherMissed]

Everyone I know that switched to feeders says there only mistake was not doing it sooner...I wish I could get out of PC but my wife already works 3rd shift. Can't really find babysitters willing to work overnight....also to be honest I'm a little b$&?h and afraid of driving something so big, getting stuck somewhere I shouldn't be. I also like my weekends off..but prob the easiest 100k you'll make anywhere ...maybe someday.....

 

[retiredTxfeeder]

The closest I got to working a weekend in feeders (other than when I was a cover driver in the beginning) was working a job that started Monday night and got off around 3am Saturday morning. I'd just coffee it up Friday nights,(I didn't normally drink coffee so once a week it really kept me awake.) and just stay up when I got off Sat morning. Crashed Saturday night, yeah, but it allowed for a weekend with the family as well as a half Monday before I went back in.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

I thought you guys had a few feeder runs now .

But we definitely should have more feeder work than what we have now. There are centers with less pickup volume than us that have CPUs. Even split package/CPU.

 

[Kicked Your Dog]

Feeder is definitely NOT for everyone. If you'd enjoy air conditioning, improved mental health, a wide array of start times/shifts, more family time and upwards of a $50k a year raise, then feeder is definitely not the job for you. Stay in package and live in denial since in package "you really have a good thing going." Yeah, right.

 

[Johney]

I have been a pkg driver for 15 years. There is a opening to get into feeders but its a 11-12hr night run. I really want to get away from orien, body hurting and the micro management with pkg car driving. But that's a big But I have a young family and just doing know if I should make the switch. Any advice anyone ?

Are they home during the day? If so, forget about sleeping during the day. I've been doing it for almost 3 years now and I still have problems sleeping during the day and there is no one here. Yes I have blacked out the room,yes I have ear plugs, yes I have done it all, you can't stop the daytime world from going on while you try to sleep. After 3 years it doesn't matter, if I sleep for 4 hours the whole day once the sun goes down I'm wide awake......it's actually very strange.

Something that I've noticed since going in the feeders is that a 12 hour day in feeders only feels like nine hours....The time just goes by differently...

This. One big boner though is doing 4/10's, yes the three day weekend is sweet, but working a 12 and only getting two hours o/t sucks balls.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

Feeder is definitely NOT for everyone. If you'd enjoy air conditioning, improved mental health, a wide array of start times/shifts, more family time and upwards of a $50k a year raise, then feeder is definitely not the job for you. Stay in package and live in denial since in package "you really have a good thing going." Yeah, right.

Sounds like somebody is a little too obsessed with their job. Your OPINION and Obsession about being a feeder driver doesn't dictate whether or not the rest of us are in denial. If I went into feeders my health would likely deteriorate both physically and mentally. Working nights is not for me. The extra long hours are not for me. The extra money would be nice but I noticed most feeder drivers just bend that much more. Just like everyone else in America.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

Are they home during the day? If so, forget about sleeping during the day. I've been doing it for almost 3 years now and I still have problems sleeping during the day and there is no one here. Yes I have blacked out the room,yes I have ear plugs, yes I have done it all, you can't stop the daytime world from going on while you try to sleep. After 3 years it doesn't matter, if I sleep for 4 hours the whole day once the sun goes down I'm wide awake......it's actually very strange.


This. One big boner though is doing 4/10's, yes the three day weekend is sweet, but working a 12 and only getting two hours o/t sucks balls.

I have worked night shifts at other jobs plenty of times. I could never get used to it. There were guys working in some of those places 20 or 30 years and they we're never used to it either but they put up with it because they didn't want to change jobs.
I can work late shifts that go relatively early into the morning but not something like 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Screw that. When I was working nights it didn't take much noise to wake me up. The rest of the world is up and about so it just doesn't feel natural to be sleeping during that time.

 

[Johney]

Feeder is definitely NOT for everyone. If you'd enjoy air conditioning, improved mental health, a wide array of start times/shifts, more family time and upwards of a $50k a year raise, then feeder is definitely not the job for you. Stay in package and live in denial since in package "you really have a good thing going." Yeah, right.

This is all true except for the $50K a year raise at least not here. Maybe in the past for sure, but now a days since Orion there are more p/c drivers that make WAY more than some of us feeder guys. They do work much harder for it though.

 

[Johney]

I have worked night shifts at other jobs plenty of times. I could never get used to it. There were guys working in some of those places 20 or 30 years and they we're never used to it either but they put up with it because they didn't want to change jobs.
I can work late shifts that go relatively early into the morning but not something like 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Screw that. When I was working nights it didn't take much noise to wake me up. The rest of the world is up and about so it just doesn't feel natural to be sleeping during that time.

You're right and I've talked more than once with our top guys who have been doing feeders for over 20 years and they all say the same thing......you never get use to sleeping during the day. And don't get me started with all the guys I meet at T/A's that take crap to help them sleep and stay awake.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

You're right and I've talked more than once with our top guys who have been doing feeders for over 20 years and they all say the same thing......you never get use to sleeping during the day. And don't get me started with all the guys I meet at T/A's that take crap to help them sleep and stay awake.

Yep. For me the only real advantage would be the AC in the tractors. But then again...... the cool air would likely cause me to pass out while driving. LOL