Feeder drivers pay?
- Thread starter UpsPDXman
- Start date
Old International
Now driving a Sterling
I can't drive the speed limit because the truck won't go over 68 MPH. I don't care how damn hot the load is, or how late it is, I won't drive over 65. Stuff comes out of the dark damn fast even at 65 mph. If the conditions warrant, I will drive even slower, like rain, snow, ice. High winds are another one that will make me slow down. I work to make the "last stop" every night.
just interested
Well-Known Member
We get paid hourly at my center. At the hubs they have some mileage trips and also the OTR (white) trucks that expedite loads to far away hubs these are mileage as well. I make hourly so I drive the speed limit. We have a guy bidding nights on a new run(over 400 miles) that only has done day work before we shall see if this is a vacation run soon enough.
I'm new to UPS and wondering what "vacation run" means? Also - besides the regular package delivery driver, what other driving position exist? Are there any evening shifts within the company for someone driving without a CDL? If one has a CDL - then what other positions are possible for them? Thx.
I started running a mileage run in 1996. I've ran 4 different mileage runs since. To me they were the only way to work. When I retired in Dec. 2010 after 32 yrs. I was running a 526 mile run working between 42 and 43 hours a week and getting paid the same as a 52-53 hour a week hourly job. I loved it. Its was all done driving a 68 MPH truck in a 70 MPH speed limit. The reason older drivers have mileage runs is that they want to work less hours for more pay.
As a "laid-off" feeder driver in north florida, I can tell you there's not much difference in pay. We also have no mileage runs anymore, we do have runs 600 miles+ though. its really up to the driver. I usually drive 64 for safety reasons, We can beat any drive time by doing so. And yes, It also depends on the tractor. Most of ours top out at 68mph. Some do up to 72. Mainly, I was a package driver, So the question for me is why drive faster? As long as you beat the time they allow you, whats the point?
brett636
Well-Known Member
We have some mileage runs out of my building as well, and what dictates a mileage run is something I am still trying to figure out. We have runs that go to the same building and while one will be mileage the other will be hourly. It all depends on the loads that are going. None of those runs are sleeper teams. I've had the pleasure of filling in for some of the mileage guys a couple of times when they would call in or extra loads were going out, and it does make the paycheck a little sweeter that week.
raceanoncr
Well-Known Member
Ok guysi need ur help, Just interview for a feeder job, seasonal,
I respect the union jobs, This seasonal jobsounds ok, but they are telling me no guarantee of hours, no benefits.... and they tell me i gota pay $40.00 month assoiation fee,, IE union dues....... on call from 7pm till 3am pay is 16.10 hr.
Can some one please tell me if this sounds true????
Thank you
I respect the union jobs, This seasonal jobsounds ok, but they are telling me no guarantee of hours, no benefits.... and they tell me i gota pay $40.00 month assoiation fee,, IE union dues....... on call from 7pm till 3am pay is 16.10 hr.
Can some one please tell me if this sounds true????
Thank you
brett636
Well-Known Member
Everything sounds about right except the on call only from 7 pm-3am, but that may be dependent on where your working as a seasonal. Here your oncall 24/7, and when you get called depends on where you fall on the call board which is determined by when you were hired. When I was at the bottom of our call board I was getting called in as late as 2345, and when I was at the top I would be brought in at 5 after midnight on Monday and would keep starting there throughout the rest of the week.
Feeder drivers are paid hourly unless they are a team operation (usually white tractors with sleeper) or the route is over 250 miles each direction. BUT being over 250 miles does not necessarily mean it will be milage. That up to the local centers management as to which makes the most buisness sense.
Dracula
Package Car is cake compared to this...
This is an easy argument to win w/management. Particularly at night.
At night, if you drive 65 MPH on a dark highway, your Eye Lead Time (remember that, Mr. Supervisor?) is barely 4 seconds. Try it sometime. Not the reflectors to the side of the road, but the road itself. UPS guidelines specify 8 to 12 seconds eye lead time. So, you have to ask your supervisor, what parts of the 10 point commentary are we supposed to adhere to, and which ones should we ignore? Should the drivers go the speed limit even if it makes their following distance too short? Should they do the speed limit in fog/rain/snow? You must ask, is safety just something that we do when it's convenient, or is a 24HR, 365 day goal?
It sounds like a smart-assed thing to ask the drones, but it is a serious question that management must address to you and every other driver.
Bottom line: instructing drivers to go a certain speed is just a harassment tool. They count on getting as many drivers as possible to do as they say, regardless of safety concerns.
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Dracula
Package Car is cake compared to this...
retiredTxfeeder
cap'n crunch
years ago, in the building I was in, all feeder drivers were hourly. management implemented some mileage runs, and they were jumped on by mostly senior drivers. Yes, you can make more money mileage and usually there is less wear and tear on the driver. (usually his loads/sets were ready/built wherever he went. A lot of our runs go from Mesquite/Houston. They started some new runs and made them mileage. It seemed to be a win/win for management/drivers. Drivers got off earlier, and equipment was available for the next guy faster. No waiting for a tractor at the fuel pump. Management tried to turn existing hourly runs into mileage, but the union fought this. Ended up only newly formed runs could be mileage. That Mestx run was about 477 miles RT. Our longest run goes to Port Allen, La. and I think it is about 626 miles RT. Those guys get the turned up tractors, because any delays cause those guys to have hours of service problems. I ran a Mestx run for a couple of years, got bumped off it, and found out I preferred local work. (all hourly)
Heartbreaking story, just one more reason I always drive under the speed limit if it's over 55.
UPS4Life
Well-Known Member
I missed the part where it said he was speeding. If you have 3 rear end accidents as this driver did he obviously can't watch more than 5ft off the front of his hood and should have never been driving. To me going under the speed limit is much more of a hazard than doing the speed limit or a few ticks over if it's 55 or 60. I pass people all the time running 2 or 3 over like they're standing still, I call that stealing time not being safe your the biggest hazard on the road and thanks to you a four wheeler just cut me off
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Go get'em tiger.
Dracula
Package Car is cake compared to this...
I go 55 to 62 on night highways in ideal conditions, in the far right lane. If you think that is hazardous, then you are over driving your conditions/equipment. There is nothing unsafe about going 55 to 62MPH. Get in wreck at your speed and watch how fast UPS dumps you at the curb.
