UPS Freight - Looking for Info??
 

I am looking for info on UPS freight. I know that Snowman7 is a UPS Frght road driver and I would have sent a PM to him but I’m to new to do so I will ask here. It will be good info for every!

I am looking into UPS freight as a road driver. Just looking for any details that you could give me about the job, how the bidding works, pay, what’s its like as a newbie and all that.. I am from a decent sized market, Kansas City.. I do have a friend that works as a dock worker and knows and HR guy really well, will that help me at all? I did talk to the HR guy today and he said that they have 2 open Road driver positions and will be filling them with outside people, because no one in house was bidding for them.

Any info from anyone would be great!

Thanks.

Hey Dave,

I'm on my way to work but I'll post something tomorrow. I will say I love my job! Any specific questions?

Re: UPS Freight - Looking for Info??
 

After re-reading your post I see you already asked some questions. Sorry bout that, I was in a hurry to leave for work.

Each barn has scheduled runs to the same places every night that they have probably run for years. For example at Kansas City run "KAN001" might go to St Louis and back every night M-F. It will have a scheduled departure time, scheduled arrival time, scheduled return time. Roughly 90% of road drivers will have a scheduled run. The other 10% are extra board drivers. There is always extra freight. There might be 3 scheduled runs to St Louis every nite but if there is too much St Louis freight then they send another truck from the extra board. We bid every 6 months and the top guy picks first and down the line. When its your turn to pick you choose from whats left or you can pick extra board. Extra board is run by seniority too so every nite top extra board guy gets choice of the extra runs. I would assume this is where you'll end up at the beginning, bottom of the extra board. You'll work most every nite but you wont know where you are going. You might not work a nite here and there but dont worry we're busy. I cant remember my last nite off, maybe February?

You start out at .459/mile and 18.05/hr. You get the mileage while driving, the hourly is if you are working the dock or city P&D. You'll get a raise every 6 months for 3 years plus we get annual cost of living raise. Right now top pay is .5415/mile and 21.50/hour. You should make 50k plus your first year, maybe more if your lucky. With 3 years seniority and at top pay you could be 60-80 depending on what you bid on. I know KC has some sleeper team runs and some solo layovers. You can get alot of miles if you dont mind being gone.

Good days and bad. On the extra board you might get a nice 500 mile turn that takes 8-10 hours to do with minimal aggravation. Or you might run 3-4 shorter legs totalling 400-600 miles with drops and hooks and waiting for dispatch that takes 12-14 hrs to do. Some of the bid runs go to a hub where you drive a couple hundred miles then work the dock 2-4 hours and return home. You might cover one of these runs for vacations, illness, etc. Guys bid these runs because its a set schedule and predictable even though they might not care for the dock. Extra board is unpredictable but you get home most nites. We run 100% legal and if you run out of hours you would take your 10 hour break in a motel. For the most part its Mon nite thru Fri nite with weekends and holidays off. Typically start 8-11 PM and get done when you get done. Check with your TM for more on your terminal. There is usually weekend work available if you're interested, I'm not.

Right now we have a company paid pension and 50% match on 401k upto your first 7%. Family med is about $20 week for 85% and $70 week for 100%, insurance is pretty good. 8 paid holidays, 1 floating holiday and 3 sick days. Company provides uniforms. The newer Volvos are nice but you'll probably end up with an older Intertrashinal, not so nice! But cruise, AC and AM/FM are standard. We have assigned trucks that are shared with city drivers. Some barns assign the truck to the run, not the driver, check with your TM. I say right now because it all could change. The teamsters are negotiating a contract for Indianapolis and when its done each barn can vote for it. I think we'll all end up as teamsters which might mean a little extra, we'll see.

Overall, I like it. I'd prefer to be independently wealthy but that's not happening! Its an easy job for the most part. The only hard part is staying awake all nite and trying to sleep in the daytime. Thats why you always see guys who pull wiggle wagons on the side of the road napping on their steering wheel! That and weather, but that's a whole different story! Just hope your not empty!

Is it possible to apply with UPS Freight Online. If so could someone throw a link up.

I would like information on applying with this company.

I'm in the Houston Area.

Thanks

DDT

You have to search for an opening then apply. You need doubles and hazmat endorsements first or they wont even look at you. City drivers work days. You can also search under dock workers for dock w/cdl, this is a combo position, probably days. you can transfer to different departments once you're hired.

https://ups.iiserve.com/upsx/searchjobs.asp?OVN=Y

Any questions about UPS (package/feeder/sleeper etc.) ask away. Unlike our "buds" in UPS Freight we still run a little different. We hope to change that just as soon as we get UPS Freight a decent contract. And we will. Retired or not, I'll still be there...I really want to see UPS Freight get a GOOD contract...

Thanks for all the info!! I'm still in the inquiry phase of these deal, but I have talked to the HR guy who knows a guy I know. So I hope that will get me a foot in the door!

Thanks again!

Thanks for the info

DDT

all the major LTL cos. are represented at: www.truckingboards.com
sorry to link to a competitor..to cad's credit I like that they dont plaster ads everywhere like TB.

Nice and detailed response, Snowman. I too have a few questions for you....firstly, what exactly does dockwork entail ? How physically taxing is it ? How much handbombing is involved ? I ask, 'cos I have a back which flares up every now and then, and also a knee injury when I fell off the back of my truck last year.

Secondly, seeing that you're from Ohio ( I presume that's the Buckeye state ), how much do you get to run in western PA ( Pittsburgh and general area ) ? Do you guys have any terminals here ? How busy is this freight lane for you guys ? Thanks in advance.

The physical demands of LTL dockwork will vary with your freight mix. 95% of the stuff we get at my barn is on skids, 3% if light stuff like auto body kits thats too bulky to ship parcel and the remaining 2% is a royal PITA.

My bid is 90% dock, 5% city driver, 5% road driver. But Con-Way is a hog board company where you can be asked to do most anything as long as you have the hrs.

The hand-muck intensity level can vary. Last year my company had a national account that shipped concentrated cleaning supplies to restaurants, hotels and nursing homes. A lot of it was inside delivery wher you put it on your two-wheel and dropped it off in their laundry or storage room.

My barn has city drivers in their 40s & 50s who do just fine. If you are in ok shape you should be able to do it.

You could find a barn in your area that would allow you to work as a casual dock worker to get an idea of whats its like.

As a road driver you can get out of alot dock work if you really dont care for it. Less than half the runs involve working the dock and senior guys tend to bid these because the hours are more prediciable and they are always on the clock the whole time they are working. Extra board doesnt work the dock unless they are covering a bid run. If you had to cover for a guy one night just request to not work the dock when you get there. You would wait in the break room until your freight is ready, not getting paid BTW. Its mostly fork lift but there's alot of up and down off the fork lift. Remember we have single shipments of all sorts and sizes and its not stacked all pretty in the trailer. Plus you have to match the bill to the freight.


Pittsburgh terminal is exit 40 off I79, Irwin is I70 and I76, and one in Erie. And yes I've been to all three. Pittsburgh quite often.

Thanks for your response, Snowman. Going by what you said about dockwork, if one were to opt out of doing any dockwork, by how many hours / dollars would that impact one's paycheck every 2 weeks ? In other words, as a road driver, how many hours of dockwork does one get to do on an average every day ( which one can opt out of ) ?

The guys who are on bid runs get 3-4 hours on the dock. Maybe less if its a longer run. It definately adds up. You can't opt out if your assigned one of these runs but if your just filling in and you dont know what you're doing anyway they would rather you werent "in there way". But they will probably bitch to your home terminal and tell them next time send someone who can work the dock. If you "suck" on the dock then they'll think twice before sending you :wink: . Just depends on the workload at your terminal,seniority, the runs available, and the drivers available, some guys like the dock.

Working the dock isn't bad at all. Most of the labor involved is done by the tow-motor since the majority of LTL freight is palletized. You might have to get off the motor and re-stack some boxes on a pallet or something, but that's about the extent of it.

Then again, it all depends on what kind of freight your company hauls. If it's cheap freight, you'll generally do more stacking/lumping. And it depends on how they load trailers, too. Some companies jam every piece of freight into a set of pups with no dunnage/racks, etc. Others hire junkies and transients off the street as dock workers. After a few rough roads, hard-braking, hair-pin turns, etc you'd better be careful opening that trailer door LOL. Then you've got your work cut out for you.

Yeah its alot easier to get it in the trailer than it is to get it out at the other end! The guy who loads you can make all the difference in a good nite or a bad nite LOL.

Hey snowman, I put in my inquiry on the ups freight site about 2 weeks ago and got a call today for an invite to fill out an online app and set up an interview! So I guess 1 step is down and a few more to go. Could you tell me how the process goes and give me any pointers? Thanks!

Thats good news! I was wondering what happened with you. From what I have seen getting a call back from your reply is the hardest part. After that its just a formality. As long as you dont have any "skeletons" in your closet! Fill out the app and they should call for an interview. At the interview be yourself. I was nervous because I really wanted the job and wanted to impress the guy but it wasnt necesarry because by that time they've pretty much made up their mind to hire you. Its more of a "dont blow it now" kinda thing and they just tell you about the job and you let them know if you want it. Then they road test, pee test, physical, etc and you'll be started in a week or two. If you've never hooked doubles dont worry they'll allow for that as long as you have the endorsement. Then be ready to run! I did 1970 miles this week in 4 days on the extra board, called off Friday (1st time in 8 months) and with d/h pay grossed $1119 not counting sick pay. It was probably around 49 hours (2 avg nites, 1 short nite and 1 really long nite!) and I was back in the yard every morning between 6 and 11 AM. Not bad for 4 nights! BOL Keep us posted.

what kind of experience does UPS require for the dockworker plus CDL.
I have the ratings but practically no experience on the road. Do they train at all. I was on the road for about a month with Maverick.

I think the good part this all is that I know a guy that worked on the dock, so he gave me a name of the HR guy in the terminal. So I just called him and the next day had a call back from the lady that set me up online for the app as well as set up an interview all at the same time. So I'm thinking that is a good thing.

I'm ready to work! I currently drive for a larger company in town, but things seem to be slowing down for us. I'm on a test account, basically one that they don't have anywhere else so everything is up in the air all the time. I'm looking for something that will keep me busy!

I'll keep ya posted on how things are going. Thanks for the info!

Careful
 

I work for UPS Freight as an LTL diver, just think long and hard that this is indeed what you want. You have good and bad days. Money is ok but you can make more OTR per week with the right company. Your hours can flucuate. Yes, I am home daily but I stay more tired now than when I was OTR, I got more rest OTR. Hope this helps. Bottom line it what you want and will best suit you and your family.

Re: Careful
 

When you're bottom man on the totem pole, LTL isn't all $hits and giggles. You get the junk equipment and liftgate trucks with lots of hand-freight. Hours are helter-skelter and you might even find yourself sitting home when freight slows.

But as you build your "strap" (seniority), the tables begin to turn in your favor. You can bid on more preferential runs, better equipment, better hours, etc. Seniority is king in LTL - as it should be.

I've got a 0830 city-bid start time and I work until about 1700 M-F. Lately, I've been working a bit longer because of vacations and call-offs during the summer. At $22.00/hr with OT after 8, I usually gross better than $1,000 per week. Company-provided uniforms with a yearly boot allowance. Home every night and off every weekend. I'll keep this gravy train a-rollin' as long as I can.

With OTR I was out 2-3 weeks, working round the clock making about the same or little better money. No pension and worthless health bennies with high co-pays. $60.00 holiday pay. 2am warehouse deliveries in the Bronx. Going without a shower some days. Trashing my own clothes. Sleeping in parking lots, pickleparks, and truckstops (if I could find a spot - otherwise a deserted get-off ramp). All the freebies and unpaid waiting around. Broken promises from dispatch. No overtime. The list goes on and on and on and on...

UPS Freight, not Parcel, there is a difference. Check for an opening near you. If there is one go ahead and apply, you may have a shot. We sometimes train dockworkers to drive so you're a step ahead. You would be a dockworker first and cover city p&d as needed. Should be full time at around $18/hr. Most drivers would rather either city or road so they may not have alot of apps for dock w/cdl and might consider you. then you could switch later with a little seniority and experience.

Welp, I went to my UPSF interview today and am sorta confused now that its all over. Maybe I expected better pay, but here is what I learned. They are hiring for road drivers here in KC, and I would be covering the extra board of course. I was told that 90% of what I would be doing would be covering vacations and sick leave for teams. So the team pay is .24 per mile. I was told the low end of the team trucks are about 5000 miles split would be at the low end $600 a wk. You top out at .29 a mile after 3 years. This seems low to me but maybe I'm wrong. If this is the case, I don't think that I will be going with UPSF.

I am wondering if I am missing some pay here? Like hourly for some work? I was told that there would not be any dock work with the team road work, unless I was covering other non-team routes.

So I am confused, can anyone let me know if I have this wrong?

Thanks

Dave you would get paid on all miles. The pay .24 cents is after the split. The starting rate for solo is 46 and team is 48 so .24 times all miles. 5000 x .24 = $1200 to you.

Plus he should get some hourly too when his freight isn't ready I think..Also what about hooks and drops, ancillary stuff like that..Not too hip on UPS Freight, but I'm pretty sure you guys don't sit for free....

Ok, this makes more (cents! (sense) hehe).. I was sorta confused on my assumption. I got it now. Well I guess I need to call up the HR guy and grab this job up!

Thanks!

It's $1200 a week. $62400 a year. Not bad at all. $75400 in three years.

It's a good gig. Don't delay - somebody else will jump on it.

It's the kind of job where you can retire in 20+ years with a sweet pension. Almost unheard of in trucking these days where so many drivers come and go like the wind.

Drops/hooks/fuel are paid at 21.25 hr but a sleeper team would be running long and wouldnt see much pay in that. Alot of times jockeys hook the sets for sleepers anyway. On the other hand I run shorter legs and I drop/hook 3-5 times a nite, which may add up to $50-60 a nite. Delay pay is $13/hr after the first hour. This is one area where I think a union contract could benefit us, the other being free healthcare. Other than that our compensation and pension is right there with the NFMA. I do think the teamsters and UPS will work something out eventually and when they do it will only be better than what we have, maybe closer to parcel, but not exactly the same. Either way its a good job and I'm very happy already. UPS has already grown our business and I'm making damn good money and turning stuff down. I try to keep my hours under 60 but could get closer to 70 if I ran all the miles they offer me! Anyone starting today could be sitting pretty in seniority after 3 years with the way we are growing.

Off topic but I just noticed this...Location: Nevada? didnt this used to say California?

Uh yeah, I retired 07/12/2007. I sold all my stuff in the Victor Valley and moved to my retirement place in Incline Village, Nevada. Got my "watch"-Big whoop, I'll believe it when I see my first Western Conference pension check. Now, just an old fart delivering RV's part-time. Haven't figured out what to replace my avatar with....

And I forgot to add, glad things are going well for you Snowman. Things are only going to get better from here. UPS has taken you guys into the fold and you are now "Brown" (like it or not-LOL). Your right in that although the contract is taking a long time, ultimately it will just be icing on the cake for you. I'm very glad to see it. I'll still be doing a little organizing for the Teamsters. Love your "new" paint scheme........!!!!!!!!

I knew you retired just didnt know you moved too. "Retirement place"? Please tell me it doesnt have locks on the doors and a shuffleboard table!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Now your making me feel bad........!!!!! Jeez, I just left a WEEK ago. I'm not dead yet. No, it's just a house we had built a few years ago, near Tahoe. No rubber rooms, no shuffleboard. But, pretty close to the south shore casino's !! And whats really cool is no spouse (YET). She still has almost 2 months before she cuts loose from the county, so she's living in one of our rentals..How cool is that ? Of course, I AM supposed to visit on weekends....

Just to update. I called the HR guy back and left a message telling him that I would take the road driving position. He called me back and let me know that someone with seniority decided to leave a P&D route to take the job they where offering me. So that opened up a place on the extra P&D board for me if I wanted it. They also where opening a new combo work slot that I could have instead of the P&D. So, crap. I donno what to do..

I guess its tuff for me to get all excited about being low man on the pole doing the extra work for a couple years when I can't see myself trucking forever. And I guess when you get into places like this, that is what you have to look forward to, to make it as an extra? So as it stands I'm not sure that I am gonna take this deal.. I guess at this point in my life I need to make the best money I can, today, or at least for the next couple years. But maybe I need to be looking more toward the long term. I donno.

Kinda looking into going back OTR.. I can't believe that I am saying that.. But who knows.

UPS Freight will continue to grow like gangbusters with the power of UPS behind them. That means they'll keep adding more drivers and alot of the senior men at the top will be retiring due to the demographics of the US working population - which means you'll move up the ladder fast. Now is the best time to get your foot in the door of an LTL company.

Assuming UPS Freight goes union (and they will), a full-time Teamsters P&D man at top-rate working for union outfits such as Holland/Yellow/Roadway = an $80,000/year job. You'll start in the morning working the inbound dock, then peddle freight in the city, and finally work the outbound freight. You'll be looking at 60-hour workweeks, home everynight, and off every weekend:

40 hours X $22.00/hr = $880
20 hours of overtime at $33.00/hr = $660
$1540 X 52 weeks/year = $80,080

You pay $0.00 out of pocket for health insurance plus you get a pension + 401k. Company-paid uniforms. Overtime after 8/40 hours on the job.

If you don't like the city, you can always transfer to linehaul and vice-versa. With every switch, you lose your seniority but gain it back 1 year + a day after you transfer. They do this to keep guys from hopping to the city in the wintertime and then back to the road in the spring/summer/fall.

You'd trade UPS for 80+ hours per week on the job at 40-50k and live out of a fiberglass box? No pension and worthless benefits? It's an insult to anyone's integrity to pull for those wages. No wonder the turnover rates are through the roof in that biz. OTR is nothing but a joke.

Hi,

To the people who drive for UPS Freight why are they not listed in the CAD driver review category search? Or did I just miss them?

To Dave how do you like it so far? Is it what you expected? Thanks.
This would be for my husband, who is currently subcontract on UPS freight dedicated run that would like to get on with them directly.
Thanks again.

Well, I never started with UPSF. I was hoping to get on with them as an extra on the Road board, but when I called back to take that position, they had given it to another person with some seniority instead. They offered me a combo or local P&D job, but neither sounded that great to me. I currently have a local job that pays pretty good and can't really take the 2 or 3 yr pay cut to do local P&D or combo work.

So I'm not to sure, sorry!

Peace

UPS Freight Truckload?
 

Were you trying to get a job with UPS or UPS Freight Truckload (the old "Overnite Transportation")? UPS Freight Truckload, for whatever reason, is still going through some adjustments, I guess untill UPS (the 'Brown Guys') figure out exactly where we fit into the scheme of things. UPS Freight Truckload (we still pull 53's that say "Overnite SSD") is not all that bad a deal. There have been some morale issues due to some problems in the planning department, but that situation seems to be getting better as the months go by. They also have some good long time customers, and have dedicated runs with Ferguson plumbing warehouses around the country that offer pretty decent miles and usually the opportunity to be home every weekend. Just a little advice, for anyone considering UPS in general. I would first try to get on with "Brown" before the Truckload division, as you'll probably do a little better (?)