Milky Way
 

Anyone here ever work for them?
If so, please tell me anything you can, good, bad, ect.

I hate Milky Ways. Snickers are much better. 8)

They used to be union. Don't know if that is still true. Milk haulers.

They run weekends, I know that much. If I'm looking at local, I want it to be as 'regular' as possible.

I thought this was a joke till I got to our terminal in Springfield,MO and on the other side of the fence in the tank repair place there was a milk tanker with "Milky Way" right there on the side.

Jumbo...the Milky Way transport you saw, is a different company than the one Glassman inquired about...even though both carry the same product...Milk.

Glasman asked about Lynden Transport's "Milky-Way". Those drivers...when I lived up in the Seattle area, were in the Teamsters Union, and hauled milk for "Quality Check" milkers association, "DairyGold" milkers association, "Smith Brothers" dairy and "Wilcox Farms"...the largest private dairies in the Northwest.


The company you saw, Jumbo; http://www.milky-waytransport.com/

And the one Glasman asked about; http://www.ltii.lynden.com/ltii/milky_way.html

Around here they had an ad in the paper over a year ago advertising for 17-19/hr. They were union then, probably still are now. Nice trucks and you'll be pulling those double tankers onto dairy farms. It can be a messy gig walking all over watery cow crap slurry on the ground every time you get out of the truck.

I've stepped in worse for less money.
It's a 40 minute commute for me unless they have a yard close by, which I don't believe they do.

.

The milky way trucks here in Georgia haul animal fat

Well guess I'll find out for myself how this co is.
They say you need 2 yrs otr to apply, I have 14 months and got hired :) .

Talked to a few drivers and all have been happy with them so far.
I turn in my truck to Interstate tomorrow, got pp to Kent , then to Tacoma.

Keep us apprised.

Maybe the weekend shift won't be so bad.

Should be a pretty gravy job. I think you'll like it alot more than Interstate. I forgot to mention alot of the guys driving for them have been there quite a few years. You'll be running newer equipment, getting paid to sit in line at the milk plants and home daily. The smell at dairy farms is hard to overcome if you're not use to it, but just dont wear any fancy clothes to work and you should be alright. It's kind of interesting watching all the work they put into those cows just to get a little milk out of them. Keep us posted.

After a few years you could possibly transfer into running some of their sulfer tankers or those transfer dump set ups hauling filter sand.

pros. Great company, great benies, tons of over time, great money. Home every day, great people.

Cons. Can only think of 1. long drive to and from work. Think the pros out weigh the con. They do have a Pasco yard, hopefully in a year or so a spot opens up there ( only 9 miles from home )

I know I made the right move, and at the right time. They are going to hire 20 or so more drivers at this yard. that will put me up above 20 people to bid on runs/transfers.

What is your shift and are you required to overtime? Basically, are there short shifts?
What run were you given to start on?
Orientation/training schedule?
How are the loading and unloading locations?

My cousin works for LTI/Milky Way, I'll get some information from him when I talk to him in the next couple days. He enjoys it. And probably gets 20+hrs of OT a week. I may already have a job with them once I get the money to relocate.

being the new guy on the block my shift is all over the place, where ever they need me. it's 5 on 3 off. you dont have to work on your day off, but I'm not going to say no. so it would be 5 on , 34 hr rs , 1 on , 34 hr rs, 5 on ect.

They will send you with someone for a couple of days to places to learn a few drops. Orientation is paid by your hourly wage.
"most" loads are loaded and sitting in the yard, hook and run with it, wine loads and juice , you go empty , "they load you" you deliver and "they unload you".

Right now the only thing i worry about is sleep time... meaning Ive been up all day waiting for a call to find out my next load, Get a call at 6 pm to find out I need to be at work by 1 am. Takes 50min to drive to yard.
Now I need to be asleep "RIGHT NOW" so I can get up at 11 pm get ready and drive. and thats not going to happen. I'm not a machine cant just turn off and sleep. I got 4 hours sleep that night.
Hope this changes this month and I have a set time or know what times I need to be at work in advance. cause this isn't going to work if I'm penciled in every day. I just won't be able to get the proper rest needed, and thats unsafe.

If for some reason I'm still penciled in and continue to fight to get proper rest, I'll have to put my foot down "and maybe get fired, or not make probation" or just find another local job with more set hours.

I like the people, like the job, it's a good company. They don't have enough drivers right now to fill all the loads and upcoming loads.
I'm sure it will get better ( rest wise ) but if not.....

That's a bummer. I could never work a job like that. I was thoroughly annoyed when it happened working OTR, but those kinds of things are expected, not so much local. Or so I thought.

well I'm hoping it was because they had to work me in the month of June.
I should be on a schedule this month, and hopefully not have this happen any more. Today is my 2nd day off and was asked to work. Easy run drop and swap and was given good notice time for a change. Taking a few cat naps will be well rested.

milky way...isn't she a chubby lot lizard working the t/a west in ontario,ca... :lol:

Things are getting better :) kinda thought it would.
They hired enough drivers after me that now they call me while in route, and give me a pick of jobs and time slots.
The run I'm doing is at night , less traffic, good hills, gives me more time to learn how to float ( getting pretty darn good at it, really not hard at all )
The loads are heavy ( 100,000 lbs + ) and most are not full. Thus giving me a lot of surge and learning how to deal with it before winter.


Takes me 9 to 11 hrs to do, not a bad days work. So after a 4 day run this week anything I do after that is all over time ( today will be 40 )

other day i waited 1 3/4 hrs for my load to show up, other drivers showed me how to log on while I wait so next time I'll get paid while I wait. Learning as I go. Love being home every day

Things have changed :cry: <---> :wink:

Have a temp milk license ( still need to take the test, but not a problem. )
I have a better run takes 11 to 14 hours to do 4 days on 2 days off.
Love being home every night, pay cks are great, probation is over in 1 more month, then i get a raise!! they took over a few more farms and had to hire more drivers, thus putting me up higher on the list :D

Only down fall I've ran into is, someone moved my motorcycle while I was out working. Really ticked me off, I keep it out of the way, but guess someone wanted that itty bitty spot I was in.

Called dispatch about it, they are going to look into it ( like if they will find out who and why :roll: but at least they are trying, and are going to talk to the night watchman to make sure it doesn't happen again. Guess I just need to lock my forks so it doesn't happen again.

They also said it's time to figure something out :? think they mean putting in motorcycle parking spots, not sure but will ask, I know of 6 or 7 other people that ride bikes to work, so I hope that's what they ment.

This company gets better and better every day in my eyes, could be the last place I ever work.

with the gas prices as they are looking at putting my motorhome someplace and on days I'm "really Tired " crash out.

That's great it's working out for you. The commute must take some getting used to after a long shift.

Can you say where your runs are?

Never heard of a Milk License before...is this something the Health Dept requires or your employer???

Washington State Department of Agriculture requires I have this. As far as the drive back home after a long day... I know someone that has a tractor trailer repair shop. Going to ask and look into maybe putting my motorhome in his yard so I can get proper rest. He offered to store it before, but staying in it is another story. going to have to get with the CITY and say something like I'm security or something so they don't try to boot me out.

well got my Milk License last month, almost fell off a milk storage tank during the test, but it was a breeze, flew through it. The drive to and from work after long hrs at work are getting easier.

Been rescued 3 times ( means I ran out of the 14 or 16 hours allowed for that day, and they send a pickup to swap with me so I can get back to the yard "on the clock" or they get me a hotel for the night. Have done both )

Got another raise with another one coming in a month or 2. Pay checks are getting bigger , and they have been better then working otr from day 1.

This last pay check was 2300.00 take home, after taxes, medical, 401k ect I use to have to bust my butt to make a little less then 1/2 of that before I got into trucking. Wish I would have got into it sooner, saved my old tired body.

things just keep getting better....
Went to a meeting today, and they said lay offs were just around the corner.
So I went to the big boss after the meeting and asked if I was on the list of people getting laid off.
Answer was no, and in fact, I was being transferred to Pasco, 10 miles from my house in Jan.

They are doubling the drivers in Pasco to meet the need... this is awsome

I'm getting back to a place where I would want to drive again, but the long hours is not something I'd want any part of.

Once the Pasco yard is up I'll give them a call. Maybe they would want some part time drivers. Part time sounds like it would be around 35 hours... lol :lol:

Nice to see that you and Milky worked out. Good for you.

winter driving in smooth core tanks has it's moments. thought I left a brown mark on the seat once, but didn't. cks keep getting bigger, and bid time for new routes start this month, so I may loose my route. Can't think of anyone in there right mind that would want my route, but it's constant and I know what I'm doing and what time to start.

It's nice to know when you run out of hours ( during a run ) the office doesn't get pissy , they just get you a hotel and you finish your route the next day. Things happen like flats, chaining several times a day, or the other driver your swapping with is behind, and you just can't make it back to the yard.

OR you read where your going and read it wrong like DBO and DPO.
Last second route change, your 4 hours behind before you start and rushing. DBO is normally a baker city swap, and DPO is a plant in Portland. Yup I did it, went to baker city to find out I needed to go to Portland.

Felt like a dunce when I called asking where my swap was. All they did was ask if I had the hours to make it to Portland and unload. I looked and said I'll have about 20 minutes left after unloading if I don't have them wash my tanks. They said get moving and they will get me a hotel near by. Told them I was sorry and they said it happens. Learned a lesson... slow down... no matter how far behind you think you are, pay attention, and double check.

Doesn't look like Pasco is going to expand now. Key work is looks, still not sure, so I may have to keep driving to Sunnyside for work. Got use to it, so no big deal if Pasco doesn't double it's man power.

All in all.... Great company to work for, and glad I made the switch.

Oh forgot ... Bidding... There are a couple of runs going up for bid that not to many people will want to do, If I lose my route I'll put a bid on them. Requires you to lay over for 1 night and finish the run the next day. Not to many people want to be away from home, so think I have a good chance of getting this run if my route gets taken away from me

Milk Man
 

Glas:

I'm a fellow milk hauler from the state of Michigan - and I love it.

I had to get a Milk Haulers license also. It's a food grade thing. Since I do pick up from a farm and deliver to plants in a 5 state radius .

I drive for a O/O, so my pay is by the load, most days it works out (as far as breaking it down by the hour). There are days though that getting caught at the dairy really kicks ya right in the azzzzz, but 90% of the time you can get in and out.

I'm glad everything is working out for you, and I know for a fact that the money in killer !

Keep both hands on the wheel , and take her slow in and out of the curves, and always get ready for that nice little " SURGE " !!!!!!!

hey glasman, i too drive for milky way..just found this board...what a great job, been here almost a year and couldn't be happier:thumbsup:

Nothin like draggin a tanker huh? ;)

Welcome to the board!! WT8P;)

Yes Colin they hire part time drivers. I was going to go to work for them part time, but then got offered a job by the State.

what yard do you work at, wondering if I know you

well..... fun while it lasted. 11 people got laid off today, me being 1 of them.
Wish I would have kept my hazmat. time to get it back and beat feet looking for a new job.

Sorry to hear that Glas! Good luck in the coming weeks!

Maybe they will call you back. I know they used to do that on a frequent basis in years past.

I have been working with these guys for a couple of years now. I couldn't be happier.