Anyone run for USPS contractors?

As the title suggests, I'm looking for anyone has or currently does work for a USPS contract carrier OR know someone who does / did and can share their stories about it.

I applied and interviewed with a contractor here in Albuquerque, and I've listed a few bullet points below:

• Pay is $22.50 per hour plus an additional $4.00 per hour for "Health and Wellness". They don't provide any kind of insurance, so the employees have to purchase it elsewhere - "Obamacare".
• The route they're looking to fill is a round trip run from Albuquerque, NM to Lubbock, TX and then back to Abq. It will be a rotating 4 on 4 off schedule, so they're looking for 2 drivers to put on that route. Departs Abq at approximately 17:00 and returns at approximately 03:30 the following morning.
• Their equipment leaves much to be desired from what I can tell. They run mostly Freightliner Classic XL day cabs with a few Kenworth T800 day cabs here and there. The tractor I road tested on didn't have a CB, the cassette deck / radio didn't work, seats were torn to ####, wind noise out the wazoo, engine belt squealed like a stuck pig, trailer tires at the wear indicators, several exterior lights were not working, and it was pushing a little over 1.6 million miles. I did check out some of the other tractors and they were in similar condition.
• They require that I pay for the background check and fingerprinting, 2 passport photos (no idea what those are for), and the pre-employment drug screen. Their rationale is that they hire people who end up not liking the job for whatever reason and then the company is out the money for the hiring & training of that person so they figure that they'll just reimburse the employee after they complete their 90-day probationary period. Of course, if you pay for all that and something doesn't jive for whatever reason, you're out that money and they will not reimburse you.

I know that contractors are all different and that one company might be great and another might be total ####. The overall experience is what I'm looking for - especially from current or former drivers from a contractor.

 

Ah, yes... the dreaded 1099 form. I'll have to ask about that, too.

 

The guy I talked with didn't expand on that aspect until I questioned him directly. Initially, he just handed me their "application packet" and as I was looking through it, I noticed that there was a table that showed what each item would cost. When I asked him why that was listed, that's when he told me why they do it that way. I then asked him what happens if someone does all that and then isn't hired - are they reimbursed for the expenses? Nope.

As for the "no health insurance", I asked about that, too. I was told that per the contract with the USPS, they could either provide benefits through the contract or they could pay an additional wage on top of the base wage and that money could be put towards an employee purchasing insurance on their own, usually through a state of federal health exchange.

As of right now, I have neither accepted or declined to go further in the application process. I'm supposed to contact the company again tomorrow and let them know how things are going, but I think in lieu of that, I'll ask a few more questions and then use that to make a more educated decision. So far, the money sounds awesome...over a grand a week gross, but if I would be a 1099 "independent" employee, I would have to factor taxes along with the cost of health insurance against the gross wages.

 

I can PM you the name of the company, but it is a locally owned and operated company (or at least they claim to be) as far as I know. According to their website, the current owner is the third generation...his grandfather started it back in the 40's.

 

Too late, Shaggy, you've piqued my curiosity.