Southeastern Freight Lines

Our road tractors are International day cabs tandem and single axle. The local city drivers drive older Intenationals and newer Freightliners. The teams drivers have Volvos.

As far as the union goes. I'm neither for or against the union. I wouldn't vote for one at Southeastern because we simply don't need one. We are paid the same if not better than comparable union companies. We work only Mon-Fri, with vacation and holidays off. We are treated fairly. Everything is done on a seniority basis from tractors to routes to start times. Safety is first at Southeastern and they will back you up. No one will ever force you to do anything or go anywhere you don't feel comfortable.

Now on another note...Southeastern demands a very high work ethic and you will be rewarded for your hard work...I can only say this from experience. This is the major difference about Southeastern and a union company. You will be rewarded by being given extra hours if you want it, and earlier start times on an as needed basis.

 

Well the way it is supposed to work is like this...Seniority is based on your full-time hire date as a p&d driver or linehaul driver. These lists are seperate! This is important because if you decide to go from city to linehaul or visa versa, then you go to the bottom. There is supposed to be a bid roughly every 6 mths. Drivers bid on start times based on seniority. These start times are split up into 1 or 2 or 3 lists depending on how many dispatchers you have so you decide who you want to work for. Usually the earlier times go first then the afternoon times last. You don't have any idea what route your bid on just the city and dispatcher. The start times are usually 5am-3pm or later. Depending on the dispatcher, if your at the bottom you might get stuck with the most difficult route to run every day. In line-haul it works pretty much the same way, you bid on a schedule and run, i.e what days your home or out all week and how many miles the run is. Most tractors are assigned and that is based on seniority, the oldest trucks are supposed to be given to the newest drivers. But once you get a truck its yours till they get rid of it. Also when it comes to vacation, this is done by seniority. If you are new, good luck getting a holiday week off like Christmas or Thanksgiving.

 

Well said Powell. I appreciate the fact that your not hard core and we can have a reasonable discussion about unions. I'm originally from the Massachusetts, where in pretty much every line of work, there is a union, and the unions get all the jobs. I know how they operate. I have family that work in unions. One thing I do know is that there was once a day where unions were absolute and represented there members well. Now is seems like the unions think they own the company, and there members think they work for the union. Its a vicious cycle.

One thing I know for sure, If I took that union job that was offered to me 4 years ago, I would definitely be laid off. I don't believe everything that my company says, but one thing is for sure...they are dedicated to keeping us working. We have had zero lay-offs in this tough economy. Thats remarkable considering that most off our competitors have. This boosts moral in the company, and strives us to work harder for the company.

No one at Southeastern is guaranteed hours, or work. We are not guaranteed anything. There is no representation for a "wright up" or what they call a "corrective action". Our benefits can change at any moment at there will. We could very well be forced to work on our days off like weekends, and I suppose if we refuse they can fire us. We have to wear uniforms in the city. We have a pretty strict standard to meet as far as work ethic is concerned. Basically nothing is set in stone.

However if you are a good worker, and come to work everyday and do your best. You get paid very well and right now its better than the union, great benefits that don't cost us that much I mean its cheap( if you want details, just ask), The security of a job tomorrow and years to come. I don't have to worry about anything but doing my job.

 

Hey Ambivalence, I'm definitely not a recruiter. I just work for a great company. I'm not bashing anyone!!! Isn't this board designed for people to be able to give there opinions. I never said anything that bashes unions, I just stated the obvious! I think that there was once a place for a union in trucking. In my opinion that time is long over.

"I can only say this from experience. This is the major difference about Southeastern and a union company. You will be rewarded by being given extra hours if you want it, and earlier start times on an as needed basis."

-I said this because its true. I'm a hard worker, I take a lot of pride in what I do. I treat my job like its my own personal business, and my paycheck depends on it. Southeastern has a Driver Training program. Usually you have to start to work on the dock for at least 1 year before they give you a chance to get into the program. It took me only 6 mths. Southeastern requires you to have some driving experience, I had absolutely none. I took the initiative and taught myself how to back up a trailer in the yard. I'm not saying this to toot my own horn, but you did ask. Once I became a driver 3 months later, most drivers still have to work the dock for a period of time and only drive at night doing shuttles between terminals. Well they are impressed with me and gave me a shot a running a route, so I started running routes, a different one every day, and once I got good at it, I ran these routes faster than the regular driver!! I didn't have to wait 5 years to be able to bid on an early start time.

"You get paid very well and right now its better than the union, great benefits that don't cost us that much I mean its cheap( if you want details, just ask), The security of a job tomorrow and years to come. I don't have to worry about anything but doing my job."

Right now our hourly wage is 2 bucks higher than the union. With this horrible economy the union had to give concessions to its company and took a couple pay cuts. No pay cuts at Southeastern. Our benefits are very comparable, we pay 40 bucks a week for family plan for health, vision and dental, with very low deductibles. The company pays for long term, short term disability, uniforms. I know of several guys with almost 10 yrs seniority that got layed off at the union companies. No Layoffs at southeastern, no benefits cuts, no retirement cuts, nothing....

 

I forgot to mention our retirement program. Its a 401k. I have full control over it, what I invest in it, how much I invest in it. SEFL matches what I contribute every week. They also do profit sharing, once a year they put a lump sum of cash into my 401k depending on how much we profited that year. If SEFL ever decided close up shop, that money is all MINE. If I decide to quit, that money is all MINE, including what they put in. SEFL doesn't borrow any of the money, they can't access it once its in my account, etc. In case of an emergency only I can borrow against it, and pay myself back. Pensions are failing, 401ks are not, and the ones that are, sadly to say are the ones that people are not investing in correctly depending on there age.

Pensions may or may not be around when you retire. Most aren't indexed for inflation and they are offset when Social Security kicks in. As well, they don't really become meaningful unless you stick around for 20+ years. Avg. length of time in a job these days is 4.5 years.

With a 401k, you can move it from job to job or ideally, into an IRA where you have the whole investment universe to choose from, not just your new co.'s funds.

And then there is this problem: When you die, you can't leave anything behind with a pension. Retire with a few million in a 401k and you will likely be able to set your kids up once you're gone. The 401k is a bit riskier because you're managing it, but it represents the first opportunity for a generation of Americans to leave a huge chunk of change behind.