So, it's that time of year again at my job and I'm finally getting my own routes again. Doesn't seem like a big deal but it is...really. When I first got my CDL and started driving for this company, I had my own routes. They were driver-helper routes meaning I was the driver (paid on a formula) and I had a helper (who gets paid by the hour). These driver-helper routes only work out good if you have a good helper, unfortunately since they are paid by the hour, many of them aren't in much of a hurry. There are a couple that would drag their feet to get 40 hours in 3 days and then have 4 days off. It's really not a good combination on time sensitive routes.
Anyway, I did this for 2 years and then I took a route that went to Georgia twice a week for almost 2 years. After this I was on whats called the extra board. With the economy bottoming out, upper management had to make changes. They eliminated loads by combining them, putting more stops on the trucks. In some cases it more than doubled the amount of stops going out on a single truck and it eliminated teams. This allowed them to lay some drivers off. Luckily I had enough seniority to dodge the 2 rounds of layoffs but not enough seniority to have my own routes. Being on the extra board sucks in so many ways it can't be described. You are always on call, you can't make plans with family or friends, you can't do anything other than sit by the phone and wait for them to call...or not. I can't tell you how many times I've argued and fought with them over this because you aren't getting paid to sit at home and wait for a call that may or may not come. There were many times, seems almost daily I was ready to quit.
Last October we got a new account and they did a temporary re-bid. I was the #2 guy on the extra board so I got with the #1 guy and we were able to put some scraps together and get a route. It wasn't a great route, long hours and fairly low pay but it was a schedule.
This morning started a new route bid that will last for a year. When I came back from vacation, I found that I had made the bid. I'm the second to last pick so I'm not expecting all my loads to be great but I should be able to pick 1 good load, 1 decent load, and 1 shitty load. I could be wrong and end up with 3 shitty loads but who knows.
I'm shooting for 3 loads, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. That will give me Tuesday night off with my wife, Saturday (or Sunday) for me to enjoy my hobby, and Sunday (or Saturday) to spend with my kids.
I've tried to get my kids interested in my hobby but it involves 2 things that neither of them like very much...being outside and physical activity. Kids these days...but that can be another post for another day.
My time to place my first round bid is 8:45 tomorrow morning...wish me luck.
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