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Post by trailboss on Nov 5, 2019 22:30:02 GMT -5
For about four years, I have been vested in my Teamster pension, and each year that I do not retire I am leaving a large amount of money (to me) on the table....nonetheless, additional years have allowed me to grow the pension disbursement.  As of today, I accepted a position as an Environmental Technician with CDL and hazmat endorsements with a great company...the pay equals what I was making, a really nice signing bonus, and all sorts of extra pay. I will be driving a bobtail or sprinter van in Arizona, New Mexico, possibly west Texas. Averaging 2-3 nights on the road. No sleeping in the truck, hotels of my choice on the credit card, and a per diem for every night that far exceeds what I would eat or drink. Typically pick up from retail locations products that are deemed hazardous that we used to toss in the garbage...batteries, aerosols, etc....typically 4 stops per day, mostly driving, take it all back to PHX load it on the rig and truck it to the disposal facility in Beatty Nevada about an hour north of Vegas. Home every weekend, so pipe club meetings will not be missed. I can take the wife with me if I want, not sure about Duke.  A buddy of mine that retired before me...last week his duty was punch in on the clock... Uber picked him up at home>Sky Harbor airport> Uber to a retail business in Denver> pumped 5 gallons of flammable product into jugs labeled for company drivers in Denver to pick up>Uber back to the airport and had a few cocktails waiting for the flight> Uber home punched out...(The employees were not certified to handle the hazardous products) This should be a good job to carry me forward for a few years...great benefits by the way. FWIW....On the east coast and central states, the teamster pension sucks...providentially I ended up in the Western states pension system and the pioneers saw what was going on back east and structured it differently...it is funded at 95%...which means that if 95% of the members retired, it would be solvent...not that way east of the Rockies sadly. If anyone knows a CDL driver (preferably with a hazmat endorsement) that has a good work ethic, PM me..this company provides great opportunities. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2019 22:45:40 GMT -5
A friend of mine named Tom retired from Yellow and hauls oversize loads the kind that take huge planning to deliver. He does not always work but when he does yowsers. I wish you happiness as you move to a slower pace without watching the doubles whip in the big mirror.
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Post by trailboss on Nov 5, 2019 22:54:38 GMT -5
Yeah Sean,
Some of the heavy haul loads around here are pretty crazy, the mining bucket I saw last week required a dozen trooper patrol cars and the load took up three lanes on the freeway and a looong way back.
I am lazier than your buddy.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2019 23:04:03 GMT -5
They dragged a explosion proof control to Canada and it took a whole month from Houston. Not my idea of fun. I know Tom made 1.5 miles accident free at Yellow not easy to do.
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Post by trailboss on Nov 5, 2019 23:44:03 GMT -5
They dragged a explosion proof control to Canada and it took a whole month from Houston. Not my idea of fun. I know Tom made 1.5 miles accident free at Yellow not easy to do. It is getting harder all the time. Yellow has a trailer dedicated to Roy Lincoln out of Chicago...5 million miles without an accident, that is friggin insane!www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/12/08/1250264/0/en/YRC-Freight-Driver-Roy-Lincoln-Achieves-5-Million-Mile-Safety-Milestone.htmlOne of our Albqerque drivers hit the 4 million mile mark...plenty of others in the 3's or 2's...still 1.5 is impressive. I have done a combination of city and road, so mine go by hours...35,000 hours with any accidents. |
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Penzaholic
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Post by Penzaholic on Nov 6, 2019 2:12:05 GMT -5
Awesome, thanks for sharing this with us.
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Post by kxg on Nov 6, 2019 5:03:42 GMT -5
Congratulations on the new gig! Your good work pays off. Enjoy!
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Post by kbareit on Nov 6, 2019 5:56:48 GMT -5
Congrats Charlie, I hope this works out well for you. I'm starting to think about finding work that's a little easier on me to try and preserve myself so I'm not a total trainwreck when I hang it up. Hardest part is the brain thinks I can do the things I did 30 years ago but the body is screaming to stop.
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Post by Stearmandriver on Nov 6, 2019 6:40:56 GMT -5
Sounds like a good gig, congrats!
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Post by zambini on Nov 6, 2019 7:15:54 GMT -5
Congrats
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Post by roadsdiverged on Nov 6, 2019 7:21:33 GMT -5
Sounds like a winner to me. Congrats on the change, I hope it gives you what you're looking for.
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Post by trailboss on Nov 6, 2019 7:44:53 GMT -5
Thanks, guys! Congrats Charlie, I hope this works out well for you. I'm starting to think about finding work that's a little easier on me to try and preserve myself so I'm not a total trainwreck when I hang it up. Hardest part is the brain thinks I can do the things I did 30 years ago but the body is screaming to stop. In the mid nineties, I had a job that was so labor intensive, that few of the senior drivers seemed to retire of old age, usually medical/ disability forced them out. A position opened as a shuttle driver for that company so I relocated and did that....no doubt saving my body... when I got into freight it is sometimes physical, but nothing like that. The wife’s medical issues have prevented her from having a career for a long time or it would be full retirement for me.... no big deal, I have good health and do like to work. |
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Post by simnettpratt on Nov 6, 2019 8:10:13 GMT -5
That's outstanding. Sounds better in every way.
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Post by oldcajun123 on Nov 6, 2019 9:02:13 GMT -5
 Really glad for you Charlie, you deserve the best. My son a surgical nurse, is 51, lives with us for the past 6 months, drags in every day, standing for over 12 to 14 hrs some time, was on call last week, worked 29 hrs straight. Told his Mom he can’t keep this up, hard to change professions in your fifties, doesn’t look good. Again I’m happy for you.
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Post by pepesdad1 on Nov 6, 2019 10:06:12 GMT -5
Congratulations, Charlie...you've earned the right to have it a little easier...so glad for your good fortune..you've deserve it all!
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Post by daveinlax on Nov 6, 2019 13:30:34 GMT -5
Congratulations! I've thought about diving a custom critical bobtail, transfer van or one ton pickup/trailer part time when I retire. I'd like to do trade shows and events where I could hang out between runs. I wouldn't mind going out as a fill in driver a few days/nights a month.  |
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georged
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Post by georged on Nov 6, 2019 15:40:51 GMT -5
Any class A guys who dislike city life, love western mountains, and have all their certs, there's an outfit in Kemmerer, WY called Bonneville Transloaders that runs heavy (155K lb) B trains 24/7/365 to supply remote chemical plants and mines with coal (the coal mine is just outside Kemmerer). Steady hours, excellent equipment, decent pay. BTI also has similar bulk haul arrangements to and from other places in Wyoming.
Not for the faint-hearted in winter, of course---Kemmerer sits at 7-8K elevation, and the weather can be wacky. But that sort of thing is what keeps driving fun, imo. Moose on Main street and bears in your back yard on occasion add to the interest as well.
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Post by Legend Lover on Nov 6, 2019 17:18:07 GMT -5
What an amazing opportunity, brother. I'm thrilled for you. You'll be fantastic.
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Post by johnlawitzke on Nov 6, 2019 21:19:51 GMT -5
Congrats!!! Enjoy!!!
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Post by trailboss on Nov 6, 2019 21:45:16 GMT -5
What an amazing opportunity, brother. I'm thrilled for you. You'll be fantastic. Likewise brother...it seems that we are both having quite a change, I pray that yours is rewarding on many levels. The lady in HR that I have been working with suggested that I visit a female employee that is an on-site chemist for the company with a defense contractor close to my home (who I will be calling on) . I visited her today, much younger than me...but she was the first driver when they expanded into the territory, the company sent her to school got her chemistry degree that they paid for, and she now has a 9-5 job that she says is very rewarding, low stress and she makes more money than she deserves (her words)...I am too long in the tooth for that, but what an opportunity for a younger person. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 7, 2019 12:11:29 GMT -5
Congratulations, Charlie! So, are you going to start drawing your pension now? Is it still a union job?
You can roll the union pension into another pension plan if you don't need the money now.
I have a $35 a month pension coming from the GAIU, but the have merged so many times that my records have been lost. ☹️
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Post by Darin on Nov 7, 2019 12:35:16 GMT -5
Congrats!!  |
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Post by peteguy on Nov 7, 2019 13:28:14 GMT -5
Congratulations big guy! With all the bank you are making I expect you to buy a round of Mixture 79 for everyone. Best wishes on the new path.
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Post by trailboss on Nov 7, 2019 16:19:52 GMT -5
Congratulations, Charlie! So, are you going to start drawing your pension now? Is it still a union job? You can roll the union pension into another pension plan if you don't need the money now. I have a $35 a month pension coming from the GAIU, but the have merged so many times that my records have been lost. ☹️ No, it is non union (at least in Arizona) It will take a few months for my pension to be processed, but they back pay to the employment severance. The opportunities for driving jobs post retirement while still living in the western conference are very narrow.... this job threads the needle. What they do, there are no union competitors, and my job classification is Environmental technician that has a CDL. From what I understand, there is a fund that my funds are put in with Prudential, and they administer the payments... structured as a trust fund unlike the central states and eastern pension programs where the enrollees have been hosed after they retired. |
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Post by trailboss on Nov 19, 2019 23:41:26 GMT -5
Well I have ran a few days with my trainer....we do retail hazmat, meaning chain grocery stores...we do the grocery side...LTL also when retail isn't cooking and overnight runs to Vegas in the big truck.
Everything from Non regulated waste like shampoo and baby powder to Muriatic acid, and Oxidizers (chlorine tablets for pools), but none of the scary stuff I have handled in the past like uber deadly inhalation (gas) products that will put you in the casket with one sniff.
We also handle pharmacy stuff from the grocery stores...drugs...I learned that Wayfarin (blood thinner) bottles and meds cannot be put in the landfill, as the products and residue can be absorbed by the skin...and after two days, we probably have segregated 15 different hazard classes.
A lot to learn.. I have hauled hazmat for years, but working for a hazmat waste company it takes it to a whole different level...A printer, generator to run it, scanner, and a tablet to run it all inside the trailer or truck...hazmat waste companies have to manifest the stuff onsite before it is moved...so I am a clerk, and driver...my closest boss is in Idaho.
training with a guy that likes driving a sleeper rig with a 27' pup trailer...which is fine with me...I will gladly take the sprinter van.
Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas will be where I run mostly, occasional assignments anywhere in the western states though....I have my own office, but I do not know if it ever gets slow enough to put my feet up on the desk.
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Post by toshtego on Nov 20, 2019 1:04:50 GMT -5
That is great news, Charlie. I am glad for you. It seems your ready and the timing ins right.
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jitterbugdude
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Post by jitterbugdude on Nov 20, 2019 14:05:24 GMT -5
I know Tom made 1.5 miles accident free at Yellow not easy to do. Gotta love the trucker lingo.. I read that literally as... 1.5 miles and I thought big deal, my wife can drive at least 2 blocks before she hits something
TB... good luck with your new job!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2019 15:16:56 GMT -5
We were talking millions having sold enough stuff to national fleets I speak truck driver. There are guys out there with three million + miles accident free. Not easy to do considering the public drivers. I have a lot of respect for people who drive rigs as I don't believe I could do it day after day.
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 20, 2019 16:13:20 GMT -5
I would go full Joker on the west loop on day one.
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Post by pepesdad1 on Nov 20, 2019 17:12:34 GMT -5
Charlie..."Hardest part is the brain thinks I can do the things I did 30 years ago but the body is screaming to stop". This is what you should keep in mind...sounds like a great opportunity for ya!
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Really glad for you Charlie, you deserve the best. My son a surgical nurse, is 51, lives with us for the past 6 months, drags in every day, standing for over 12 to 14 hrs some time, was on call last week, worked 29 hrs straight. Told his Mom he can’t keep this up, hard to change professions in your fifties, doesn’t look good. Again I’m happy for you.
