Deer, Home time, FedEx, UPS and the Border…

Posted on Jun 08, 2009 - 7:58pm by Marshall J. Gruskin in Trucking

I saw something interesting the other day. I don’t recall where I was. There was a large dead doe lying off to the side of the interstate. Two guys were surveying. One guy stood over the deer holding a marker right between the deer’s lifeless legs. After he received the measurements from the other guy over the radio, he sprayed them on the carcass in pink glow paint. It would seem the animal now displayed the future to a new exit ramp or light pole. I thought, gee, if the deer is picked up by game officials or eaten by buzzards, these guys are going to have to come out again and re-measure. I guess I would have moved the deer. But then that’s me.

Well, I’ve been OTR 36 days. More than most, not as many as some. My company gave me a load of steel from TN to MS. Seems the local Baptist church here in Laurel is expanding. Between donations, tithing and a bank loan they’re erecting a new building. They’re among the few entities – along with hospitals – that are building and expanding these days. Last Thursday I got real close to Florida (home) being in Charlotte, but others who have been out longer got the few loads Southbound. One driver I met had been out 9 weeks. It is the second time in 5 years that my DM (driver manager) has not be able to get me home on/before the date I requested. This time is that much more interesting because my DOT medical card expires 6/13 – this Saturday.

Two things you might be interested in. First, FedEx is waging “war” against UPS. FedEx alleges that UPS, is according to the AP – Associated Press – “the driving force behind a bill that would make it easier for FEDEX workers to unionize.” Right now only FedEx pilots (5000) are unionized. This legislation now before Congress would transfer the jurisdiction of FEDEX workers from the Nat’l Railway Labor Act (NLRA) to the Nat’l Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

The Railway act allows workers to organize if all workers vote at the same time. Under the Labor Relations act, employees can organize terminal to terminal. FedEx has 290,000 workers – UPS has 425,000 – most of whom are represented by the Teamsters. I used to drive doubles for RPS – which is now FEDEX – as an “independent contractor. The pay ($424/week) was horrible and there were no benefits available to me. I’ll be doing a more detailed piece on this issue later.

Finally, 73 people (Mexicans – Illegal Immigrants) were discovered this weekend inside a semi trailer at the US – Mexico border. The truck was searched after agents “observed” that the 50-year old Mexican driver appeared “nervous.” The driver was placed under arrest for alien smuggling. According to the AP, one of the immigrants was a Guatemalan national who apparently had a criminal record in the US and had already been deported.