Thought about applying for a driving position (not delivery box truck but Semi Truck aka "Feeder Truck ?" )

Is it hard to get hired on there for a driving position if you havent come up thru their ranks ?

I understand they will pull feeder truck drivers from the package delivery truck driver ranks but do they ever hire outsiders for those positions ?

I worked for them during college as a loader in early 2000's

Back then you had to work your way up for any position, starting at loader during the early am shift, then you could choose am or pm shift, and after 3 years I believe it was you could apply for driver, mechanic, etc.

I've talked to folks in the scamdemic years who say you could walk in and be a driver as they were so short staffed.  Not sure if that's still the case or if it's getting back to normal.

I remember it being a very strong union environment. (Teamsters) so that has some bearing that seniority is always given priority.

I know there’s one in RVA that’s a member here. He went all ape shit when he saw my BFL on my truck.  Kept flashing his lunch box at me. Took me a couple seconds to realize he had a BFL on the side of it   We stopped and chatted for a while. Pretty cool guy.

My experience also. Seniority or super friends with the local teamobster union reps. Maybe as an OTR driver, if there are no others waiting in line, they may give you a shot.

My Son works there as a box van/route driver, been there about 2.5 years, makes pretty good cake.
From talking to him and the lady that is the regular driver that drops off at my office, they Micromanage the hell out of you, question you on your every move (Even bathroom or hydration breaks) and just look for reasons to write you up or counsel you. They set you up to fail.

Last week, my boss in Mi. ordered us a couple of new desks from somewhere online, had them shipped here, via UPS. There were 4 door sized boxes that each weighted like 85+ pounds and said "TEAM LIFT"" on them.  The loaders loaded them on her truck and she showed up here with them.  My coworker and myself were both here luckily to help.  I slid them out of the truck and put each one on our dolly and rolled them into our building.  They weren't massively heavy, but their weight + the awkward bulky size, I don't think the lady would have managed herself.

I was kinda laughing about it and said what would you have done if we were out and the girl that answers the phones was the only one here? She kinda shrugged, dropped her head and said, It probably woulda just stayed on the truck, then I'd have ""Got It"" when I went back to the depot.  I said thats kinda messed up.  She said that was standard procedure. They'd rather write someone up then promote them.

5 years at UPS.

Started part time hourly in the trailers during christmas season, got moved to the sort line to load 3 of the 800 series trucks during christmas.

Learning how to load 3 trucks towards the head of the belt was a nightmare but I managed.   Finally they figured out the routes were so heavy they should be moved to the end of the belt.


After a year I was at a crossroads.   I could have started moving towards driver but they offered a part time management position which I stupidly accepted.    A salary based off 27.5 hours a week.   You take shit from hourly as well as the upper management, basically a scape goat for everything that goes wrong.

I finally got the ever loving fuck out of that shithole.

In the 5 years I worked there two GMs were dired for editing time cards.    They couldnt make the stupid production goals of the facility because zero money was put into improving it.    If total packages for the day divided by total hours paid to employees yields a package rate per hour it is a number easy to fudge.   Management figured out if they could not hit the number they would be fired so they might as well cheat the number for awhile until caught at which point the result will be the same.



If I knew what I know now about substance abuse I wpuld have been able to spot the tweekers that are happy to earn some money while up at 2 am anyway.

I learned UPS management got the union it deserved and the opposite is true.    Shitty union turds and shitty management aleays fighting eachother.

Without the union UPS would need 3x the employees to deliver half the packages because they would rotate through people at such a rate nobody would ever learn how to do the job quickly.



I run into former coworkers every so often and catch up.   Things are still as shitty as ever only now the DEI bullshit has bent a knee to things like allowing beards because the mooslims.

Also look at T Force (formerly UPS Freight) which was the easy side of UPS to get hired on at…



Here’s the link.

Thanks for the info gents.

Sounds like Fed Ex, same position on the belt too.

I don't know how those retards stay in business.

Do not consider or confuse TForce over UPS.

Feeder here… depends on your location how quick to get on. I started in 19’ as a seasonal feeder. Took about a year to go regular. I found out later it could have been 3 months if I’d started PT inside. First at 2 years were rough with on call and changing schedules regularly. It’s a good job with great bennies.

Friend of mine has been a feeder driver since he left JB... I think it was about 15-20 years ago.  He makes good money, with OT can be 120K a year.  But he works as much OT as he can get.  

You're spot on with the micromanaging.  He has a spotless driving record, is never late to work, and is a very regimented driver.  Seems that management thinks they know the job better than the drivers that do the work, but that might be just the "you can't do my job so don't tell me how to do it" thing.  It seems that being a teamster in the union at ups is a lot like working with a bunch of high schoolers.  I couldn't deal with it.  Has to take vacations a week at a time, and has to pick them at the beginning of the year (well, end of previous year).  Probably doesn't help he's a luddite and doesn't understand any technology.  He'd be better off living in the 60's and 70's.  He thinks CDLs are a good thing, but hates the way the gov regulates the industry.  

That's just what I've observed listening to him complain about work.  Oh, and he works nights.  Starts Monday night, and finishes work Saturday mid-day'ish.