ABF road drivers in Kernersville, N.C. and Orlando, Fla. are contending with a host of problems that stem from poor terminal management. Runarounds are rampant. Drivers either sit and wait for work or end up running hard to make up for lost earning potential.

“The terminal manager, Ron Meadows” an Orlando driver told Convoy, “seems to think that this is the way to run the operation, along with our Business Agent, Mr. Gary Brown. In the past three months, two drivers have just up and quit basically because of the deteriorating conditions here in Orlando. There are, at this writing, three trucks down for repairs. Would ABF rent trucks so that the teams could possibly earn a living? Nope!

“What happens is that a team returning to Orlando has to give up their truck to the next team in waiting to go out so they can run. Subsequently, there are always three teams on the board waiting for the phone to ring. What does that mean to our earning potential?”

Is ABF purposely violating the contract on dispatch rules or is this mismanagement at the terminal level? Neither Local 385 in Orlando nor Local 391 in North Carolina seem interested in seeing that the contract is enforced.