Went to a non union job interview yesterday. As I'm a dinosaur in modern trucking industry with this technology.

[Dunc]

Last edited Tue Feb 24, 2026, 07:21 AM - Edit history (2)

Bad punctuation dyslexic ramble ahead. Yet i find humor and it was a decent time.
Been thinking of pulling my pension after decades in union freight. Went to this interview decent hour wage non union yet time and half after 8 hours even decent health care and affordable for me and 21 my boy.
Not a bad job easy work in the trucking industry going out delivering or picking up tractors or trailers that need repaired or have been already repaired by this company.
Maybe one or two nights out once in a while yet mostly all day work. One example she gave me. That was at times they would fly me back home if i was relaying a unit or tractor or trailer to another of there locations.
She joked and said i could use you at this moment as they have a 379 Peterbilt 18 speed that needs to go to Omaha.

Thing is i do not have the manual restrictions on my steering wheel holder CDL license. And she mentioned that the majority of applicants do have this restriction.
And the power well the tractors they use for local recovery of trailers are three W-900 two 379 Peterbilt and a T-2000 all manual and pre 2003 all rebuilt motors and exempt from Electronic logs. No driver facing cameras only forward facing cameras. Same as my union no driver facing camera allowed only forward cameras.
So they gave me a road test i hooked to a box and the guy giving me road test said in cab to me. If you come on board he jokingly said laughing.
In that you’ll be our youngest driver as I’m 60 in age he explained four out of the five drivers are also union retired and collecting their pension.

We shot the breeze telling each other our freight hauler story the company’s we worked for now all closed in union freight.
He mentioned it’s all changed i replied i don’t recognize the landscape anymore in freight world.

I mentioned i still stop at mom and pop truck stops when i can on my travels to sit down and eat and shower and fuel once a day one meal daily then fruits and vegetables from tractor refrigerator as IM on team run at moment.

We talked of our youth in how we both worked for different freight outfits would turn metro board. Brooklyn , Bronx , North jersey and make decent coin even ten years back and today these non union carriers can’t even touch those wages we made.

I said trucking is a plantation and my ass always tried to work on a union plantation he laughed and said that’s a great analogy. Twice when freight companies i worked for went out i turned a key driving large cars not for long which is all truck no paycheck.

I told him old driver story once when working non union i was going up old route 15 pass the Turkey ranch the old two lane in the mountains above Williamsport P.A. I was not used to the 13 gears missing gears grinding the transmission and guys hollering at me on the C.B.i was holding up traffic going slow as molasses.
I was probably twenty five in age then i told him yet i immediately went back to Preston 151 after i got my recall from layoff .
This fellow is a widower as well today he is taking the 379 i mentioned out to Nebraska then he will fly home.
All bobtail no dragging a wagon so no logs his plan run it out into Illinois take a nap at Sapp brothers fuel and a shower and to be in Omaha Thursday and be home Friday morning after corporate hotel stay then take a three day weekend.
Will see if it works out if they offer me the job who knows.
I’m gonna make some oatmeal boil some water and you know. If I’m boiling water Dunc the golden chonk says cut me in for half dad. Take it easy D.U. Neighbors in these insane times it’s gonna end we will have justice.