Lumpers

[Tobin S.]

Do you know what a lumper is? They are people who unload trucks for cash. They have no benefits from the job other than staying in good shape. Depending on the size of the job and where you are in the country you can expect to pay anywhere from $40 to $300. There are usually no set prices. The lumper just sizes up your load and says, "I'll do it for this much."

Shippers and receivers love lumpers. It's basically free labor for them. They get the trucks unloaded and the freight sorted by hand and re-palletized and they don't have to pay anybody anything except for the forklift driver who takes the freight off the dock and stacks the pallets on shelves. The lumper gets paid and the truck driver becomes poorer unless the company will reimburse him for it. Company drivers usually get reimbursed. Owner-operators, like me, can get reimbursed, but it can be like pulling teeth getting the money.

The trucker can also choose to unload the freight.

So, I walked on this dock and asked a lumper how much to unload and sort my freight. I told him I had 6 pallets and didn't figure it would be too much. The guy told me $150. I told him I'd do it myself and started slinging freight.

Two pallets and 2.5 hours later I spoke with the lumper again and he told me $75, that sounded like a hell of deal to me and now I'm taking it easy in my truck and writing to you guys. I'm not 18 anymore and, besides, I'm a trucker, not a lumper! :)