This month, I want to talk to you about one of the greatest benefits of working at Saia, Inc.: being a part of the Saia family. Or, as we say, being Saia strong!

I realize that this may seem contrived or phony, but it’s not. Work is not paradise or vacation — or else they would call it that — it’s effort and excitement, it’s challenging and rewarding, it’s hugs and difficult conversations, it’s good days and it’s not so good days, it’s early hours and long days, it’s learning and teaching, and it’s agreeing to disagree sometimes. It’s WORK. But, it’s also family vacations, Christmas and birthday gifts, braces and new homes, doctors’ appointments, and high school graduations, birth announcements and visitations. It’s family.

For many of you, Saia has been with you for every major event in your life — for some, it may be the one constant for decades; for others, your journey with Saia has only just started. But for all of us, for every person who has worn a Saia badge over the past 90-plus years, Saia has been the place that has helped us to make a better life for ourselves and for our families. At Saia, all of us — drivers, dockworkers, clerks, managers — work to make a life: a good life, the best life.  

We hope that you agree in the role that Saia has played in helping you to make a life. Your paycheck has never bounced. You’ve received increases and bonuses and raises. Some of you have even been promoted. Your health benefits continue to be the best in the industry, anywhere. In many places, your equipment and/or your terminal are new. You’ve transferred to another terminal or to another position. Eaten at more cookouts than you can count. Attended more quarterly employee meetings than you can probably remember. And, you’ve seen new and old faces don the same uniform as you every day.

But, you’ve also seen change. You’ve seen new leadership. You’ve seen new technology, new policies and new standards. And this hasn’t always been easy. We know. Growth is hard and change can be even harder. But we grow and change together.

Saia is one of the oldest and longest-running LTL carriers in the industry. This longevity was not accomplished without some change and some adaptation. Some of you can remember the days of paper logs, no hours-of-service limitations, no Department of Transportation physicals, no random drug screenings, etc. The industry changed — Saia changed — and now all of these things are the new normal. The evidence supports that these changes have made our roads safer, our drivers better, and our industry more successful.

But the more we change, the more we have also stayed the same. That is, we still have some of the most recognizable trailers in the industry, one of the MOST mispronounced names around, and some of the most professional drivers in the country. We also have a history that is over 90 years long. That’s 90 years of people like you and me, arriving at the terminals, coming to the offices, each and every day; 90 years of promotions, transfers and moves; 90 years of vacation requests, wage increases, pay progressions, deferred holidays; 90 years of cookouts, employee appreciation weeks, pre-shifts, quarterly meetings. It’s been 90 years of working together, laughing together, struggling together, and even crying together.

There is so much wrapped in those 90 years, so much history, so much good, and so much of it is who we are today: a family. Not perfect — because what family is — but one that gets up every day and tries to be a little better than they were the day before; that respects each other even if they don’t necessarily agree; one that supports each other through good times and bad. Again, not perfect, but not separate. Together. We do this together.

Currently, we have over 10,000 employees in over 150 terminals across over 40 states. That is a lot of geography and a lot of people. That is also a lot of opportunity: opportunities to have and work through challenges, opportunities to voice and share opinions, opportunities to give and receive feedback, and opportunities to be immensely successful. These opportunities exist because we created them and worked through them together.

I hope you think about these things when you reflect on the important work that you do at Saia. I hope you also think about the importance of respect, our rich history, our potential and our future. That, when we take this walk together, we are all the better for it. We are more successful, more competitive and more capable, together. We thrive, we strive and we grow, together. We’ve accomplished so much and have so much more to do. Believe in our 90 years, believe in our success, believe in our culture, and most of all, believe in each other.

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