Estes or XPO ? Which is better to work for?

I applied for a driving gig at XPO in King of Prussia, PA. I did so recently so I haven't heard from them yet. I see there trucks constantly on 276W and they appear to be busy. Anyway, I'm looking for a job that offers a good amount of OT, does XPO offer a lot of OT? What are their benefit packages like? Are they 24-7? What retirement plans like? And lastly what's the deal with the unions being voted in? Sorry to bombard you with questions, and thanks in advance for answering.

 

Check out these forums:

Estes Express Lines

XPO Logistics

I used that board to research the different LTL companies before I got my job. I paid attention to the things drivers were complaining or happy about. You can learn quite a bit on those forums.

 

It's hard to believe Con-way only lasted a decade.

Estes has been around and growing for over 85 years. One plus for Estes is that they are privately-owned, so they aren't at the mercy of the stock market and shareholders demanding greater and greater profits year after year.

 

Plus Estes has a paid corporate chaplain. You don't see that in large companies very often (although your particular MMV anywhere, including with Estes). 1 Samuel 2:30.

 

I believe XPO is the better company. You are paid overtime after 8 hours and have a better vacation and holiday schedule. I also believe they are more professional too. Unfortunately for me I made a mistake and left the company to try something else which didn't work out. Sucks for me now......

 

a little more than a decade, Bob.
Con-way Freight originated in May 1983 with the launch of Con-way Western Express, with 11 service centers in three western states, followed one month later by the start of Con-way Central Express, with 11 locations in seven Midwest states.
Con-way Freight - Wikipedia

 

Right right. I just meant as 1 single entity, after consolidating all the regionals together. I should have spcified that.

 

It is region specific. Some have OT, some do not. Benefit pkgs is decent, no hell, but comparable with others. Retirement is non existent. The union has certified in only a few locations, Miami has been in negotiations for a couple of years now.

 

On a recent phone interview with Estes in Phoenix, I was told by the TM that their line-drivers have to have two years of doubles experience. I got the endorsements, but haven't really gotten a chance to pull any sort of doubles. At the same time though, he was saying the best way to transition into that with them is via a city P/D position. Time to shuffle the deck again!!

 

We are on the east coast so maybe that is a regional or terminal-specific policy. My son just started in trucking this past January, he is currently a hub driver with Estes and his TM has told him that he can move into linehaul extraboard next April (which will coincide with the start of the crazy/busy season). I suspect the April thing has more to do with company need than it does with a requirement for a given amount of experience - my son has been running linehaul extraboard loads on alternate weekends to pick up extra money and no one objects to that, even though he still has less than a year of behind the wheel experience.

As an aside, I read on another board that OD takes drivers directly from school into linehaul at one or more of their eastern PA terminals.