Con-Way Freight vs. FedEx Freight for new driver?

Small Block LSX · Apr 19, 2012

CenutryClass, whoever is driving that fork lift better put their seat belt on! We've had about 4-5 drivers get fired for not strapping in while working the dock. LOL

CenutryClass · Apr 19, 2012

Small Block LSX said: ↑

I'll give a little bit of insight on this issue.

I recently just got "fired" from Con-way Freight after 4 years of working there. I had 0 preventable accidents and a flawless attendance record. I got fired for "leaving early" when I left for my vacation. At least I was able to RECORD the entire process of being fired for future value.

STORY:

I had scheduled 4 days off and had it preauthorized. About a month before I left for my vacation I asked the night FOS if I could leave an hour or two early to catch my flight to Las Vegas. She told me it was okay. Fast forward a month later and I reminded her two days prior that I was taking off early for my flight/family vacation. Day of, she totally forgot about my arrangements. In addition, our TM knew I was leaving for vacation, Operations Manager knew, as well as the morning dispatcher/supervisor. Now, in most cases you'd be given an attendance violation and get a slap on the wrist for NOT getting permission to leave. Nope, not at Con-way Freight! They suspend you, do an entire HR investigation, and FIRE a long time employee that's near top scale. Maybe this is why our service center ranked at the #### near bottom for 5+ years in a row. I won't get into all the other politics and the ######## you have to put up with, but this place is just a giant meat grinder. If you see a driver with 5+ years wearing a Con-way uniform you will know there are hundreds below him that were terminated for whatever reasons they can come up with. Even the state agreed with me when I filed for unemployment. Under most cases when you are FIRED from a job you can't collect. The state even said what I "did" was a simple miscommunication and per the Con-way employee handbook does not INCLUDE termination for any level of "offenses".

Now that I am no longer at Con-way I can't tell you how happy I am. Every company that I've interviewed at for LTL has way better starting hours, better equipment, and more integrity. However, they can't match the pay of the "big boys". I'd suggest trying to start off at a different company, getting experience, and then getting on with FedEx Freight, UPS Freight, R&L, Dayton, etc. I highly doubt my scenario at Con-way would have translated into a termination with any other company. Either way, I've told my termination story to EVERY company I've interviewed with and every interviewer is completely shocked about the outcome. It is rather stupid to fire a long time employee that is already trained and has a great safety record. I probably saw 100 drivers below me get hired/fired/quit within that 4 year span.

Here is what to expect at Con-way. When you start you'll be around ~$19/hour (depending on region) and will get the worst possible hours. Con-way has three schedules. They have drivers on the CITY P&D board that range from 3am-1pm start times. You'll work the dock no matter what shift you are on. You'd expect 3-4 hours each day whether it's at the beginning or end of your shift. Most 3-5 year drivers will have a 10am start time and you'll work until 8:30-9:30 at night. Some nights may be longer if the weather sucks or if you have a "heavy" freight night. The drivers with the most desirable 5-7am start times have 10+ years in with Con-way.

Next, you've got the Linehaul board. These are designated runs between specific service centers. Each terminal has their own runs. If you are the junior man you'll expect the shortest run. At my terminal it was a 20 mile linehaul run, followed by 8-10 hours on the dock (overnight), and then either the 20 mile run home or a VIA to another service center running you right up to the 16 hour rule EVERY SINGLE DAY. The guys at the top of the linehaul board would run about 500 miles every night. These guys not only get all the miles, but they have the best equipment, and are making top scale wages around ~$.55/mile. Most top scale linehaul drivers would make ~$85-$95,000 every year. If you are on the bottom of the list you'd make around ~$55-65,000 working twice as much as the senior man who never parks his ### on a fork lift.

The next schedule is the "flex board". You essentially fill in for people when they take vacation. You could work 5am-5pm two days of the week and the next day (after 10 hours off) they could switch you to working nights and being worked for 16 hours+ for the rest of the week. When I first started I was getting 60 hours each week for the first few months. Then freight dropped off and I was only worked 10-15 hours each week for the ENTIRE winter.

Beyond the abuse you'll take on the dock or as a junior man it isn't worth it. You'll never be home to see your friends and family and your career as a driver is at risk. Con-way doesn't care about safety or integrity. Have a head light burned out while driving? Who cares?! Keep on going! Have a HazMat load that wasn't secured properly? Who cares?! Keep on going! It's -30° outside and your heater/defrost doesn't work?! Keep on going! How about 85°+ with humidity while humping 50+ loads BY HAND with a dolly into a hotel only to find out your A/C in the truck hasn't ever been fixed! Get a ticket for an equipment violation? Suck it up driver and pay the fine!

There were countless days/nights when I had worked 16 hours and pulled back in the terminal. I was about to fall asleep and didn't have the energy to break my doubles apart and put my equipment away. After I backed up my two trailers, put my dolly away, parked my truck and went in to "punch out" I'd be asked to hostle trailers "for a bit". I'd tell them that I've "ran out" of hours. What do they say? "You are on private property now and DOT hours of service don't count!" Gee, lucky for me! Now I can spend 2-3 hours busting my ### moving trailers around WITHOUT a yard jockey. What if you need to use the restroom? Now they'll hound you for "stealing company time". I mean, after all, don't most people use the restroom sometime within a 19 hour period?!

Con-way IS NOT a pretty picture. Sure, it may work for a couple of drivers that have been there for years on end. Are other service centers better than others? I am sure of it. However, it isn't worth the hassle and stress on your life.

As my wife put it, "Find a job some place else where you don't have to deal with those white trash #######!" This is coming from a lady who never swears. You can feel like you're in the best place at Con-way with great job security and lose your job the next day for countless reasons!

Look at jakebrake's posts. He is where most drivers would want to be. Do you want to know how many at my terminal bought and drove huge flashy vehicles and were fired within a few months? How is that monster truck payment now when you take a 75% pay cut at the next company after you get chopped off at the knees!

Best of luck to whoever chooses the Con-way life.
Click to expand...

you hit the nail on the head brother. I see every word you mentioned. Sucks they fired you for that. Ive got a scheduled day tommorrow actually and the outbound FOS is known to tell people who have scheduled days off to come in because they "need them" They can go to hell, I ain't going. But i hear the fedex drivers complain of the same crap too, so the grass isnt always greener. At my old terminal they were pretty lenient. Out here, you get written up for everything.

One thing though, you can only run your 16 once a week, anyone doing that and turning in logs is just waiting for something bad to happen. Good old conway

CenutryClass · Apr 19, 2012

never mind, i see how they abuse the log clock stops on con-way property.

ACH1130 · Apr 21, 2012

Small Block LSX said: ↑

The next schedule is the "flex board". You essentially fill in for people when they take vacation. You could work 5am-5pm two days of the week and the next day (after 10 hours off) they could switch you to working nights and being worked for 16 hours+ for the rest of the week. When I first started I was getting 60 hours each week for the first few months. Then freight dropped off and I was only worked 10-15 hours each week for the ENTIRE winter.

Beyond the abuse you'll take on the dock or as a junior man it isn't worth it. You'll never be home to see your friends and family and your career as a driver is at risk.

Con-way doesn't care about safety or integrity. Have a head light burned out while driving? Who cares?! Keep on going! Have a HazMat load that wasn't secured properly? Who cares?! Keep on going! It's -30° outside and your heater/defrost doesn't work?! Keep on going! How about 85°+ with humidity while humping 50+ loads BY HAND with a dolly into a hotel only to find out your A/C in the truck hasn't ever been fixed! Get a ticket for an equipment violation? Suck it up driver and pay the fine!

There were countless days/nights when I had worked 16 hours and pulled back in the terminal. I was about to fall asleep and didn't have the energy to break my doubles apart and put my equipment away. After I backed up my two trailers, put my dolly away, parked my truck and went in to "punch out" I'd be asked to hostle trailers "for a bit". I'd tell them that I've "ran out" of hours. What do they say? "You are on private property now and DOT hours of service don't count!" Gee, lucky for me! Now I can spend 2-3 hours busting my ### moving trailers around WITHOUT a yard jockey. What if you need to use the restroom? Now they'll hound you for "stealing company time". I mean, after all, don't most people use the restroom sometime within a 19 hour period?!
Click to expand...

Sounds somewhat of my experience and I was working foir them... the only time I saw a 40 hour work week was when I was training...

All the things you mentioned about no a/c heat bad tractor etc is true. They would tell you suck it up. Come to YRC lol, where is the truck doesnt have heat/AC its automatically taken out of service, theres no dock time for drivers, our road drivers dont work dock either but may stay out over one night. For P/D they give you a set start time everyday even as bottom guy, if theres no work you go home and see you tomorrow, so if you got a part time job they dont care as long as u arent working for them that day. I have worked everyday since being hired

jakebrake12 · Apr 22, 2012

Small Block LSX said: ↑

I'll give a little bit of insight on this issue.

I recently just got "fired" from Con-way Freight after 4 years of working there. I had 0 preventable accidents and a flawless attendance record. I got fired for "leaving early" when I left for my vacation. At least I was able to RECORD the entire process of being fired for future value.

STORY:

I had scheduled 4 days off and had it preauthorized. About a month before I left for my vacation I asked the night FOS if I could leave an hour or two early to catch my flight to Las Vegas. She told me it was okay. Fast forward a month later and I reminded her two days prior that I was taking off early for my flight/family vacation. Day of, she totally forgot about my arrangements. In addition, our TM knew I was leaving for vacation, Operations Manager knew, as well as the morning dispatcher/supervisor. Now, in most cases you'd be given an attendance violation and get a slap on the wrist for NOT getting permission to leave. Nope, not at Con-way Freight! They suspend you, do an entire HR investigation, and FIRE a long time employee that's near top scale. Maybe this is why our service center ranked at the #### near bottom for 5+ years in a row. I won't get into all the other politics and the ######## you have to put up with, but this place is just a giant meat grinder. If you see a driver with 5+ years wearing a Con-way uniform you will know there are hundreds below him that were terminated for whatever reasons they can come up with. Even the state agreed with me when I filed for unemployment. Under most cases when you are FIRED from a job you can't collect. The state even said what I "did" was a simple miscommunication and per the Con-way employee handbook does not INCLUDE termination for any level of "offenses".

Now that I am no longer at Con-way I can't tell you how happy I am. Every company that I've interviewed at for LTL has way better starting hours, better equipment, and more integrity. However, they can't match the pay of the "big boys". I'd suggest trying to start off at a different company, getting experience, and then getting on with FedEx Freight, UPS Freight, R&L, Dayton, etc. I highly doubt my scenario at Con-way would have translated into a termination with any other company. Either way, I've told my termination story to EVERY company I've interviewed with and every interviewer is completely shocked about the outcome. It is rather stupid to fire a long time employee that is already trained and has a great safety record. I probably saw 100 drivers below me get hired/fired/quit within that 4 year span.

Here is what to expect at Con-way. When you start you'll be around ~$19/hour (depending on region) and will get the worst possible hours. Con-way has three schedules. They have drivers on the CITY P&D board that range from 3am-1pm start times. You'll work the dock no matter what shift you are on. You'd expect 3-4 hours each day whether it's at the beginning or end of your shift. Most 3-5 year drivers will have a 10am start time and you'll work until 8:30-9:30 at night. Some nights may be longer if the weather sucks or if you have a "heavy" freight night. The drivers with the most desirable 5-7am start times have 10+ years in with Con-way.

Next, you've got the Linehaul board. These are designated runs between specific service centers. Each terminal has their own runs. If you are the junior man you'll expect the shortest run. At my terminal it was a 20 mile linehaul run, followed by 8-10 hours on the dock (overnight), and then either the 20 mile run home or a VIA to another service center running you right up to the 16 hour rule EVERY SINGLE DAY. The guys at the top of the linehaul board would run about 500 miles every night. These guys not only get all the miles, but they have the best equipment, and are making top scale wages around ~$.55/mile. Most top scale linehaul drivers would make ~$85-$95,000 every year. If you are on the bottom of the list you'd make around ~$55-65,000 working twice as much as the senior man who never parks his ### on a fork lift.

The next schedule is the "flex board". You essentially fill in for people when they take vacation. You could work 5am-5pm two days of the week and the next day (after 10 hours off) they could switch you to working nights and being worked for 16 hours+ for the rest of the week. When I first started I was getting 60 hours each week for the first few months. Then freight dropped off and I was only worked 10-15 hours each week for the ENTIRE winter.

Beyond the abuse you'll take on the dock or as a junior man it isn't worth it. You'll never be home to see your friends and family and your career as a driver is at risk. Con-way doesn't care about safety or integrity. Have a head light burned out while driving? Who cares?! Keep on going! Have a HazMat load that wasn't secured properly? Who cares?! Keep on going! It's -30° outside and your heater/defrost doesn't work?! Keep on going! How about 85°+ with humidity while humping 50+ loads BY HAND with a dolly into a hotel only to find out your A/C in the truck hasn't ever been fixed! Get a ticket for an equipment violation? Suck it up driver and pay the fine!

There were countless days/nights when I had worked 16 hours and pulled back in the terminal. I was about to fall asleep and didn't have the energy to break my doubles apart and put my equipment away. After I backed up my two trailers, put my dolly away, parked my truck and went in to "punch out" I'd be asked to hostle trailers "for a bit". I'd tell them that I've "ran out" of hours. What do they say? "You are on private property now and DOT hours of service don't count!" Gee, lucky for me! Now I can spend 2-3 hours busting my ### moving trailers around WITHOUT a yard jockey. What if you need to use the restroom? Now they'll hound you for "stealing company time". I mean, after all, don't most people use the restroom sometime within a 19 hour period?!

Con-way IS NOT a pretty picture. Sure, it may work for a couple of drivers that have been there for years on end. Are other service centers better than others? I am sure of it. However, it isn't worth the hassle and stress on your life.

As my wife put it, "Find a job some place else where you don't have to deal with those white trash #######!" This is coming from a lady who never swears. You can feel like you're in the best place at Con-way with great job security and lose your job the next day for countless reasons!

Look at jakebrake's posts. He is where most drivers would want to be. Do you want to know how many at my terminal bought and drove huge flashy vehicles and were fired within a few months? How is that monster truck payment now when you take a 75% pay cut at the next company after you get chopped off at the knees!

Best of luck to whoever chooses the Con-way life.
Click to expand...

Lol.. It's called spending what you make. Too many drivers at all the good ltl companies do it. They have to make 100 or 110k per year just to make bills. That sucks and I'll never be that driver. If you really need to know my payment is $0 per month. I pay for things in advance so I traded what I had and paid the difference because I'll never do the big payment again. I just got the title in the mail so I'm pretty happy about that.

About Freight, you really have some valid points but honestly man, in 9 years I have never seen a firing other than rolling a trailer that I totally opposed. The roll one and you're done is garbage but other than that they have to document everything in the event of a lawsuit.

I'll be the first to say UPS Freight or Parcel is much better than here, and FedEx Freight might be too, but it really comes down to where you have seniority and what works best for you. I hope you found a job that suits you much better and I wish you the best man.. I really really do..

Dieselman1313 · Jul 22, 2012

Does anyone know if they hire student drivers at every terminal or is it only at certain terminals? Also, is that apprentice program year round or is it only offered at certain times?

Thanks

Dieselman1313 · Jul 22, 2012

@Jakebrake12 how did you come up through the ranks in Con Way? Did you have to do P&D or did you go straight to linehaul? And do you know by chance what the starting pay rate is for NC?

jakebrake12 · Jul 26, 2012

Dieselman1313 said: ↑

@Jakebrake12 how did you come up through the ranks in Con Way? Did you have to do P&D or did you go straight to linehaul? And do you know by chance what the starting pay rate is for NC?
Click to expand...

I've done everything here. I started out on the flex where I always ran night line-haul for about two years. Had a lot of 3 hour on the dock nights with no run. Sometime in 2005 I got a city bid. I did p&d for the next 3.5 years. I actually had the same route for 2 full years which was nice - probably my favorite work I've done here. In late 2008 my original terminal was closed. It took forever to run nights with a bid at my first terminal but I got it right away when I transferred. I went to another terminal the next year after they moved freight around and ran line-haul again. Took a year off of nights last year but I'm back on line-haul this year.

In 9 years I've roughly done 2 flex or extra board, 3 city p&d, 1 in a hard truck, and 3 night line-haul with a bid. I'll definitely run nights again in 2013 but after that I may jump again. Most drivers here tend to do the same thing every year but I like jumping around personally..

jakebrake12 · Jul 26, 2012

I'll check on the NC pay rates for you tonight. I run a meet with an NC driver every night.

CenutryClass · Jul 26, 2012

Hi Jakey, havent seen you on here in a while. Making all that money? lol

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