Transfer from TL to LTL? Anyone done it?

I know of someone through a friend that got on with them as a team, but they had ran conway loads through another company, so that may have helped them to get on with low experience. This may not help, but figured I would post since no one else has.
Temptinfates

 

It can be done now. A few months after the regional Con-way LTL companies CCX, CSE, and CWX were all brought under the Con-way Freight brand - maybe 4 years ago - it was announced we could transfer between the three of them with company time except for bidding whereas before you had to quit and rehire loosing pay and vacation if you wanted move from one region to another.

In that same memo it was also stated that you could transfer from Freight to Truckload and visa versa. If you went from Truckload to Freight I know for sure you would start as the bottom driver at bottom pay but I believe - and don't quote me on this - there would be no break in benefits or retirement account contributions and that's it.

 

Would you by chance know what the starting pay is for a driver apprentice ?

 

I am a current Con-way Truckload driver and can say that they require a 3 year commitment in truckload division before you can transfer to Con-way Freight. I have friends who have applied but have been either ignored or given the run around. You can apply to Con-way Freight before the 3 years is completed but they will only hire you if you first quit the truckload division then apply for the freight division, therefore losing your vacation time and seniority. Oh, there is a bit of animosity between to two divisions, which I personally think is stupid and not needed! Just my two cents.

 

Don't know the exact numbers but it's $18 something an hour and somewhere around .40 per mile to start in the old central region. It would be a little less down south..

 

I was not aware you had to have three years first. Even then, you would still be the bottom driver at the terminal when you started no matter how long you were at Truckload. If you really wanted to do it after say a year, IMO it would be better to quit and rehire because seniority and hire date is worth a lot more that a 90 day break in benefits and the loss of a weeks vacation.

I agree that the animosity is somewhat silly but it seems to have gone away somewhat over the last year. I think most of it was from Freight drivers after we took the pay cut a while back. They pretty much came out and said we took the cut in order to make a large cash payment for the acquisition of CFI. Oh well, anymore I could care less about that. Freight is still a real good job and Truckload is part of CNWY which is a pretty good company all in all IMO..

 

Thanks for your input Jakebrake, one of my fellow drivers and I are thinking about making the switch, but not sure if we should hang in for one more year then try the transfer route or just quit and apply at freight for open driving positions in our area. We keep hearing stories of freight not wanting to do the transfers but taking that route we could keep out vacation times and seniority. If we quit outright and then apply and for some reason we don't get hired, we are blocked from coming back to truckload for at least one year, per some sort of silly policy. Been rolling this around in my head for a while, starting to affect my sleep. LOL.

 

I was told last week by a recruiter for Truck Load division (Joplin) that there is no switching between TL and LTL. It is like two separate companies she said, you have to quit one to sign on with the other. Funny, i thought all the trucks were the same color.

 

My two cents worth. If you REALLY want to make the switch to LTL then you first need to find out what the OFFICIAL company policy is for making the switch. Do you really have to be at TL for three years first? Because if that is the case how long have you been there? If you have at least two years to go before you hit that three year mark I'd go ahead and quit to make the move. That way you are already building seniority at LTL for the next two years that will count to your position on the totem pole so to speak at your terminal. Nothing says that you can't go in and talk to the terminal manager at the terminal you wish to get on with and have an informal agreement to hire you before you quit TL either. That way you have little more security as you quit TL knowing that you've already paved the way at LTL.