MrFedEx
Engorged Member
FedEx seems to be going to extraordinary lengths this year to "remind" us how good they've been to employees. But are they worried? A preliminary "Employee Loyalty" survey went out about 2 months ago, and most employees I know that got one didn't even bother with it. I wonder how "total apathy" registers with MEM?
Realistically though, what have they got to worry about other than an increased number of lawsuits? The union is a non-issue right now, but perhaps a backlash against the never-ending productivity push has them concerned. As others have pointed-out, they've already cut to the bone, and all it takes is a couple of sick calls to throw an entire operation into chaos.
A lot of couriers are really tired of being pushed to the maximum every day. Managment collapses routes at-will, and OSS is more than happy to expand route boundaries. Most of the couriers I know are sick of driving too fast and being pestered about gap times when they slow-down and drive safely.
Sooner or later, someone is going to be able to prove in court that FedEx knowingly sends couriers on the road every day with an unsafe amount of work. It's planned that way. Hopefully, it won't take someone T-boning a school bus to draw attention to this problem, but the totaled vehicles are stacking-up behind certain stations.
One accident that was brought to my attention involved a distracted courier who ran a rural intersection with their W700 and critically injured an innocent motorist. I was told that the courier in question was about 30 stops over and that weather conditions weren't very good at the time. Others have been brought to my attention, from all over the country. "Be safe, but don't have any lates, get your full break, and don't work off the clock". Yeah, sure.
Word is spreading about these multiple abuses of employees, and the corporate PR hype doesn't seem to be working any more. But are they worried enough to make some changes? My take is that they'll continue to push us until there is a landmark incident and resultant lawsuit that bring public criticism and calls to investigate FedEx for their safety lapses and dangerous work conditions. I think it's going to happen..soon.
If you know of any distracted driving accidents or accidents due to overloading couriers, please let me know so I can track them. At some point, they'll be submitted to the proper government agency when the above scenario takes place.
I think the wheels are coming off the bus, and that FedEx is worried that the public will soon know what is really going-on behind the scenes.
Realistically though, what have they got to worry about other than an increased number of lawsuits? The union is a non-issue right now, but perhaps a backlash against the never-ending productivity push has them concerned. As others have pointed-out, they've already cut to the bone, and all it takes is a couple of sick calls to throw an entire operation into chaos.
A lot of couriers are really tired of being pushed to the maximum every day. Managment collapses routes at-will, and OSS is more than happy to expand route boundaries. Most of the couriers I know are sick of driving too fast and being pestered about gap times when they slow-down and drive safely.
Sooner or later, someone is going to be able to prove in court that FedEx knowingly sends couriers on the road every day with an unsafe amount of work. It's planned that way. Hopefully, it won't take someone T-boning a school bus to draw attention to this problem, but the totaled vehicles are stacking-up behind certain stations.
One accident that was brought to my attention involved a distracted courier who ran a rural intersection with their W700 and critically injured an innocent motorist. I was told that the courier in question was about 30 stops over and that weather conditions weren't very good at the time. Others have been brought to my attention, from all over the country. "Be safe, but don't have any lates, get your full break, and don't work off the clock". Yeah, sure.
Word is spreading about these multiple abuses of employees, and the corporate PR hype doesn't seem to be working any more. But are they worried enough to make some changes? My take is that they'll continue to push us until there is a landmark incident and resultant lawsuit that bring public criticism and calls to investigate FedEx for their safety lapses and dangerous work conditions. I think it's going to happen..soon.
If you know of any distracted driving accidents or accidents due to overloading couriers, please let me know so I can track them. At some point, they'll be submitted to the proper government agency when the above scenario takes place.
I think the wheels are coming off the bus, and that FedEx is worried that the public will soon know what is really going-on behind the scenes.
