Driver going after Contractor

FedExer267

Well-Known Member
One of the drivers in my building was talking to me today. He has apparently gone to a attorney because he is tired of being paid below minimum wage. Apparently he has one hell of a case against the Contractor.

The attorney told him the problem is the drivers keep going after FedEx when they should be going after their Contractors. He has heard all the interstate commerce stuff as well but it does not apply to package car drivers because they do not cross state lines. Yes the packages do but that has no bearing on the men and women that deliver the boxes to their final destination. If that was the case and it did matter then UPS and FedEx Express would be paying their employees the exact same way.

He studied every aspect of the job and has determined something we all knew already that we do the same job as Ups and FedEx Express drivers therfor we are entitled in the state of California to OT. We should also be paid by the hour and not a salary. So he is taking his Contractor to court for OT and apparently for the last year it amounts to almost 30,000 which is more than he made all year.

It will be really intresting to see how this plays out if this driver does win I see alot more drivers following suit. That would put alot of Contractors out of business what would happen then?

If FedEx wants to stay in the Ground business and drivers are taking thier Contractors for everything they have hmmm would they have to make Ground a legitimate business. I cannot wait to see this one play out. The papers are drawn up and he will be getting served pretty soon.

All I can say is good luck buddy.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
If the contractor is any kind of businessman he is incorporated, most likely as a LLC, which means that any damages awarded would be paid from the LLC and not his personal assets. It wouldn't take too many lawsuits for the LLC to file bankruptcy and all you would have is a judgement with no means to satisfy it.
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
I don't think Fred wants this to spread.

No, he doesn't. Perhaps this will be the basis for yet another class action. Underpaying FedEx Ground drivers is a major part of the plan, and always has been from the moment RPS became Ground. Fred saw a low-rent opportunity to buy a Ground network, and bought-in in order to perpetuate a business model that had employees but who weren't considered as such under the law.

This is why you are seeing FedEx force the issue of not wanting contractors to drive. That way, it looks more like they are truly the "independent" business people Fred says they are.

This is far from over from a legal standpoint.
 

FedExer267

Well-Known Member
I don't think Fred wants this to spread.

I am pretty sure he wouldn't want this to spread because if this driver does win I see many more drivers following suit. This driver says he just wants fair pay and if this is the way he needs to go about it so be it. For the amount of hours this guy works if he makes what he says he does he is definatley way under minimmum wage and the labor board does frown on that. Sounds to me like this Contractor needs to pay more to avoid these kind of situations.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
So this is the brightest attorney in the country, eh? None of the others found this angle? Hmmmm. I thing the lawyer is blowing smoke. And for it to spread, woudn't the majority of contractors have to be paying under minimum wage?
 

vantexan

Well-Known Member
So this is the brightest attorney in the country, eh? None of the others found this angle? Hmmmm. I thing the lawyer is blowing smoke. And for it to spread, woudn't the majority of contractors have to be paying under minimum wage?

You sound worried. You ought to know that where ever there's a "crapload of cash" there will eventually be a crapload of lawyers. You should also know that in everything FedEx does their first priority is to insulate themselves and protect their profits. Guess what, you're the insulation! "We're shocked that some of our contractors aren't paying minimum wage. Shocked!!"
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
You sound worried. You ought to know that where ever there's a "crapload of cash" there will eventually be a crapload of lawyers. You should also know that in everything FedEx does their first priority is to insulate themselves and protect their profits. Guess what, you're the insulation! "We're shocked that some of our contractors aren't paying minimum wage. Shocked!!"

Good one. bbsam has not yet recognized that everyone is disposable at FedEx except the decision-makers. At whatever point Ground becomes a potential liability instead of an asset, the contractors will be eliminated and the operation legitimized. The buyout could be a "crapload of cash", but given the FedEx propensity for protecting itself legally and monetarily, the payout might not be what contractors expect. Fred's evaluation of your route's value(s) is going to be an unpleasant surprise.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
You sound worried. You ought to know that where ever there's a "crapload of cash" there will eventually be a crapload of lawyers. You should also know that in everything FedEx does their first priority is to insulate themselves and protect their profits. Guess what, you're the insulation! "We're shocked that some of our contractors aren't paying minimum wage. Shocked!!"
Worried? No. Amused? Yes. I have always paid well above minimum wage. It has been noted and acknowleged here many, many times that Ground has some very bad contractors and that they treat their drivers poorly. But what lawyer is going to be able to or want to delve into the payroll of thousands of contractors do all the legal depositions make the court appearances only to find that Joe Contractor Inc. has no assets to satisfy a judgement (as Upstate pointed out and everyone else ignored)?

So if I am insulation, I am an effective layer of it. But it seems once again that the folks around here simply don't want Ground to use contractors. Not even if the drivers working for the contractors are cool with it. Case in point: That little thread I started a month ago trying to get wage information? Very little response. You don't want Ground to get better. You have an axe to grind and nothing more. Here's the thing that should worry MFE and Cactus. Ground drivers are about to get a huge raises in states going to the ISP model. We are going to have drivers going from about $13/hr up to about $!8-20/hr almost over night. So while it's not UPS wages, I think that fact will be lost on the driver who is focussed on the extra 15 grand a year they are no making.
Think of it. A work-force elated to be making what MFE and others have been disgusted with for years. Worried? No. Very much amused.:happy-very:
 

vantexan

Well-Known Member
You don't want Ground to get better. You have an axe to grind and nothing more. Here's the thing that should worry MFE and Cactus. Ground drivers are about to get a huge raises in states going to the ISP model. We are going to have drivers going from about $13/hr up to about $!8-20/hr almost over night. So while it's not UPS wages, I think that fact will be lost on the driver who is focussed on the extra 15 grand a year they are no making. Think of it. A work-force elated to be making what MFE and others have been disgusted with for years. Worried? No. Very much amused.:happy-very:

I don't want Ground to get better? I've stated that before Express gets one more cent FedEx should do something for Ground drivers. Fantastic if it happens, but as in all things FedEx I'll believe it when I see it. But keep in mind if the raise turns out to be as large as you say, and Express drivers have gotten very little in the last 3 years, there will be alot of unhappy Express people. I've gotten a total of .89hr in 3 years. They had better come up with some money for Express too.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
All I need to do is justify the raise in contract negotiations. What better than to use UPS, Express, and even Freight pay to justify it? Why woud there be "alot of unhappy Express people" and should I care? We have done nothing but bring the greatest percentage profit margin over the last decade and get nothing but crap attitude from Express with some kind of superiority complex. The doors have been open for Express couriers to move to Ground but we are "the joke of Fedex". About the only thing that's going to happen is Ground drivers are going to make as much as Express couriers and the couriers are going to be upset because they have it in their minds that they are better and more entitled than the Ground drivers. I can almost guarantee that all this will happen because the company is coming to the realization that others here have posted: If you want the better drivers, you have to pay for them.
 

vantexan

Well-Known Member
If you want the better drivers, you have to pay for them.
First off why would Express drivers move to Ground? To get longer hours, less money, no benefits? You're right, you need better pay to get better drivers. But keep in mind Express is losing plenty of people too because there's no real future anymore. Young people don't want to hump all day just to make someone else wealthy. Many of them believe they'll never get Social Security. They want something for their efforts besides getting by money. If anything Ground will just be a place to work until something better comes along. And if FedEx was willing to pay that much better they'd already be doing it. Highly unlikely they'll increase pay that much that fast. The only thing I see affecting pay that much would be the onset of high inflation. And knowing FedEx, after you adjust for inflation you most likely won't be any better off and probably worse off. So go ahead and snort. I've got almost 24 years experience dealing with them and as they say, a zebra doesn't change it's stripes.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
I don't think Express drivers would move to Ground, so I don't see why they would be upset at Ground drivers getting a better deal than they have right now. And although a zebra doesn't change it's stripes a company can change it's business model, move long term goals to short term goals, change pay structure, influence political climate, and decide legal strategy either by a tenacious defense or by alternative legal compliance. So maybe we are dealing with something a little more complicated than zebra's stripes.
 

vantexan

Well-Known Member
I don't think Express drivers would move to Ground, so I don't see why they would be upset at Ground drivers getting a better deal than they have right now. And although a zebra doesn't change it's stripes a company can change it's business model, move long term goals to short term goals, change pay structure, influence political climate, and decide legal strategy either by a tenacious defense or by alternative legal compliance. So maybe we are dealing with something a little more complicated than zebra's stripes.

Good luck with that, snort.
 

Myort

Well-Known Member
As an Express driver, I want to see Ground drivers paid closer to what we make. It makes my job more secure and stops the race to the bottom in wages.
 
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