Here It Comes

[bbsam]

Because like anything else at FedEx, things have a tendency to change on a whim whenever upper management frequently decides that they need to take away something else from us. Bbsam, if you think you're gonna be in clover for the rest of your FedEx career, think again. That bus may be coming down the street sooner than you think.

You seem to have all the answers to fix FedEx EXPRESS. We're NOT Ground.

Of course I don't have all the answers. But it doesn't take a brain surgeon to see the trends in this company and it is not trending toward UPS style hourly teamster workers. What could you possibly see on the horizon that would change the direction of the trend? RLA? Teamster organizing? The bus coming down the street may be the one I'm already on. Just seeing if anyone else might be climbing aboard.

 

[vantexan]

Well for one thing, you could pay your drivers what you wanted. You could treat them all as your equals and pay them $20/hr for 40 hrs a week and look into health insurance. As the owner, you wouldn't make as much, but the possible variations on the theme are many.

Is that what you pay? Do you offer health insurance? How long until FedEx notices all these $20hr drivers and decides they're paying the contractors too much? And what kind of investment does it take to become a contractor anyways? Why would I want to invest my savings into a company with a track record of taking away as much as possible from it's employees? As the other guys have pointed out, eventually FedEx will set it's sights on you. Which I suspect has you pulling out as much cash as possible rather than spend it on your drivers.

 

[bbsam]

Fedex doesn't care whether I pay drivers $20/hour or $9.50/hr. Don't know why you would want to invest in it except if the company insists on going that way. I never intended for things to end up this way. I was driving cab for 2.50/hr plus tips. RPS seemed a step up, but with a different business model. Seems to have worked out that way.

 

[whenIgetthere]

Well for one thing, you could pay your drivers what you wanted. You could treat them all as your equals and pay them $20/hr for 40 hrs a week and look into health insurance. As the owner, you wouldn't make as much, but the possible variations on the theme are many.

You're right in that I could pay my EMPLOYEES what i want, give them benefets, and treat them as equals. Unfortunately, like someone else said, before long X sees this and decides you're being paid too much by X. I prefer to let market foces decide what I pay, not X. I used to be a supervisor at a company before I came to X, the company had assigned parking spots for all employees, and every once in a while I'd get a request to meet him in his office (mind you this was a small company, about 175 employees), he would say he was out in the parking lot, and so and so must be making to much money by the looks of their personal vehicle. He would turn down my requests for raises for my dept. because of this. I can just see Fred S doing the same thing, only with the contractors payments!!!

 

[whenIgetthere]

You're right in that I could pay my EMPLOYEES what i want, give them benefets, and treat them as equals. Unfortunately, like someone else said, before long X sees this and decides you're being paid too much by X. I prefer to let market foces decide what I pay, not X. I used to be a supervisor at a company before I came to X, the company had assigned parking spots for all employees, and every once in a while I'd get a request to meet him in his office (mind you this was a small company, about 175 employees), he would say he was out in the parking lot, and so and so must be making to much money by the looks of their personal vehicle. He would turn down my requests for raises for my dept. because of this. I can just see Fred S doing the same thing, only with the contractors payments!!!

Correction, I would be requested to meet the owner in his office.

 

[bbsam]

So you think Fedex sees my payroll? Fred has access to my accountant's files? You think he has a conference call with local management or maybe sattelite photos of the parking lot?

 

[vantexan]

So you think Fedex sees my payroll? Fred has access to my accountant's files? You think he has a conference call with local management or maybe sattelite photos of the parking lot?

No, but let's say contractors all start paying $20hr. Think it'll go unnoticed by terminal mgrs? People talk. And it'll filter it's way up to the top eventually. They might not reduce what they pay contractors but I doubt they'll give much of an increase in future negotiations. Express pay really slowed down once the lowest payscale topped out above $20hr. They don't seem to want to pay the rest of us that amount any time soon.

 

[vantexan]

Don't know why you would want to invest in it except if the company insists on going that way.

I thought you asked us if we'd become contractors if FedEx went completely to that model. Doesn't it require an investment(a substantial investment these days)to become a contractor?

 

[Mr. 7]

And,
Won't there be no such thing as a single owner / operator?

 

[bbsam]

And,
Won't there be no such thing as a single owner / operator?

Hard to say. They'd be starting from scratch at Express so who knows how it would go down.

 

[vantexan]

Hard to say. They'd be starting from scratch at Express so who knows how it would go down.

It's not hard to say, you don't have any idea.

 

[Mr. 7]

With such the bad reputation ground has because of the lack of bennes, pay, health ins., pension, 401K, shipping and flying bennes, if Express guys were told they would go to some sort of "independent model"; FDX would be out of CRRs in a hurry.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

With such the bad reputation ground has because of the lack of bennes, pay, health ins., pension, 401K, shipping and flying bennes, if Express guys were told they would go to some sort of "independent model"; FDX would be out of CRRs in a hurry.

Could this be why they are implementing ROADS, to make it easier for a new hire to deliver an Express route?

 

[vantexan]

Could this be why they are implementing ROADS, to make it easier for a new hire to deliver an Express route?

I think ROADS came out almost 2 years ago. At the time it looked to me like a way to bring on newhires quickly if we unionized and had a strike. We have yet to have our routes planned and printed to follow. At this point, whatever they want. As long as I can get by, with benefits, until I quit.

 

[whenIgetthere]

With such the bad reputation ground has because of the lack of bennes, pay, health ins., pension, 401K, shipping and flying bennes, if Express guys were told they would go to some sort of "independent model"; FDX would be out of CRRs in a hurry.

I run a small business on the side from my Express job, and I would never consider using Ground. I use UPS when I need tracking and post office when I don't. My customers won't pay Express rates.

 

[vantexan]

I run a small business on the side from my Express job, and I would never consider using Ground. I use UPS when I need tracking and post office when I don't. My customers won't pay Express rates.

But isn't Ground cheaper than UPS?

 

[whenIgetthere]

But isn't Ground cheaper than UPS?

They are cheaper, but I have always said I won't use ground for my personal shipments, so after I started my own one man business, I still won't use them. Goes way back to the 1986 when the company I worked for as a shipping manager was forced by our biggest customer to switch all their shipments to RPS. The first shipment of about 10,000 packages, RPS lost 10% of them!!! Ten percent!! And they wouldn't pay the claims, so we took the 'fines' from the vendor and used our carrier of choice. Now I have different reasons for not using Ground!

 

[Mr. 7]

Could this be why they are implementing ROADS, to make it easier for a new hire to deliver an Express route?

That would be one bennefit to ROADS.

We've had roads at our sta. for about 2 yrs. and the only thing it does for us is make pulling the belt easier. Now, we just look at the yellow label to know if it's ours or, not. We used to have to read every single label going past you to see if it was your's or, not. The power pads are still not loaded with a roads manifest so, the company spent (prolly) millions on this roads system and all it does is make little yellow lables. It hasn't made anything but pulling your frt. easier or faster. And, if you ask me, we have a lot of problems with the P-scan guns they use to label the frt.

 

[LTFedExer]

That would be one bennefit to ROADS.

We've had roads at our sta. for about 2 yrs. and the only thing it does for us is make pulling the belt easier. Now, we just look at the yellow label to know if it's ours or, not. We used to have to read every single label going past you to see if it was your's or, not. The power pads are still not loaded with a roads manifest so, the company spent (prolly) millions on this roads system and all it does is make little yellow lables. It hasn't made anything but pulling your frt. easier or faster. And, if you ask me, we have a lot of problems with the P-scan guns they use to label the frt.

It should. If you request the manifest when you sign on, any package with a different route number will double beep.

It should load automatically during the overnight update. But, I'm just a courier, what do I know?

 

[vantexan]

It should. If you request the manifest when you sign on, any package with a different route number will double beep. It should load automatically during the overnight update. But, I'm just a courier, what do I know?

We were told when signing in to hit the non-ROADS rt button. Saying it's a ROADS rt was causing a glitch of some sort. The manifest is there but I'm betting the idea was to be able to bring in newhires quickly if we unionized. If running off a computer generated manifest was more productive and efficient than an experienced courier lining up his stops every day we'd be doing it. Too many variables daily for a computer to get it right.