As MrFedEx stated, the contrarian views posted on this list tend to be all variations on a theme; the theme that FedEx Corporation is putting out itself for public consumption and the consumption of its employees at every opportunity possible.
On the issue of unionization, there isn’t any middle ground. It is a decision one way or the other, with not much room for fence sitters. Since the wage employees get all of FedEx Corporation’s propaganda while at work, seeing it here again in slightly modified form isn’t of much use, or really appreciated by those of us who want to have a voice in our compensation levels.
If you really think Fred is compensating you fairly, then don’t bother posting here, you are part of the status-quo at FedEx. You have every need met by what FedEx upper management decides to give you and you have no worries or fears – Fred will take care of you as he deems fit. If you are young and are contemplating making Express a career, I hope you have a large inheritance coming your way or win the lottery, since you won’t be receiving any sort of pension to enable a retirement with a lifestyle you’d like. You aren’t being compensated enough to create your own retirement package independently and what Express is giving you is a mere fraction of what is needed to fill out a complete retirement portfolio.
I – and many others – would rather put our trust in a binding contract reached through collective bargaining which cannot be altered by Fred at his will. After having the defined benefit pension plan pulled two and a half years ago, having a year with no pay increase and another with a fraction of what Fred had “promised” (potential of 6.5% annual), having the 401(k) matching funds suspended right after having the pension yanked, then have lower management engage in threatening and abusive behavior towards the employees if they didn’t acquiesce to their every whim – we’ve had enough.
Many of us and I dare say most Couriers, RTDs and Ramp Agents don’t feel that our best interest is being served by what Fred decides he wants to give us as compensation. There are only two solutions to this dilemma: quit or unionize. Fred would definitely like all of us that aren’t satisfied to quit so that he could replace us with employees that are more easily satisfied, but that would just be too easy for Fred.
I’ll be gone before a union could ever be certified in Express, but I’ll keep trying to inform my coworkers as to the raw deal they are getting and the hope for a better deal that could be achieved through collective bargaining. Again, for all those that are completely happy with the status-quo, what the heck are you doing wasting your time posting here? You have the right to vote no if a union vote were ever to be held and unless you live in a closed shop state, you don’t ever have to worry about having to choose between union membership and FedEx employment.
The facts have been put forth; UPS drivers make an equivalent through direct wages, benefits and retirement fund contributions of $80,000+ a year. Most are approaching the $90,000 a year mark in total compensation received. FedEx Couriers receive a FRACTION of that.
As of right now, there is no binding pay progression in Express; Fred killed that in early 2009. Since any pay progression from this point forward will likely only track the rate of inflation, there will be no real pay progression EVER, only cost of living adjustments. This means the real compensation of each Courier, RTD and Ramp Agent is essentially FIXED, your lifestyle won’t improve one bit from this point forward with Express. For a Courier with less than 5 years in, you will be making about $45,000 a year in total compensation – wages, benefits, PPP, 401(k) matching funds (2010 dollars) - for the rest of the time you are with Express. The topped out Couriers are making about $60,000 in 2010 dollars in total compensation, but those that are not already topped out will NEVER SEE IT.
Through collective bargaining the Couriers, RTDs and Ramp Agents of Express can increase their compensation levels by at least $20,000 a year easily. UPS turns a healthy profit with its drivers being unionized, Express can do likewise. Having the Couriers, RTDs and Ramp Agents unionize would “cost” Express about one Billion USD a year. In a Corporation which brings in between 20 and 30 Billion USD in revenue a year this is easily achievable if upper management is FORCED to fairly compensate its wage employees by virtue of a binding contract. A reduction in the staff bloat that is present in Memphis (yes, terminations of salaried employees to enable better compensation for those that are ACTUALLY doing the work), would be necessary as would rate increases of 1 to 2 percent. If you feel good about being compensated at a fraction of what you are worth so that Fred can have an army of salaried staff telling him how great he is, definitely vote no for union certification if we should ever get that opportunity.
Last year Fred spent close to $10,000,000 in lobbying for one thing – keeping his RLA classification. Sure is a lot to spend if all of his wage employees love him so much. There is one thing Fred isn’t, he isn’t stupid. He spends FedEx assets for a purpose and expects to get what he wants in proportion to what he pays. Given that about 50,000 wage employees are potential union members; that works out to $200 for each and every Courier, RTD, Ramp Agent (and Mechanic) spent solely for the purpose of keeping us from having a fair opportunity to see if we want to unionize. He decided to spend $200 for each of us in lobbying Washington to keep us from unionizing rather that “giving” another “Purple Payout”. The Purple Payout went to Washington and every wage employee was given a 2.2% pay increase rather than the potential 6.5% we should’ve received under Fred’s OWN SCHEDULE for pay increases. Slurp up the Kool-Aid FedEx apologists; Washington lobbyists need the money more than hard working Americans after all…
