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<blockquote data-quote="Ricochet1a" data-source="post: 1168276" data-attributes="member: 22880"><p>When I state, "Express will become Ground", what I am trying to state to the Express wage employees, is that their employer is 'in love' with the cost structure of Ground. That cost structure has enabled FedEx Corporation to achieve double digit profits there, while they struggle to get low single digit profitability within Express (with its current structure). FedEx Corporation is ACTIVELY trying to reduce the cost structure of Express, in order to get that portion of FedEx to achieve double digit profitability while still maintaining the gross management incompetence that is going on within Express. All of this is falling HARD on the Express wage employee (primarily), who have NO IDEA of what is happening to what they have been told is a career with realistic ability to hit a 'top out' wage which many believe to be a livable wage. </p><p></p><p>FedEx ISN'T looking to institute a contractor model within Express for its operations (it is looking to farm out much of what Express currently does to other FedEx opcos - both Ground and Office). Express is looking to scale back its station operations (Customer Service Agents), to get people to go to Office for their over the counter transactions. The cost to FedEx for an over-the-counter transaction at Office is a fraction of what it costs to do that same transaction at Express stations. When an Express CSA does a counter transaction for a Ground product, the profit for that individual piece goes right out the window - simply costs too much to have an Express CSA spending their time processing a Ground shipment with what the Express CSA is getting paid. Express CSAs are already seeing their hours reduced and when a position is vacated, it isn't filled - the remaining CSAs are expected to pick up the pace until screw ups become too much for station management (then management gets approval to hire back ONE CSA position and call it the new permanent staffing level). </p><p></p><p>FedEx will not formally restructure Express, it is just doing so very stealthily though. The lower revenue 3rd day volume that Express offered before the days of Ground is being slowly shifted over to Ground. Ground can get the same acceptable level of service for this product, at a lower cost to the consumer with a HIGHER profit margin for FedEx. I did extensive writeups on this sometime ago. If you are in a DRA station, you already see all the volume that is arriving in your station a day (in some cases 2 days), before commitment that is being deliberately held back in the AM sorts (the DRA label indicates the future commitment day and the piece is pulled from the sort before the routes even see it). I've had photos sent to me of stations having pulled this volume, with an entire AMJ FILLED with this deferred volume (all needing a stat scan by a CSA to indicate that it is not going out for delivery but is in station). </p><p></p><p>Express is eventually going to get out of moving 3rd day volume - they are just moving real slow in making a hard 'cut' in this. Express has a habit of wanting to 'have and eat their cake too', and this is no different. They don't want to lose shippers on the two coasts which use third day to get their volume to the other coast (Ground can't do this, takes either 4 or 5 days to get coast to coast for them). However, customers are receiving shipping quotes for ALL FedEx services combined right now - so many seeing the lower cost of Ground service (which can make it to an overwhelming majority of destinations in 3 days or less) are choosing Ground. This combined with Express' DELIBERATE policy of holding volume in stations if it arrives prior to commitment date is resulting in customers shifting volume over to Ground on their own. No customer in their right mind is going to pay for Express 3rd day shipping, have it delivered on the 3rd day - when they can pay a fraction of the price and have it delivered in 3 days OR LESS by Ground. Home is also offering the 'service' for customers to pay what I believe is $1 for a 'guarantee' that the piece is delivered on the date quoted (or shipping charges can be refunded). The Express employees don't see the writing on the wall...</p><p></p><p>All of this is well and good for the bottom line of FedEx, but the Express wage employees are getting shafted with reductions in hours (less volume to deliver) and are being LIED to about what is really going on. If Express was able to unionize like it should, the Express wage employees would have some means of protecting what was advertised to them as a 'career'. This has been made EXTREMELY difficult by the RLA, the IBT's unwillingness to go to the expense to fight FedEx and most importantly, the Couriers lack of desire to take up the fight themselves.</p><p></p><p>Each FedEx opco will remain separate and distinct, to enable FedEx to utilize advantageous labor laws which suits FedEx's desires to reduce labor costs as much as possible (RLA in Express, contractor model in Ground, $10/hr employees at Office). </p><p></p><p>Again, the 'issue' for Express wage employees, is that they were 'sold' on the notion that they'd have a career with Express if they did certain things (held up their part of the 'bargain'). FedEx is CLEARLY reneging on this 'bargain', and the employees are left in the situation they find themselves in currently. The solution is unionizing, but too many are either fearful, ignorant or just plain too stupid, for the Couriers as a GROUP to pull that off.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ricochet1a, post: 1168276, member: 22880"] When I state, "Express will become Ground", what I am trying to state to the Express wage employees, is that their employer is 'in love' with the cost structure of Ground. That cost structure has enabled FedEx Corporation to achieve double digit profits there, while they struggle to get low single digit profitability within Express (with its current structure). FedEx Corporation is ACTIVELY trying to reduce the cost structure of Express, in order to get that portion of FedEx to achieve double digit profitability while still maintaining the gross management incompetence that is going on within Express. All of this is falling HARD on the Express wage employee (primarily), who have NO IDEA of what is happening to what they have been told is a career with realistic ability to hit a 'top out' wage which many believe to be a livable wage. FedEx ISN'T looking to institute a contractor model within Express for its operations (it is looking to farm out much of what Express currently does to other FedEx opcos - both Ground and Office). Express is looking to scale back its station operations (Customer Service Agents), to get people to go to Office for their over the counter transactions. The cost to FedEx for an over-the-counter transaction at Office is a fraction of what it costs to do that same transaction at Express stations. When an Express CSA does a counter transaction for a Ground product, the profit for that individual piece goes right out the window - simply costs too much to have an Express CSA spending their time processing a Ground shipment with what the Express CSA is getting paid. Express CSAs are already seeing their hours reduced and when a position is vacated, it isn't filled - the remaining CSAs are expected to pick up the pace until screw ups become too much for station management (then management gets approval to hire back ONE CSA position and call it the new permanent staffing level). FedEx will not formally restructure Express, it is just doing so very stealthily though. The lower revenue 3rd day volume that Express offered before the days of Ground is being slowly shifted over to Ground. Ground can get the same acceptable level of service for this product, at a lower cost to the consumer with a HIGHER profit margin for FedEx. I did extensive writeups on this sometime ago. If you are in a DRA station, you already see all the volume that is arriving in your station a day (in some cases 2 days), before commitment that is being deliberately held back in the AM sorts (the DRA label indicates the future commitment day and the piece is pulled from the sort before the routes even see it). I've had photos sent to me of stations having pulled this volume, with an entire AMJ FILLED with this deferred volume (all needing a stat scan by a CSA to indicate that it is not going out for delivery but is in station). Express is eventually going to get out of moving 3rd day volume - they are just moving real slow in making a hard 'cut' in this. Express has a habit of wanting to 'have and eat their cake too', and this is no different. They don't want to lose shippers on the two coasts which use third day to get their volume to the other coast (Ground can't do this, takes either 4 or 5 days to get coast to coast for them). However, customers are receiving shipping quotes for ALL FedEx services combined right now - so many seeing the lower cost of Ground service (which can make it to an overwhelming majority of destinations in 3 days or less) are choosing Ground. This combined with Express' DELIBERATE policy of holding volume in stations if it arrives prior to commitment date is resulting in customers shifting volume over to Ground on their own. No customer in their right mind is going to pay for Express 3rd day shipping, have it delivered on the 3rd day - when they can pay a fraction of the price and have it delivered in 3 days OR LESS by Ground. Home is also offering the 'service' for customers to pay what I believe is $1 for a 'guarantee' that the piece is delivered on the date quoted (or shipping charges can be refunded). The Express employees don't see the writing on the wall... All of this is well and good for the bottom line of FedEx, but the Express wage employees are getting shafted with reductions in hours (less volume to deliver) and are being LIED to about what is really going on. If Express was able to unionize like it should, the Express wage employees would have some means of protecting what was advertised to them as a 'career'. This has been made EXTREMELY difficult by the RLA, the IBT's unwillingness to go to the expense to fight FedEx and most importantly, the Couriers lack of desire to take up the fight themselves. Each FedEx opco will remain separate and distinct, to enable FedEx to utilize advantageous labor laws which suits FedEx's desires to reduce labor costs as much as possible (RLA in Express, contractor model in Ground, $10/hr employees at Office). Again, the 'issue' for Express wage employees, is that they were 'sold' on the notion that they'd have a career with Express if they did certain things (held up their part of the 'bargain'). FedEx is CLEARLY reneging on this 'bargain', and the employees are left in the situation they find themselves in currently. The solution is unionizing, but too many are either fearful, ignorant or just plain too stupid, for the Couriers as a GROUP to pull that off. [/QUOTE]
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