Teamsters push for independent FedEx board chair

TUT

Well-Known Member
So how can they preform better? Make all drivers company-wide contractors? What do investors want, Apple? Sorry this is the shipping market.
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
It's just information. No need to name call or and be sarcastic about it.

I think we'd all like to see Mr. Hoffa and the Teamsters step up and actually do something. The criticism is leveled at their ineptitude and inaction.No knock on you intended.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
It would be a dream come true. But I'm not holding my breath. Although I did vote to get rid of Fred. By the way if I read that right they are assuming that the Express side consists of contractors also.
Sometimes I wonder if they understand how FDX is structured.
 

SmithBarney

Well-Known Member
To me this line says it all...

"About 36 percent of all FedEx investors backed the proposal for governance reform last year, up from roughly 26 percent when it was first proposed in 2007, "

If the investors aren't happy they will vote you out. The problem is the next line that says 42% of the stock is owned by Fred Smiths Family. So it will be hard to get a majority vote to oust him.

Unfortunately you can only cut so much from the front lines, and support, before eventually you have to start cutting the top.

You can lose a finger or two, maybe an arm, but as soon as the arms and legs are gone, all you have is a fat body, and it's pretty useless.
 

Lordtekk

Well-Known Member
To me this line says it all...

"About 36 percent of all FedEx investors backed the proposal for governance reform last year, up from roughly 26 percent when it was first proposed in 2007, "

If the investors aren't happy they will vote you out. The problem is the next line that says 42% of the stock is owned by Fred Smiths Family. So it will be hard to get a majority vote to oust him.

Unfortunately you can only cut so much from the front lines, and support, before eventually you have to start cutting the top.

You can lose a finger or two, maybe an arm, but as soon as the arms and legs are gone, all you have is a fat body, and it's pretty useless.
My thing is we should have never been in this position,we had the opportunity to Unionize and did not do anything. Either through some people's political beliefs and some who were satisfied with the status quo,now everyone is onboard but I think it's too little too late.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
It's an article... I doubt the Teamsters physically had anything to do with the person who wrote it.

Then the Teamsters care even less than we thought. You'd think they'd want to get some information out there if they wanted to increase there membership.
 

DOWNTRODDEN IN TEXAS

Well-Known Member
My thing is we should have never been in this position,we had the opportunity to Unionize and did not do anything. Either through some people's political beliefs and some who were satisfied with the status quo,now everyone is onboard but I think it's too little too late.

Sadly, the hostile environment that FredEx has created for us, the votes wouldn't happen then, now they probably would. All of the high seniority employees are about to be going out the door, they were happy because they had topped out pay and full pensions. Then you have the folks like myself, under 20 years that aren't topped out and loss of the true pension for the PPP load of horse crap. After us are the "new" crop, 10 years and under that really get the poop end of the stick. No chance of ever being topped out and only a small portion of the traditional pension.

What this did was make the "haves", the "have a littles" and the "have nots", and it pitted each group against each other. Then you factor in the "fear factor" that Fred created with his "anti-union" attitude and you have no chance. If we were able to vote it in now, I think it would pass with no problem, threats or no threats.
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
My thing is we should have never been in this position,we had the opportunity to Unionize and did not do anything. Either through some people's political beliefs and some who were satisfied with the status quo,now everyone is onboard but I think it's too little too late.

While I agree that we blew our opportunity to organize, there never has been an excellent "opportunity" anyway because it's always been up to us. The Teamsters ran like babies after Fred's RLA was extended back in 1996, and they've never stopped running. It's always been on us because they wouldn't do the necessary work to make it happen. They want our membership, but they can't be bothered to come out to stations to get cards signed, they won't provide legal assistance to targeted employees, and their latest tactic was to create "political pressure" in DC on the FAA Reauthorization Act. Once again, another miscalculation, and another abysmal failure. I stepped-up back then, and then barely kept my job after they cut and ran. They wouldn't even answer my calls.

Here's what the Teamsters do NOT understand about FedEx, and that's the anti-union FedEx culture. Anyone with half a brain at Express knows it's a career death sentence to even mention a union. That means that many employees are literally scared for their jobs, unaware of their rights, and in exactly the place where Fred S wants them....afraid and uninformed.

This isn't an excuse or a rationalization...it's simply the way it is. Our failure has been that we didn't act on our own behalf and realize that the Teamsters weren't going to come charging-in on a white horse to save the day. Mr. Hoffa doesn't know which end of the horse does what anyway, which should be obvious from his "leadership".
 

Cactus

Just telling it like it is
While I agree that we blew our opportunity to organize, there never has been an excellent "opportunity" anyway because it's always been up to us. The Teamsters ran like babies after Fred's RLA was extended back in 1996, and they've never stopped running. It's always been on us because they wouldn't do the necessary work to make it happen. They want our membership, but they can't be bothered to come out to stations to get cards signed, they won't provide legal assistance to targeted employees, and their latest tactic was to create "political pressure" in DC on the FAA Reauthorization Act. Once again, another miscalculation, and another abysmal failure. I stepped-up back then, and then barely kept my job after they cut and ran. They wouldn't even answer my calls.Here's what the Teamsters do NOT understand about FedEx, and that's the anti-union FedEx culture. Anyone with half a brain at Express knows it's a career death sentence to even mention a union. That means that many employees are literally scared for their jobs, unaware of their rights, and in exactly the place where Fred S wants them....afraid and uninformed.This isn't an excuse or a rationalization...it's simply the way it is. Our failure has been that we didn't act on our own behalf and realize that the Teamsters weren't going to come charging-in on a white horse to save the day. Mr. Hoffa doesn't know which end of the horse does what anyway, which should be obvious from his "leadership".
Very true. The Teamsters can't be bothered to lift a finger it seems. They would expect one or two couriers within a whole station to pass the word on, call fellow employees and distribute literature all while being in the crosshairs of management. Would they have given a damn if you lost your job over this? Hell no! Pretty pathetic of them not to even stand on a street corner by a FedEx station and pass out information to generate interest at least. I made several calls and emails to Teamsters reps in DC in 2009 and talked with them but they wanted us to do all the legwork and then later they vanished from site without a word. Their website for unionizing us also went dead. The definition of Hoffa should be "a big bag of hot wind that blows hard but goes nowhere." You suck Hoffa!
 
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