The Big News
- Thread starter MrFedEx
- Start date
59 Dano
I just want to make friends!
I agree with you on this one. I hope they shut it down and put ticket agents, flight ops guys, baggage handlers, flight attendants, wrench turners, etc. out of work with no recourse to recover that lost income. Wouldn't that be awesome????
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
You obviously approve of Fred's idea for the "new" RLA, which would mean that anyone who didn't vote in an election to unionize would be counted as a "no". What a deal. First, he keeps us in the RLA (and out of the NLRA), and then gets to create ridicuous rules for the RLA so we still wouldn't have a realistic chance of voting-in a union. Which one of Fred's tools are you? My guess is the toilet plunger.
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
The original Federal Express, with a small fleet of Falcons and vans, probably qualified as an airline. The present version of FedEx, which has evolved into a systems integrator and not an airline, definitely does not. Most employees never see an airplane in-person and get their freight via CTV, and the percentage of employees who would qualify as true airline workers is a very small portion of the employee "pie". Fred's argument that FedEx is still an airline is quite weak, which is why he has to pump millions into politicians who will make sure we're kept under the auspices of a newly restrictive RLA. This is the main reason that the FAA Reauthorization Bill has gone nowhere for the last year.
Just being under the RLA isn't good enough for Fred now, because the Obama administration wants to change the voting process so workers have an actual chance to unionize. This is why Fred (and the airlines) want to amend the changes so every abstaining worker is counted as a "no", ensuring that workers can never unionize.
Since he's so good to us, why is he so afraid that his loyal employees will vote-in a union? The answer is quite obvious.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Not to minimize what we do but you are talking about a major investment when you talk about pilots.
Cactus
Just telling it like it is
I don't think there's a bigger control freak than Smith.
His desire to change everything for the worse for employees, paying huge sums of money to politicins to keep FedEx Express non-union, trying to change the laws of labor with RLA voting prcedures and his past threats towards members of congress has all crossed the line of obsession.
DOWNTRODDEN IN TEXAS
Well-Known Member
The understanding I always had about FredEx's airline classification was as such, because there are additional seats for passengers on some aircraft, the widebodies, those seats had to be used a certain percentage of the time in order to achieve the classification.
On the flip-side of that, we no longer jumpseat, so it would seem that we are no longer an "airline", just a package expediting company that utilizes aircraft....kind of funny, huh?
On the flip-side of that, we no longer jumpseat, so it would seem that we are no longer an "airline", just a package expediting company that utilizes aircraft....kind of funny, huh?
LTFedExer
Well-Known Member
The pilots are unionized under the pilots union, not the IBT. Since FedEx is legally an airline and we are airline pilots, we can join that union also.....no?
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
Yes, according to Fred's logic. Maybe ALPA will welcome us aboard (ha ha).
The law doesn't state it's ok for a pilots' union but not for IBT. If Pilots are employees then shouldn't they vote with other employees for a union? Instead they're allowed to separate themselves from the rest of us and have a vote. We who don't touch a plane can't get a vote together but they whose whole job is flying the plane are allowed to unionize. Yeah, that'll protect a vital system from wildcat strikes.
More power to them, just seems when you've got a group with serious financial clout the rules get bent.
Ricochet1a
Well-Known Member
Hate to break the news, but the rules are the same... You can unionize just as "easily" as they did, all you have to do is get a majority of those in your craft (Couriers) to sign a union card, hold a certification election and if the outcome is favorable, presto, you're unionized. But then you have to get FedEx to be willing to bargain with you and not lock the union out, then get a contract that at least half of the members agree to.
Sorry, the ALPA doesn't represent non-pilots. Again, get a majority of Couriers to sign union cards, get a certification election with a favorable result and you're unionized... The issue is that all the Couriers have to sign cards with the same union - there is only one out there who can get the job done and most Couriers have a lower opinion of the IBT than they do of Fred S. The Couriers (as a group) have essentially shot themselves in the foot before the "race" has even started.
Answer to first question, NO! Unionization is done by each craft within a company, NOT by all non-management employees as a group. The second statement is absolutely correct, they are separate craft (commercial airline pilots) and did indeed certify union representation for their craft.
The third statement goes to the crux of the RLA within Express. It is extremely difficult for a group of employees that are geographically separated and don't have regular communication with each other either via normal work practices or via informal networks (BC is an informal network) to get a certification drive going. This is the sole reason why Fred has spent well over $100 million in the past couple of years in lobbying and giving special travel to Members of Congress to keep his RLA classification for Express. If Express were to unionize, it would cost Express at least $500 million a year in additional compensation, and possibly as high as $1 Billion a year if there was solidarity in contract demands and a strike were to be held (pending nationwide unionization). Express could indeed reorganize its business model to pay this additional compensation and continue business operations - the issue is that they don't want to change the way they're doing business since the employees of Express have provided FedEx the capital for its expansion for the past 13 or so years.
http://my.core.com/~kevinosiowy/
Here is a link to Kevin Osiowy's old web site. He led an informational campaign in the Chicago area in '97-'98 during the Teamsters abortive drive then. It is worth taking a look at and seeing first hand what goes around, comes around. The other thing that is interesting is looking at the disparity between Express and UPS pay back 14 years ago and then compare that to the diaparity that exists now. The Couriers were pissed back then, why not now??? The thing that has changed is that Fred has secured his RLA status and institutionalized a climate of fear regarding unionization. If the RLA didn't cover Express, you can easily tell that the Chicago area Couriers would've certified union representation on a station by station basis back then. You can also see through Kevin's commentary how Express management engaged in a tactic of divide and conquer. The same play book exists in Memphis today, the difference is that the economy is in the dumper right now where as back then, the economy was doing very well and there was real fear in Memphis that there would be a successful union effort.
Jay Gould commented that he could "hire half of the working class to kill the other half". Fred S isn't out to kill anyone, but he definately learned the lesson that was being taught quite well.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Congress?
LTFedExer
Well-Known Member
Why not?
You've been on the forum long enough to know. By the way, more FT openings in JCATS this week.
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
Only real pilots can belong to ALPA. Fred has convinced Congress that we couriers are pilots, which is a pretty good trick. Here's how it goes...
1. Fred writes a large check to the campaign or party of the politician he wants to buy.
2. Check gets cashed.
3. We are now "pilots".
Not to get your hopes up, but what if all the changes and contractions and downsizing is in preparing for Express to be unionized? What if Fred sees the day when you really are all "pilots" and the diverting to Ground and downsizing of Express is an attempt to make the increased cost a "zero-sum" equation?
