Unionization from the inside out

[FedExer267]

A thought for any employee of FedEx Ground.
In a recent move to keep the employees happy at FedEx Ground they rolled out benefits and vacation time for their actual employees. The Men and Women on the inside are actual employees and could go union at anytime. I guess they overlooked this when they did not make the Independent Contractors hire these individuals to load their trucks.

Think about it if the employees unionize they will finally force Fred S to the table to negotiate. If he refuses a work stoppage is almost certain, nothing brings more attention to a business than a picket line outside its facility.

Now while these jobs are part time and more popular with college kids to make a buck while they go to school, how many people would flock to a job like this just for the benefits alone take UPS for example where alot of people have gone to work just for the benefits. They may only work 4 to 5 hours a day but there are raises every year vacation time and these part timers get the same benefit package as the full time drivers.

Can you imagine having a unionized work force on the inside, no more getting sent home early, no more drivers loading thier trucks which we dont get paid to do, no more supervisors finishing up their employees work. If you get sent home early and a supervisor or a driver touches one box you file a grievance and it is another hour of pay. Non-union employees cannot do Union work.

The Men and Women that work on the inside have a choice keep up with the way things are or a change. A change in being treated fairly with a great compensation package, benefit package, and real raises.
FedEx may have to then play by the rules and it gets the Union's foot in the door.

For those of you that think the union is the downfall of the business, the union may not be perfect but keep in mind the mere thought of the union forced FedEx to change the way they did business (RLA Exemption & Isp Model). Imagine if all (FedEx Employees) had the same luxury. Since we will not be going union anytime soon at Express or Ground here is the shot to get our foot in the door for a better tomorrow.

It is time to let big business know that we the people that make them richer need to be treated fairly too. Is it right we cant afford to raise families working for a billion dollar company. If you want to truly make a diffrence FedEx get rid of our jobs and give us careers.

Like I said Unionize from the inside out.


sidenote: Thank you FedEx for letting me use the computers at Kinkos on my lunch.

 

[Cactus]

I work for Express but I have no problem with that happening.

It'd be nice to see Fred having to open up his motheaten wallet wider.

 

[MrFedEx]

I work for Express but I have no problem with that happening.

It'd be nice to see Fred having to open up his motheaten wallet wider.

A union is far from perfect, but anything is better than what Fred is offering.

 

[ex fed exer]

A union is far from perfect, but anything is better than what Fred is offering.

the only thing far from perfect in the union is the people who are the union.

some locals have their own agenda and only do what's good for them not the employees.

they get soft in their position and seldom come out if it means they have to go to work.

in the end, it's still better than "at-will" employee

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Unions promote mediocrity.

 

[ex fed exer]

Unions promote mediocrity.

unions do promote a certain softness ( funkmarkel) to some employees.

if i were in charge , as in the union, i would run these people out of ups.

on the other hand, the people that ups takes advantage of due to their work ability, i would crawl all over and in ups for fairness in the work place.

 

[vantexan]

Unions promote mediocrity.

"The world is full of willing people. Some are willing to work, the rest are willing to let them."-Mark Twain

It's been my experience that most couriers try to do their best. Should they be denied decent pay and benefits because some would take advantage of union rules? And what does any company promote in it's employees by continually reducing pay and benefits while reaping large profits?

 

[FedExer267]

Good point Van. Every courier does try to do their best lets face it who wants to go back to the same place the next day, we all want the stuff off the truck. When we are out in the public we have a diffrent attitude with our customers than we do in the building.

We all know morale in the building is very low, Now if the inside goes union and we still come to work everyday we will begin to see that the inside employees have it far better than we do. If the inside did go union, FedEx would raise prices to compensate although we may still be a few cents cheaper than UPS, the general public would start to think hey I am only saving a few bucks and my Ground guy is here everyday early for pickups, never wants to wait around, and never reattempts delivery on the sameday. We then would see business going back to UPS. Unless they make some changes for their frontlines for the better.

Operation costs would go up because now they have a union in the building and they will have to give raises, good benefits, paid vacation etc. If these guys strike we are screwed because the load and unload is a big part of what we do. It would be intresting to see thats for sure. I think if the Union did want to get its foot in the door thats where they need to start. Like I said nothing gets more media attention than a picket line in front of your business maybe then the general public would be a little more educated on the way this place operates. Then they will start to ask questions, you know I might save a little shipping FedEx Ground but do I really when my taxes subsudize their workforce.

FedEx's current model is set up to take full advantage of government sponsored programs. In the years I have been here I have qualified for state benefits and foodstamps while working 50 plus hours a week. Around the country there has been a recent firestorm over goverment sponsored pension plans and pay packages for government employees which many blame the union for.
However with that said the only thing that gets people angrier is the distribution and mis-use of various government welfare programs.

Once the people were educated on the profits versus compensation of FedEx Ground they would not be to happy. For those of you that claim that FedEx does not have control over courier pay thats a non starter. Everyone who has ever step foot in a Ground facility knows full well who runs the show. FedEx has no problem flexing their muscle when it comes to their best intrest.

 

[MrFedEx]

Unions promote mediocrity.

FedEx is mediocre, so it should be a good fit.

 

[MrFedEx]

Good point Van. Every courier does try to do their best lets face it who wants to go back to the same place the next day, we all want the stuff off the truck. When we are out in the public we have a diffrent attitude with our customers than we do in the building.

We all know morale in the building is very low, Now if the inside goes union and we still come to work everyday we will begin to see that the inside employees have it far better than we do. If the inside did go union, FedEx would raise prices to compensate although we may still be a few cents cheaper than UPS, the general public would start to think hey I am only saving a few bucks and my Ground guy is here everyday early for pickups, never wants to wait around, and never reattempts delivery on the sameday. We then would see business going back to UPS. Unless they make some changes for their frontlines for the better.

Operation costs would go up because now they have a union in the building and they will have to give raises, good benefits, paid vacation etc. If these guys strike we are screwed because the load and unload is a big part of what we do. It would be intresting to see thats for sure. I think if the Union did want to get its foot in the door thats where they need to start. Like I said nothing gets more media attention than a picket line in front of your business maybe then the general public would be a little more educated on the way this place operates. Then they will start to ask questions, you know I might save a little shipping FedEx Ground but do I really when my taxes subsudize their workforce.

FedEx's current model is set up to take full advantage of government sponsored programs. In the years I have been here I have qualified for state benefits and foodstamps while working 50 plus hours a week. Around the country there has been a recent firestorm over goverment sponsored pension plans and pay packages for government employees which many blame the union for.
However with that said the only thing that gets people angrier is the distribution and mis-use of various government welfare programs.

Once the people were educated on the profits versus compensation of FedEx Ground they would not be to happy. For those of you that claim that FedEx does not have control over courier pay thats a non starter. Everyone who has ever step foot in a Ground facility knows full well who runs the show. FedEx has no problem flexing their muscle when it comes to their best intrest.

How come the Tea Party Right isn't going after Fred S for getting (another) government subsidy? It's pretty obvious that Ground drivers don't make a living wage, so why should the rest of us "hard working Americans" subsidize his scam? "Big Government Is BAD" (except for when it benefits rich people and corporations). What a bunch of idiots.

 

[vantexan]

How come the Tea Party Right isn't going after Fred S for getting (another) government subsidy? It's pretty obvious that Ground drivers don't make a living wage, so why should the rest of us "hard working Americans" subsidize his scam? "Big Government Is BAD" (except for when it benefits rich people and corporations). What a bunch of idiots.

You should buy today's USAToday and read the front page article on the changing job market that's displacing millions. Alot of economists are predicting many of the jobs lost in the recession aren't coming back and some don't see unemployment below 6% before 2020. A respected economist wrote in 1942 that capitalism is constantly destroying and recreating markets. Problem is in the USA there's not much left to recreate. Article spoke of the areas where jobs will be created and most of it is low paying service jobs. Young adults starting out today may have to lower their expectations quite a bit.

 

[FedExer267]

How come the Tea Party Right isn't going after Fred S for getting (another) government subsidy? It's pretty obvious that Ground drivers don't make a living wage, so why should the rest of us "hard working Americans" subsidize his scam? "Big Government Is BAD" (except for when it benefits rich people and corporations). What a bunch of idiots.

MFE thats a question I ask myself all the time. The general public believes we have it as good as UPS and the reason is even though we are so called Independent we give the look of a company ran business. So the general public really dosent have a clue that they are subsidizing their deliver guy, which when you think about it, It will end up costing you more to ship FedEx Ground.

 

[Brown287]

Great post and great idea. This would be a great start for the union, and better yet it would cause decent among the ranks.

The question is at what point is it enough to tip thing over? With inside employees enjoying the benefits of not only being real employees but also discovering there new found power through the threat of going union, it should only be a matter of time before the front line employees at Ground lose their cool.

People will gladly work hard as long as they feel like they are treated fairly. As we all know at Ground that is something of great debate. Now we just wait and see how long the drivers will still come to work and happily perform their duties under the current structure. Remember like inside employees just discovered, the employees do have the power. It's up to you how you choose to use it.

 

[FedExer267]

I can see many drivers quitting and trying to get on in the inside for benefits alone. When you think about the recent gesture from FedEx to Ground employees you have to ask yourself did they do it because a threat of the union is still there? Which we know they didn't do it because they felt like it would be a nice thing to do. There is always a reason.

To the drivers that work there tails off everyday there is no justice. You think about what these guys get a hour and benefits now and they are making a higher wage than the drivers. So if FedEx is doing this to keep a union out I say unionize and enjoy the perks of the UPS part timer, It would be nice to see old Fred finally get dragged to the table to negotiate.

It will even be nicer to see Fred having to raise prices which puts us just below UPS then pray that our service wins business. Don't see that happening on the Ground side. Its get in get done go home because you get paid a salary.

 

[WhatCrass]

How come the Tea Party Right isn't going after Fred S for getting (another) government subsidy? It's pretty obvious that Ground drivers don't make a living wage, so why should the rest of us "hard working Americans" subsidize his scam? "Big Government Is BAD" (except for when it benefits rich people and corporations). What a bunch of idiots.

Because the Tea Party (not the small local ones) is funded by CEOs and millionaires who only attack targets that get in the way of them making insane profits; unions, taxes on them and the corporations they represent, minimum wage, etc..

Sarah Palin who "leads" the Tea Party supported the bank bailouts.

 

[MrFedEx]

Because the Tea Party (not the small local ones) is funded by CEOs and millionaires who only attack targets that get in the way of them making insane profits; unions, taxes on them and the corporations they represent, minimum wage, etc..

Sarah Palin who "leads" the Tea Party supported the bank bailouts.

Exactly.

 

[FedExer267]

As long as the CEO's and millionares keep funding campaigns nothing will change. We all know if Fred did not give the contributions that he does to the party they would not have much of a intrest in what is best for his company. Thats why I laugh at the Brown bailout this was nothing more than FedEX's attempt to make UPS look bad and to the general public, they were shaking their heads because their first thought was UPS is a billion dollar company why do they need a bailout.

The bottomline is simple we wanted nothing more than to undo the wrong that Fred initially did back in 1996 when he snuck the language into the bill originally. Express has always been a Express deliverey business that uses planes and trucks to do their function. Dosen't anyone find it funny that from 71 to 96 that they could of gone union at anytime then Fred snuck in his language, begining the downfall of the way he treated his workforce. No more threat of a union he had won, pretty shady Fred...

Thats why I believe if anyone has the power to unionize in this company it is the inside workforce and then FedEx will have a unionized workforce on the inside that has a voice, job security, and just a better overall compensation package. Fred will finally have to deal with a union and FedEx could no longer use the threat of Ups going on strike to try and win business. If the rumblings I hear from the load in the morning are true then this option is not far from reality.

 

[quadro]

Dosen't anyone find it funny that from 71 to 96 that they could of gone union at anytime then Fred snuck in his language, begining the downfall of the way he treated his workforce. No more threat of a union he had won, pretty shady Fred...

You do realize that Express was always under the RLA? Even from 71 to 96 it was no different than now (well, except for the recent change in the RLA). There was a very brief period in 1996 or maybe 1995 as well (can't remember the exact dates) where Express wasn't under the RLA and the FAA reform act of 1996 was when the classification changed back.

 

[FedExer267]

I do realize that quadro but that dosen't change that fact that old Fred snuck the language in to make it impossible for you guys to unionize. For many topped out couriers they have a alright deal however you have to ask yourself, how do the midrange guys feel having to wait 20 years to top out. You and I both know more than half of the Express unit would be union by now. Fred did what he had to do to insure that wouldn't happen. The big question is if Fred treated you guys right what would be the big deal? You would never go union if you were treated fairly.
This is why I am saying they overlooked inside operations if those guys went union and we began to see how good they had it the attitude would be why don't they deliver. A unionized workforce in the safe confides of a warehouse. We take our safety into jeopardy everytime we drive off the lot. I never heard of a warehouse worker getting held up at gun point during peak.

Shouldn't we get a fair deal too?

 

[FedExer267]

This post is nothing more than a Idea for the union to get their foot in the door. At some point you have to backup look at the big picture and try a diffrent plan. The inside workers go union get a fair deal and the union gets it foot in the door. I'd like to see FedEx spin it to inside workers not having the right to go union because maybe their astronauts kinda like you guys are pilots.