Unskilled Labor

[MrFedEx]

Your mad because you know what I am talking about it true. It wasn't useless when I thought I was going to pursue a career in teaching History. I am glad you find joy in our economic situation and the hardships I have endured. You sound like a hell of a guy. Shuttle Driving and bulk stops are pretty unskilled. And there's nothing wrong with that. Fedex gives me supplemental income, dental, and 401k. The pride in cultivating your own business, working for yourself, and never having to live paycheck to paycheck is a nice peace of mind.

I don't find joy in our economic peril. Look to your House of Representatives and former president Bush if you're looking to blame someone. Your FedEx insurance is pretty bad. If you came from the military, you had Tri-Care right? I'm guessing you weren't career military, because then you wouldn't need FedEx benefits.

And, Mr. College Graduate, it's "you're", as in "you are", not "your". Did you get your degree via correspondence school at the University of Tijuana?

 

[Serf]

And, Mr. College Graduate, it's "you're", as in "you are", not "your". Did you get your degree via correspondence school at the University of Tijuana?

Thank you for the Grammar lesson. As I spend much time in forums because I don't have much of a social life. I was so eager to respond I hastily typed and hit post reply. My apologies. I was not career military. I do have coverage thru Veterans Affairs. And the FedEx dental plan isn't so bad. The blame Bush motto is so lame. I would never defend the Republican party. But with that being said I shake my head at Democrats. But that's another topic all together. And not Tijuana, close. Just a plain ol' state college with a C average.

 

[MrFedEx]

Thank you for the Grammar lesson. As I spend much time in forums because I don't have much of a social life. I was so eager to respond I hastily typed and hit post reply. My apologies. I was not career military. I do have coverage thru Veterans Affairs. And the FedEx dental plan isn't so bad. The blame Bush motto is so lame. I would never defend the Republican party. But with that being said I shake my head at Democrats. But that's another topic all together. And not Tijuana, close. Just a plain ol' state college with a C average.

Good on you for at least striving to get an education. Bush deserves a lot of the blame, but I will agree that Obama hasn't exactly been perfect either. Clearly, you and vantexan think alike, so please explain to me how being anti-union and pro-GOP do anything to make your life easier and/or more profitable? Your allegiance to the aristocrats just allows them to perpetuate the status quo and keep you down and out. Are there limousine liberals who talk out of both sides of their mouth too? Of course. But, those (like Smith) who want an iron boot stomped on the neck of labor, are overwhelmingly GOP.

 

[Serf]

Thanks. In an attempt to answer the question. For me its a huge problem. One that has been building for some time. If true Republicans want smaller Government, G.W. Bush totally disregarded that school of thought. Which is why I can't back him hard. Also, however poor a public speaker he was, I admired his temperament and manner. That counts for something I think. Around my parts Union means "has to pay double for the same work someone else could or would do for less." And that's not a total snub on Unions. I do think workers should have rights. And I am willing to bet if Express met some of the demands it's employees had (like a wage progression scale, benefits, pension) it would make alot of people happy in lieu of unionizing.
Secondly, the way politics have been since G.H. Bush left office is the problem building I am referring to. The Democratic party went from men like Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy to Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. It went from moderate liberal foundation to PROGRESSIVE LIBERALISM. Which is completely different than what the party was founded on and borders more on socialism. That being said Republicans haven't done themselves any favors with adapting, or appealing to people who want to believe there is more than the status quo.
In the history of America when the wealthy corporations did well, so did the little guys. It's never been the opposite where the little guy did well and the big corporations suffered. Do we just choose to forget that Fred S employs over 250,000 people. And even more world wide. It sounds like the corny slogan "you should just be thankful to have a job!" But at the end of the day when you have lambs leading us instead of lions what do you expect?

 

[yadig]

Don't they have to sign contracts saying that they will stay in position a certain length of time or pay FedEx back for the training?

The letter says 18 mos. Management says its more costly and time consuming to pursue in court. We've had 10 pt drivers in the last year leave within months of being trained. It don't help that they will have to wait 30 yrs to make top pay, insurance sucks now, traditional pension gone. Whats next? The big kicker was the .35 cent raise back in october. I feel I'm on a sinking ship over here! The only good thing is I have a class A and can get a job with similar pay and benefits. That wasn't the case in the past.

 

[DontThrowPackages]

The letter says 18 mos. Management says its more costly and time consuming to pursue in court. We've had 10 pt drivers in the last year leave within months of being trained. It don't help that they will have to wait 30 yrs to make top pay, insurance sucks now, traditional pension gone. Whats next? The big kicker was the .35 cent raise back in october. I feel I'm on a sinking ship over here! The only good thing is I have a class A and can get a job with similar pay and benefits. That wasn't the case in the past.

Like I said, the young people are leaving this company. You can get on the old guys for staying and complaining about the bad but the fact that GOOD young people are running like rats off a sinking ship says a lot.

 

[yadig]

Like I said, the young people are leaving this company. You can get on the old guys for staying and complaining about the bad but the fact that GOOD young people are running like rats off a sinking ship says a lot.

I totally agree. Im in a good location and have a fairly decent manager. Im just about topped out after 17 yrs. We had a meeting with the director and I brought up all the new truck drivers leaving and his response was "Fedex isn't going to change the pay progression." Its costing the company thousands to train these truck drivers. I guess they have it figured out.

 

[MrFedEx]

I totally agree. Im in a good location and have a fairly decent manager. Im just about topped out after 17 yrs. We had a meeting with the director and I brought up all the new truck drivers leaving and his response was "Fedex isn't going to change the pay progression." Its costing the company thousands to train these truck drivers. I guess they have it figured out.

As a former RTD with many years of experience, I can tell you with a great degree of certainty that FedEx has calculated that it is cheaper to train RTDs and watch them walk out the door, rather than changing the pay progression in order to retain them. For awhile, they were threatening to charge RTDs who left within a year the cost of their training, but that apparently didn't work out well for them in-court.

RTD school is 3 weeks, with both pre and post training with a Driver Developer (supposedly). That is a fairly substantial cost, but since Fred insists on paying very little, what he gets is a revolving door of RTDs who don't really know what they're doing. It's analogous to what's happening with couriers, but the skillset to be a good RTD is quite different, and tractor-trailers can do a lot of damage in wrecks. Personal injury attorneys love accidents where they can prove an inexperienced driver was behind the wheel.

You get what you're willing to pay for.

 

[Cactus]

You get what you're willing to pay for.

Or in the case of Smith you get what you're not willing to pay for. Dollar signs always outweigh good judgement in his head.

 

[vantexan]

The crux of the matter isn't whether you are skilled or unskilled. It's what the company offered you when you were hired and what they promised if you stuck with them. If you came in after they switched newhires to the portable pension plan then that's what you get for retirement. Those under the traditional plan, who were updated every year with what they'd get if they stayed with FedEx, should be getting what was promised. Saw something on the Internet today that said most workers will have done 10-14 different jobs by the time they're 38. It costs FedEx serious money to bring an employee online and they offer incentives, or did, for an employee to stay. In exchange for continuity an employee had the right to believe FedEx would uphold their end of the bargain. FedEx Ground didn't just happen, it was planned long ago with Express employees carrying the water while Ground infrastructure was built. Once FedEx got what they wanted they broke their covenant with their employees and turned them into replaceable widgets with minimal benefits. Your "skills" don't give you the right to better pay and benefits. It has always been what the company felt they had to offer to keep quality employees. Now that they have what they want it's a matter of integrity as to whether they keep their promises. They've proven they have very little integrity, it's only about the money. They've shown what they think about the average employee by their actions. But one thing is certain. Eventually the long term, hard working senior employees who are still getting enough pay and benefits while hanging on 'til retirement will soon be gone. And so will that continuity. FedEx will then find out if it can be a quality company with a bunch of unhappy employees constantly looking for a way out. Gone are the real incentives, the "promises" that made older employees loyal and proud to be called a FedEx courier. All that's left is running people like dogs for very little in return.

 

[MrFedEx]

The crux of the matter isn't whether you are skilled or unskilled. It's what the company offered you when you were hired and what they promised if you stuck with them. If you came in after they switched newhires to the portable pension plan then that's what you get for retirement. Those under the traditional plan, who were updated every year with what they'd get if they stayed with FedEx, should be getting what was promised. Saw something on the Internet today that said most workers will have done 10-14 different jobs by the time they're 38. It costs FedEx serious money to bring an employee online and they offer incentives, or did, for an employee to stay. In exchange for continuity an employee had the right to believe FedEx would uphold their end of the bargain. FedEx Ground didn't just happen, it was planned long ago with Express employees carrying the water while Ground infrastructure was built. Once FedEx got what they wanted they broke their covenant with their employees and turned them into replaceable widgets with minimal benefits. Your "skills" don't give you the right to better pay and benefits. It has always been what the company felt they had to offer to keep quality employees. Now that they have what they want it's a matter of integrity as to whether they keep their promises. They've proven they have very little integrity, it's only about the money. They've shown what they think about the average employee by their actions. But one thing is certain. Eventually the long term, hard working senior employees who are still getting enough pay and benefits while hanging on 'til retirement will soon be gone. And so will that continuity. FedEx will then find out if it can be a quality company with a bunch of unhappy employees constantly looking for a way out. Gone are the real incentives, the "promises" that made older employees loyal and proud to be called a FedEx courier. All that's left is running people like dogs for very little in return.

Very well said. 100% truth. May Fred S reap the harvest he hath sown.

 

[yadig]

As a former RTD with many years of experience, I can tell you with a great degree of certainty that FedEx has calculated that it is cheaper to train RTDs and watch them walk out the door, rather than changing the pay progression in order to retain them. For awhile, they were threatening to charge RTDs who left within a year the cost of their training, but that apparently didn't work out well for them in-court.

RTD school is 3 weeks, with both pre and post training with a Driver Developer (supposedly). That is a fairly substantial cost, but since Fred insists on paying very little, what he gets is a revolving door of RTDs who don't really know what they're doing. It's analogous to what's happening with couriers, but the skillset to be a good RTD is quite different, and tractor-trailers can do a lot of damage in wrecks. Personal injury attorneys love accidents where they can prove an inexperienced driver was behind the wheel.

You get what you're willing to pay for.

You are so right! The motel alone in Germantown, TN is around $2,000 and then you have per diem. Well, like you said "you get what you pay for." It's no surprise that we have accidents and DOT violations out the roof.

 

[TUT]

Recently, one of our newer members reminded us we are "unskilled labor". Really?

By definitions companies use, yes unskilled. However I always feel a persons times also plays a factor in all of it. To argue against this ignores what people have been telling you for ages to do. Go to college and/or go into management and/or start your own business. But you did none of that and hoped it would always get better, again after many people for years have been warning "it's not going to get better". In an ideal world you are right, but haven't you've been told for decades things aren't really ideal?

Yes, many companies are no longer looking for or wanting you to stay forever. That is clear. Read the room.

 

[DontThrowPackages]

By definitions companies use, yes unskilled. However I always feel a persons times also plays a factor in all of it. To argue against this ignores what people have been telling you for ages to do. Go to college and/or go into management and/or start your own business. But you did none of that and hoped it would always get better, again after many people for years have been warning "it's not going to get better". In an ideal world you are right, but haven't you've been told for decades things aren't really ideal?

Yes, many companies are no longer looking for or wanting you to stay forever. That is clear. Read the room.

Very true. Companies are the the Pittsburgh Steelers. As soon as you get to a certain amount of years and due a nice pay increase, they're looking to bounce you out the door. Fun these same companies want a revolving door of Part time workforce yet they cry for a strong economy. Can't have it both ways.

 

[Serf]

A degree is mostly just a piece of paper these days, unless it's in an in-demand field. A Class A CDL driver is also classified as unskilled labor by most companies, which seems fairly amazing. I have a Class A, and while it isn't rocket science work, it is most definitely a job that requires a high level of skill. I also have a degree, and I'm one of those people who could never work inside an office all day. That's what attracted me to FedEx in the first place.

I agree mostly. It's becoming more and more apparent that you must get a degree in a high demand career field otherwise you will wallow in student loan debt. I do believe tractor trailer driving does involve a skill or at least a discipline. Not everyone can do it. Also I would add their are varying levels of worth in a degree. Examples: Devry, Univ of Phoenix, State College, Private College, Ivy League) And that worth and name of that school on the degree will be what gets the foot in the door.
I kid you not. An acquaintance of mine who is in the recruitment/placement field in Human Resources even has openly admitted. "If I have two resumes on my desk and one says Columbia, and the other says Montclair State. I am going to tell you right now the Columbia guy is getting more leeway in his interview and benefit of the doubt than the State guy. The State guy has to knock it out of the park. The Columbia guy can struggle a bit just based on potential."

 

[Nolimitz]

And that Corp thinking is going to bite most companies in the arse. My last "career" job, I started as a production operator at just over min wage. I left as a non-degreed Eng. When I was hired there was a strong promote from within policy. When I left after 20 years, I could not hire a tech for my group without a 4yr degree, while there were numerous qualified applicants already in house willing to step up. My position was filled with a newly minted masters degree nerd who could not work himself out of a paper bag. That is the new corp. mind set and is highly unproductive and very costly from a wage stand point.

I agree mostly. It's becoming more and more apparent that you must get a degree in a high demand career field otherwise you will wallow in student loan debt. I do believe tractor trailer driving does involve a skill or at least a discipline. Not everyone can do it. Also I would add their are varying levels of worth in a degree. Examples: Devry, Univ of Phoenix, State College, Private College, Ivy League) And that worth and name of that school on the degree will be what gets the foot in the door.
I kid you not. An acquaintance of mine who is in the recruitment/placement field in Human Resources even has openly admitted. "If I have two resumes on my desk and one says Columbia, and the other says Montclair State. I am going to tell you right now the Columbia guy is getting more leeway in his interview and benefit of the doubt than the State guy. The State guy has to knock it out of the park. The Columbia guy can struggle a bit just based on potential."

 

[hypo hanna]

I agree mostly. It's becoming more and more apparent that you must get a degree in a high demand career field otherwise you will wallow in student loan debt. I do believe tractor trailer driving does involve a skill or at least a discipline. Not everyone can do it. Also I would add their are varying levels of worth in a degree. Examples: Devry, Univ of Phoenix, State College, Private College, Ivy League) And that worth and name of that school on the degree will be what gets the foot in the door.
I kid you not. An acquaintance of mine who is in the recruitment/placement field in Human Resources even has openly admitted. "If I have two resumes on my desk and one says Columbia, and the other says Montclair State. I am going to tell you right now the Columbia guy is getting more leeway in his interview and benefit of the doubt than the State guy. The State guy has to knock it out of the park. The Columbia guy can struggle a bit just based on potential."

Which is both lazy and stupid on his part. Much of the acceptance process in universities today isn't based on intellect but on the applicants ability to pay the tuition.

 

[MrFedEx]

Which is both lazy and stupid on his part. Much of the acceptance process in universities today isn't based on intellect but on the applicants ability to pay the tuition.

Correct. Most colleges are for-profit, and they will happily provide you a degree in a useless field if you will pay the outrageous tuition.

 

[hypo hanna]

By definitions companies use, yes unskilled. However I always feel a persons times also plays a factor in all of it. To argue against this ignores what people have been telling you for ages to do. Go to college and/or go into management and/or start your own business. But you did none of that and hoped it would always get better, again after many people for years have been warning "it's not going to get better". In an ideal world you are right, but haven't you've been told for decades things aren't really ideal?

Yes, many companies are no longer looking for or wanting you to stay forever. That is clear. Read the room.

What they want are healthy young college educated people to work for minimum wage or less. (See the explosion in unpaid internships.)

 

[DontThrowPackages]

Correct. Most colleges are for-profit, and they will happily provide you a degree in a useless field if you will pay the outrageous tuition.

I remember the first professor every telling us he will happily give a "credit" "No credit" grade. This meant the student only need accomplish "D" level work and he would be given "Credit" for the class. So yeah, you're right, its for-profit. Most people who do well in college are already bright to begin with. I always thought of college as a way to keep the poor from getting good paying jobs and leaving them for the legacy kids. I knew a guy from High school who graduated college in years with an accounting degree. He was hired right away by a known firm. He say, he was given so much training that the degree is just a foot in the door and he could've done this job with a high school diploma.