Why Express Employees Need Union Protection

[bbsam]

I don't know how many there are, but we're getting nothing from the IBT so far. We are on our own.

And as van said, somebody's gonna have to take a bullet.

 

[Ricochet1a]

As FedEx guts it's workforce, continues to slash your benefits and hours, pays you sub-standard wages and now has announced it will withhold whatever merit increase it chooses to give us in the future, Company management are all laughing their way to the bank as their precious stock, options and bonus payouts set for later this year have skyrocketed as the company's stock has made record gains off late - all at your expense.

Finally, someone here who really 'gets it'. The more they squeeze the wage employees, the more their stock options are worth, the more cash they have to play around with to give themselves 'merit raises' and the more progress Fred makes on implementing his plan. They are winning, you are losing. When is the bleating going to stop?

Why you ask at a time when the company is constantly poor mouthing its employees and taking every conceivable benefit we have?

Well... could be because the employees are so afraid of losing what they have left, that they don't want to risk getting more by standing up, organizing and putting an end to it - don't you think?

We have nothing to lose. Get a group of employees together and begin the fight.

See, this is the very issue. It appears that the majority of employees do seem to think they have something more to lose, so they are intimidated into keeping silent - bleat a little more, but don't cause a scene for fear of losing even more or even worse (gasp!!!) have to find another job....

Start today by calling the Ibt and lam and letting them know the time is now! Enough is enough!

And that is why I urged those who are so inclined, to do just that, and call the IBT. My 'hat' is off to those who did call.

Here's what they found out (I already knew what was going to happen, they needed to see for themselves). The IBT gave them the cold shoulder. The IBT has written off Express as a lost cause 2 years ago when Oberstar was voted out (Fred's fingerprints ALL OVER that one).

Jim Oberstar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So what are you to do???

Do you (plural) think that petty acts of sabotage and vandalism will do anything? You'd just be playing into Express' hand.

Just for the sake of argument, lets say that 50 of you each committed some act that cost Express an average of $5,000 a piece. Pretty impressive huh? Well, to Express, you are handing them the golden opportunity to get rid of the worst malcontents they have. $250,000 in 'expenses' (absolute peanuts to them), which enables HR to build a case against each employee which did something, to give them legal cover to terminate their employment without fear of a wrongful termination lawsuit. You'd be handing Fred a gift by pulling something like that.

Let's also assume that you only tell your very closest, trusted coworker what you did. Well, they wouldn't go and tell management, but they would tell one of their closest, most trusted coworkers. Then that person would be inclined to tell just one of their most trusted, closest coworkers....

Eventually, someone would hand station management the info they need to target who ever pulled the $5,000 stunt. Then management would start pulling employees in, asking them, "Who told you about this", and they'd eventually work their way back to the very person that you (the presumed perpetrator) told what you did. All these people would find themselves sitting across a table with HR, their manager and most likely sr. manager sitting on the opposite side, grilling them on what they know, did they participate and why didn't they come DIRECTLY TO MANAGEMENT when they learned of wrong doing.

They'll sing like a canary to try to keep their job. They all do, every time. There is no solidarity when it comes to looking at potential termination by someone who's only real 'crime' is that they didn't immediately 'go tell'.

Then after all the evidence is collected and statements gathered (you'll most likely be placed on paid administrative suspension while this is going on, to prevent you from talking to people), you'll be pulled in, asked to give a written statement, then handed a termination notice that has been already made, signed and approved by higher level management. The verdict will already be in by the time you make a statement in most cases.

I've sat in on this very sort of process since leaving Express and the procedure is the same no matter what the company. Backtrack the story to the original person who was told by the malcontent, suspend the malcontent, gather statements from all who heard the story, combine that with whatever physical or documentary evidence which may exist, make a decision as to whether to 'salvage' the malcontent or get rid of them, then drop the hammer.

Don't be tempted to play this game thinking you are striking one against 'the man' - you are handing 'the man' the perfect tool to get rid of you for next to nothing.

What you can do is to follow procedure to the 'T', slowing the operation and frustrating management to hell. EVERYONE knows that if the letter of policy was followed at all times, with all circumstances, with all customers, the operation WOULDN'T work. The written policy exists to establish a set of normal operating guidelines, but everyone knows that in Express, normal operating is the exception rather than the 'norm'. Make policy the norm without exception, and the operation will come to a crawl.

 

[Ricochet1a]

You are preaching to the choir. Everyone knows it but a lot of people are still waiting for the IBT to rescue them. Bottom line is if you want change you need to get off your ass and make it happen. Otherwise you can just bend over and take it where the sun don't shine for the rest of your time here.

I still have hope that enough will eventually 'get it'.

For the the 'old timers' on this forum (they've read it before). Here goes...

LEAVE, BEND OVER or ORGANIZE!!!

 

[Ricochet1a]

...R1a, but somehow when he says it, it's as though the heavens opened and God himself told Express drivers to finally "gird up your loins". Lol. It is what it is.

The heavens do open up and God Almighty himself inspires me what to write - I just took that for granted....

I'm on a mission from God it seems.....

Every other time I sit down to write, I have to struggle mightily to come up with what to say and to expand my prose beyond that of what an 8th grader would use.

 

[Ricochet1a]

I don't know how many there are, but we're getting nothing from the IBT so far. We are on our own.

The IBT WON'T release numbers of signed rep cards they have. By doing so they'd tip their hand to any potential employer whose labor they are attempting to organize.

Express wage employees are truly on their own at this point - that is one point I wanted to get across last week with the request for people to contact the IBT.

 

[bbsam]

PSSSST! SPH. R1a is calling you guys a bunch of bleating sheep. Pretty arrogant and condescending, don't ya think?

 

[Ricochet1a]

PSSSST! SPH. R1a is calling you guys a bunch of bleating sheep. Pretty arrogant and condescending, don't ya think?

No... Communications 101 - The use of "I" statements and "you" statements.... The difference between "I think" and "You ARE"...

I am NOT calling the wage employees of Express a bunch of bleating sheep - I am making the observation that they are ACTING as if they are a herd of bleating sheep.

It is time for the wage employees to stop ACTING like a herd of bleating sheep, and start ACTING like they really want deep inside.

Now, whether they are in fact, deep down inside, a bleating sheep... that is for each of them to decide on their own.

 

[bbsam]

No... Communications 101 - The use of "I" statements and "you" statements.... The difference between "I think" and "You ARE"...

I am NOT calling the wage employees of Express a bunch of bleating sheep - I am making the observation that they are ACTING as if they are a herd of bleating sheep.

It is time for the wage employees to stop ACTING like a herd of bleating sheep, and start ACTING like they really want deep inside.

Now, whether they are in fact, deep down inside, a bleating sheep... that is for each of them to decide on their own.

Semantics. In this world, often people are known by their action or nonaction. Until one stops acting as a bleating sheep, they will be known as such.

 

[Ricochet1a]

This whole, never ending discussion of organization reminds me of the South Park episode "Underpants Gnomes".

For the Gnomes, it was:

1. Collect underpants

2. ????

3. Profit!!

The variation on that for the Express wage employees....

1. Repeatedly discuss need to get organized

2. ?????

3. Have an income comparable to UPS drivers.

Things never seem to progress past step #1. The need to organize has pretty much been established, wouldn't you all say?

What is needed is the realization that Step #2 is going to require the employees to finally start signing and sending in those cards, establishing a grassroots network to get as many stations as possible with a grassroots organizer in it and getting critical mass established to convince the IBT to step in. Then progress may be achieved towards actually achieving part of step #3, instead of merely dreaming about it.

One thing that will need to be established, is a non-public, invite only forum where the organizers can discuss the counter tactics of Express management so the 'station organizers' can know what to anticipate and how to best deal with Express counter moves. This is something that the IBT usually does when they organize... but since they are M.I.A., any potential grassroots movement will need to establish that network itself (sorry BC, public forums wouldn't work for this).