Apparently Express Hires Unprofessional Drivers

[Lordtekk]

UPS is next. After Fred has transformed Express in to a part-time delivery company he will focus on luring more shippers away from UPS by highlighting his lower overhead and faster time-in-transit. Today's shippers care more about the bottom line than they do service.

Fedex will never be a threat to UPS,they can swallow us whole and have room left for everyone else. Whatever we do they match it or make it better and with a Union in place yet they still can do it. Fedex may get the business at first but they always seem to lose it to UPS ( Victoria Secret,L.L.Bean,etc.,) because UPS always beats their prices. Even with the "Ground Network" that Fedex is building by cannibalizing Express and giving it to Ground. Imagine if UPS could pay what Ground pays ? But they seem to do it with great wages,benefits and a union. They also work very hard in with no A/C in their trucks in the South. They deserve what they make and I have a lot of respect for them.

[UpstateNYUPSer]

Thank you for the kind words but I think you are underestimating Ground. They are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the next few years. Rumor is UPS will be addressing the wage disparity in our next contract.

[MrFedEx]

Thank you for the kind words but I think you are underestimating Ground. They are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the next few years. Rumor is UPS will be addressing the wage disparity in our next contract.

And if they offer a crap contract based on the wage disparity, I hope UPS strikes. It has never ceased to amaze me how UPS stood-by and watched Ground take market share. The Ground model is quasi-legal at best, which may ultimately be it's undoing, but in the meantime, the average Brown employee seems clueless as to the long-term threat Ground poses.

[UpstateNYUPSer]

A strike would be suicidal.

[bbsam]

A strike would be suicidal.

Then could it be said that Ground is Scott Davis' biggest ally?

[DontThrowPackages]

A strike would be suicidal.

I totally agree. Brown could easily find themselves with thousands of Fedex Ground drivers banging down their door happy to work for half of what UPS pays its current drivers. Couple that with the fact that Fedex has molded these Ground drivers(and many EXpress) to take anything and like. So if Brown paid a Green driver 20 dollars and hr and no raise ever, not a word would come from the green driver.

[UpstateNYUPSer]

Then could it be said that Ground is Scott Davis' biggest ally?

Damn....you went and made me have to think.... on a Saturday....perhaps ally is the wrong word....how about ace in the hole?

[bbsam]

Fedex will never be a threat to UPS,they can swallow us whole and have room left for everyone else. Whatever we do they match it or make it better and with a Union in place yet they still can do it. Fedex may get the business at first but they always seem to lose it to UPS ( Victoria Secret,L.L.Bean,etc.,) because UPS always beats their prices. Even with the "Ground Network" that Fedex is building by cannibalizing Express and giving it to Ground. Imagine if UPS could pay what Ground pays ? But they seem to do it with great wages,benefits and a union. They also work very hard in with no A/C in their trucks in the South. They deserve what they make and I have a lot of respect for them.

Ground does not limit its growth to cannibalizing Express. We take it from Brown as well.

[vantexan]

I totally agree. Brown could easily find themselves with thousands of Fedex Ground drivers banging down their door happy to work for half of what UPS pays its current drivers. Couple that with the fact that Fedex has molded these Ground drivers(and many EXpress) to take anything and like. So if Brown paid a Green driver 20 dollars and hr and no raise ever, not a word would come from the green driver.

Alot of mid-range Express employees would be banging down their door too, especially if UPS offered paid employee healthcare and a traditional pension.

[vantexan]

Fedex will never be a threat to UPS,they can swallow us whole and have room left for everyone else. Whatever we do they match it or make it better and with a Union in place yet they still can do it. Fedex may get the business at first but they always seem to lose it to UPS ( Victoria Secret,L.L.Bean,etc.,) because UPS always beats their prices. Even with the "Ground Network" that Fedex is building by cannibalizing Express and giving it to Ground. Imagine if UPS could pay what Ground pays ? But they seem to do it with great wages,benefits and a union. They also work very hard in with no A/C in their trucks in the South. They deserve what they make and I have a lot of respect for them.

Which begs the question, has UPS dropped prices to match Ground? Not from what I've heard. Your statement may have been true at one time, but if FedEx Ground now has the ability to offer similar service for considerably less, do you think the big volume shippers looking to save money will stay loyal to UPS? And if UPS loses enough of that business it will severely impact their ability to provide high pay and great benefits. FedEx Express slowed pay progression and cut benefits to increase profits. UPS will eventually have to do the same just to have profits. Assuming of course there won't be a labor friendly federal gov't with a spine that'll end FedEx Ground's advantage. That probably won't ever happen for one simple reason. It's not just FedEx lobbying for exemptions, etc. Shipping goods is a huge part of the economy and business leaders know what FedEx Ground means to their bottom line. When a Democrat administration and Congress failed to help Express employees it wasn't just Fred Smith throwing money around but the whole business community. We can't fight the inevitable, and neither can UPS. UPS is the last vestige of the golden years of package delivery. But the times they are a-changin'....