A Lump Of Coal For Fred Smith This Christmas

[MrFedEx]

The Grinch looks like a rank amateur in comparison to you Mr Smith. You're an amalgation of Mr Scrooge, Dr. Evil, and Satan all rolled into one mean-spirited little man who is so cheap he squeaks when he walks. You basically do everything you can to pick the money out of your employee's pockets, while lining yours and those of every politician you can buy off. Those you can't buy outright, you schmooze with free travel junkets aboard Fedex corporate aircraft so they will do your bidding. In the meantime, you slash full-time hrs by hiring scads of part-timers, enforce mandatory split-shifts, and let our vehicle fleet decline into a bunch of rattling, clanking wrecks. The list goes on and on...
Next year I hope you get the present you really deserve....a union.

[over9five]

"Next year I hope you get the present you really deserve....a union."

It won't happen. The employees of Fred have no pride; no self esteem. They do the same job as us for $5 an hour less. Fred treats them worse than UPS ever dreamed of, and they sit there and eat it.

They are whipped.

[covemaster]

well said ovah 9/5 the real Fed Ex guys ,[the original ones ] are taking it on the chin.

[Jumperwire]

Originally Posted by over9five

"Next year I hope you get the present you really deserve....a union."

It won't happen. The employees of Fred have no pride; no self esteem. They do the same job as us for $5 an hour less. Fred treats them worse than UPS ever dreamed of, and they sit there and eat it.

They are whipped.

$5.00 per hour less and with 1/2 the volume....It couldn't have happened to a better company and at a better time!!!! Now Hoffa need's to get in there and unionize those wannabees

[MrFedEx]

Fred will repay our effforts during Peak over the next few weeks, when volume drops off sharply. Split-shifts will probably be mandatory every day, and management will be pushed to try and force people to go home with below minimum guaranteed hours. It goes from 65 hrs a week and "God,we need you" to around 30-35 hrs a week and "GO AWAY,you're costing us money!!!". Routes will be collapsed, and the drivers that aren't sent home will have a miserable day trying to cover several routes by themselves. Couriers that insist on getting minimum hours will be badgered by managers for "not being team players". In other words, bend over, grab your ankles, and take one for the team...directly in your wallet.
Maybe you're right that most FedEx people are so pussified that they'll never stand-up for their rights...I hope not. With the softening economy and rising fuel prices FedEx upper management will be pushing harder than ever to pick our pockets clean. Perhaps it's finally gone far enough and labor will grow a set of balls and push back.
I'm assuming that your labor agreement forbids split-shifts and other such shenanigans at UPS.

[Jumperwire]

Originally Posted by MrFedEx

Fred will repay our effforts during Peak over the next few weeks, when volume drops off sharply. Split-shifts will probably be mandatory every day, and management will be pushed to try and force people to go home with below minimum guaranteed hours. It goes from 65 hrs a week and "God,we need you" to around 30-35 hrs a week and "GO AWAY,you're costing us money!!!". Routes will be collapsed, and the drivers that aren't sent home will have a miserable day trying to cover several routes by themselves. Couriers that insist on getting minimum hours will be badgered by managers for "not being team players". In other words, bend over, grab your ankles, and take one for the team...directly in your wallet.
Maybe you're right that most FedEx people are so pussified that they'll never stand-up for their rights...I hope not. With the softening economy and rising fuel prices FedEx upper management will be pushing harder than ever to pick our pockets clean. Perhaps it's finally gone far enough and labor will grow a set of balls and push back.
I'm assuming that your labor agreement forbids split-shifts and other such shenanigans at UPS.

Without saying this the wrong way, you guy's and gal's at Fed Ex shouldn't complain. If you where unionized there would be no "shenanigan's" going on. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying being union is 100% perfect but alot of the complaint's you have would never happen if you were union. It's time to suck it up get in touch with your local teamster office and start the process. Maybe if one building goes it may start a domino effect. How much longer are you going to put up with it???

[over9five]

It's definately time to grow some.....

[BLACKBOX]

Originally Posted by covemaster

well said ovah 9/5 the real Fed Ex guys ,[the original ones ] are taking it on the chin.

and in the "you know where!"...........

[DS]

Why doesn't fred dissolve the ground division and incorporate it into the express side of the operation and make the ft drivers do it all like we do? Its just dumb to have 2 fedex trucks delivering to the same addresses every day.As far as unionizing goes shop around.The ibt only uses your dues to benefit themselves .IMHO

[satellitedriver]

Originally Posted by MrFedEx

Fred will repay our effforts during Peak over the next few weeks, when volume drops off sharply. Split-shifts will probably be mandatory every day, and management will be pushed to try and force people to go home with below minimum guaranteed hours. It goes from 65 hrs a week and "God,we need you" to around 30-35 hrs a week and "GO AWAY,you're costing us money!!!". Routes will be collapsed, and the drivers that aren't sent home will have a miserable day trying to cover several routes by themselves. Couriers that insist on getting minimum hours will be badgered by managers for "not being team players". In other words, bend over, grab your ankles, and take one for the team...directly in your wallet.

Sounds exactly like what happens at UPS after peak.

[Jumperwire]

Originally Posted by satellitedriver

Sounds exactly like what happens at UPS after peak.

Man...What building are you at... In 19 year's I've never seen that here!!!!

[The Brown Santa]

Originally Posted by satellitedriver

Sounds exactly like what happens at UPS after peak.

Yup, while I was reading that, I thought...hmmmmmm, this sounds awfully familiar......

[trplnkl]

UP$ will repay our efforts during Peak over the next few weeks, when volume drops off sharply. It goes from 65 hrs a week and "God,we need you" to around 65 hrs a week and you're costing us money, so you get to run trash runs!!!". Routes will be collapsed, and the drivers that aren't sent home will have a miserable day trying to cover parts of several routes added to their own. Drivers that insist on getting minimum hours will be badgered by managers for "not being team players" and told that we have to just "bite the bullet". In other words, bend over, grab your ankles, and take one for the team...directly in your wazoo .The difference between peak and after peak is how spread out the stops are. You don't have to worry about losing money, just your health.

[MrFedEx]

Hey,there really IS a Santa!!! I just read on the home page of this site that the IRS may be going after Fred for up to $1.5 billion in back taxes relating to the FedEx Ground fiasco. So Mr. Smith got more than 1 lump in his stocking....doesn't look like his political buddies will be able to get him off the hook for this one. THANK YOU SANTA!!! Of course, he'll try and extract the money out of his Express employees, but it's still good news. 2008 isn't going to be his year.

[moreluck]

MrFedEx.....it's amazing too how 'political buddies' will distance themselves at the first sign of trouble. Looking forward to that !!

[satellitedriver]

Originally Posted by Jumperwire

Man...What building are you at... In 19 year's I've never seen that here!!!!

NorthEast Texas.
It has happened here for the last 21yrs that I have worked at UPS.

[Brown Dog]

We will be working "hours only" unless you want your guarenteed 8 then you'll get it jammed down your throat. It's a good time to take less than 8 and enjoy more time with family and rest up after the long DEC of excessive OT, at least it is for me.

[trplnkl]

Originally Posted by satellitedriver

NorthEast Texas.
It has happened here for the last 21yrs that I have worked at UPS.

In the last year our center was pulled out of the NET district and given to Red River. Sucks being governed by foreign powers.

[sendagain]

I drove for 25 years and there was only a couple days out of a year that I didn't have an eight hour day. Most of the time it was averaging close to 9.5 hours.

Originally Posted by DS

Why doesn't fred dissolve the ground division and incorporate it into the express side of the operation and make the ft drivers do it all like we do? Its just dumb to have 2 fedex trucks delivering to the same addresses every day.... .IMHO

Yeah, they're so dumb. Why don't they just put them on the same truck and then make two or three separate stops out of them like we do all the time.

[Channahon]

There are many articles regarding the latest on FedEx issues with contract drivers not being classified as FedEx employees. I am not a fan of the IRS, but in another article, the IRS was involved with the FedEx model of using contractors for ground deliveries and approved of the model. However, with FedEx competing with UPS in service offerings, I believer FedEx crossed the line with co-employment issues.

IRS Slams FedEx on Driver/Contractors
In the latest blow to FedEx Ground and its use of independent contractors for deliveries, the Internal Revenue Service weighed in on the same side as a recent court decision classifying drivers as employees.
Massachusetts fined FedEx Ground $190,000 on Dec. 19 for 'intentionally misclassifying' 13 pickup and delivery drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.

Now, the IRS is demanding $319 million in back taxes and penalties just for the year 2002 because of the same sort of classification all across the country. FedEx reported last week in an SEC filing that the IRS is auditing the driver/contractor issue for the years from 2004 through 2006 as well. Lawsuits filed in 36 U.S. states claim the control FedEx Ground exercises over its contractors makes them employees, with a right to benefits and a refund for buying their trucks.

The government decision was in line with the position of the Teamsters union in several court actions. Lawsuits filed in 36 states claim FedEx drivers are employees with the right to benefits and union representation. "It's game over for FedEx's independent contractor scam," union President Jim Hoffa said in a statement.

"Given the preliminary status of this matter, we cannot yet determine the amount or a reasonable range of potential loss," FedEx said in the filing. "However, we do not believe that any loss is probable," Fedex said, hinting that the controversy is far from over.

FedEx said it will vigorously defend its position.

[MrFedEx]

FedEx always claims it will "vigorously defend" itself, even when it's crystal clear that they will lose the case in question.They were going to "vigorously defend" themselves on the California Break Violations lawsuit and the Black/Latino Management Case and settled both out of court for huge money because they realized they would lose even more at trial. It's all part and parcel of the FedEx squeaky clean public relations campaign that is doled-out each and every time they are caught screwing over their employees or otherwise behaving badly. They will say the same thing with the upcoming Age Discrimination suit as well.

On a related subject, don't expect the Ground and Express divisions to merge operations any time soon. The latest angle on the Ground scam is offering incentives to drivers to become the managers of their own group of sub-contractor drivers, thereby avoiding paying any benefits and continuing to foist nearly all operating costs onto contractors, without creating any true employees.I've seen many ads in local papers and on-line advertising for such drivers. Apparently, the courts have bought-off on this garbage, which will allow FedEx Ground to pretty much operate as it always has. Ground and Express operations are entirely separate, including IT, which means Express drivers can't pick-up or deliver Ground items and vice-versa. Most FedEx locations aren't set-up for dual operations, and many are inadequate even for their original intended purpose. UPS centers are light years ahead of FedEx facilities...the hubs are pretty similar from what I've seen.

[coldworld]

Originally Posted by Engineer Person

Yeah, they're so dumb. Why don't they just put them on the same truck and then make two or three separate stops out of them like we do all the time.

It seems dumb to ups folks, but you have to understand that the ground and home guys pay for their own: gas, insurance, uniforms, trucks, etc, etc. This is huge money that fedex doesnt have to pay. And we always joke with customers on how they have to wait for 2 or 3 fedex drivers to show up, and what time they are going to show up but it seems like most customers dont care, and the ones that do are already hardcore ups loyalists. Ups was all on the bandwagon about that SSI service last couple of years, but there hasnt been much talk of it the last year, seemed to kinda fizzle out. It would really be a good tactic to use to lure away volume from fedex, but only if it was used in a correct way.

[coldworld]

Most FedEx locations aren't set-up for dual operations, and many are inadequate even for their original intended purpose. UPS centers are light years ahead of FedEx facilities...the hubs are pretty similar from what I've seen.[/QUOTE]

It seems as if many ups buildings are already outgrown before they were even done building them. For a company that looks into the future more than others, their Plant engineering dept does the opposite. Most buildings have outcroppings where there are trucks loaded outside the main building, you see this in buildings that are only 15-20 years old...not very good planning.

[Big Babooba]

I wonder if they intentionally do this to save on property taxes? Smaller building = less taxes.