I'm really starting to think that. There is a reason why the turnover rate is so high. I thought Couriers made like 16$ an hour, I looked on jcats and there was a position in Nashville that was like 14.46 an hour. What gives? Starting from scratch out here just isn't worth it. I'm part time, did 18.5 hours last pay period and my check is $ 176.00 . They expect people to stay around for that chump change? The only reason why I got that much is because I stayed an extra hour at post sort. They lure people in with the benefits but having a 401K account really doesn't mean much when you make so little and that goes for the medical benefits too. If I were full time that would be one thing but structured it out here so bad that it takes years for someone to be full time. Do they really expect people to stay out here living paycheck to paycheck? UNION UNION UNION
Handlers last on average 6 months working as a hander - before they either quit or get into another position at Express. Your having lasted almost a year as a handler is beyond the average.
That wage you listed for Nashville does seem to be below market level A, so I'm thinking Nashville may be market level B. When you look at JCATS, look at the market level. Market level A is the "baseline", B is actually BELOW market level A due to the way Express tried to engage in wage savings years ago. All other market levels are progressively higher in wage compensation with alphabetic progression (H is "higher" than friend for instance).
As a part-time handler, you are a disposable commodity to Express - that is just the way it is, has always been and always will be. Since MEMH has so many people working there, trying to move up takes time - at ramp locations, it doesn't take handlers long to either move outside to the aircraft or to move to a specialized job function (Info Agent, DG Agent, Team Leader).
How long you hang around Express is entirely up to you - Express had difficulty in keeping up with the rate of people quitting in the past (pre-Great Recession), but now, there is a pool of people waiting for the job you have - simple truth.
There are Couriers in market level A that have been with Express for 5 years and have just barely hit $16 an hour (and that is 5 years as a Courier). Market level A starting wage for Couriers is now something like $15,50 or so. There are Couriers with 3 or less years, that make the bottom Courier wage, since pay progression was SLOWER than the bump to the bottom end wage at Express for 2009, 10 and 11. For these Couriers, a new hire off the street is making just as much as they do - while having 3 years under their belt. This has contributed GREATLY to the turnover at Express - once the wide eyed new hires realize that they aren't going ANYWHERE with Express, they start looking for a better deal.
Because Express is so picky about its employees (relatively), other employers know that if someone has worked for Express, that they have a clean record, are reliable and capable of working with minimal supervision - so they are sought after.
There will never be a union within AGFS. Turnover among handers is too high, there are too few in the specialized functions and Ramp Agents will get their pay bumped up if Express really believes they are organizing. If you want more than $16/hr within AGFS, you MUST become a Ramp Agent ASAP. The other jobs on the sorts only pay about $1 more than that of a handler - and they are part-time too. Pay progression within Express now is only keeping pace with the rate of inflation. With the increase in the premiums charged for health care, Express employees are losing ground each year.
The other "kick in the butt" that is coming your way, is that since you are most likely working less that 1000 hours for the fiscal year which ends in May, you won't receive a penny in the "pension plan" for the year - you have to work a minimum of 1000 hours for the fiscal year in order for FedEx to kick in 5% of your gross into its "pension plan". All of the benefits of Express with the exception of the health insurance and tuition reimbursement are of no value to part-time AGFS employees, since they either work too few hours or don't make enough to make a bit of difference (contributing 6% of your gross into a 401k to get matched with 3.5% doesn't do much good when you are only making about $11-12,000 a year). The 401k match would be about $400 a year on that gross, and you probably need every penny you are making now, rather than being able to invest anything.
If you are part-time in AFGS, go to school to further your education and take advantage of the $3000 in reimbursement available. If you aren't going to school, look for another job. The handlers that stay more than 6 months in AGFS do so SOLELY for insurance, they work other jobs. Most I knew that were long term handlers worked in jobs that didn't offer a benefits package (most of them were in sales related jobs). They waived minimums, worked maybe 14 hours a week, then had another job which they made their "real money". They used Express to provide health insurance and tuition assistance and got their "workout" provided free of charge (no gym membership needed). When they were able to find a job that was stable and provided health insurance, they left Express usually without offering 2 weeks notice.
