First of all, I think drivers are worth every penny and should remain well paid and the highest paid in the industry.
I hope (and fully expect) a contract that both sides agree to.
But....
People here can rattle sabres about a strike all you like. Its no different than an ignorant manager talking about firing employees over stupid issues.
Here are a few facts......
In 2001, FedEx ground delivered 1.5 million packages per day. They now deliver over 4 million packages per day. That is 2.5 million additional packages. That's 267% more than 2001.
In 2001 UPS ground (U.S) delivered 10.3 million packages per day. Now it is 11 million packages per day. That's 700 thousand additional packages. That's 6.7% more than 2001.
Fedex has grown their ground business by 1.8 millon packages per day more than UPS has in the same time period.
How many union jobs have been lost?
By the way, in 2001 there were 16 millon union members in the united states. Now there are 14.4 million union members. A loss of 1.6 million union members.
I'm sure that representatives from UPS and the Teamsters understand the situation. Both sides know what's at stake.
Best of luck to you.
Apples to oranges Pretzel. FEDEX ground unit couldnt carry our underwear, and to think they could handle our ground numbers is ridiculous at best.
The private contractors they use are the most unreliable, undependable drivers in the industry. They dont last very long and hardly make a living after deducting all the losses for working for FEDEX.
FEDEX ground is a revolving door of dummies.
Why do you think they only have a 2.5 million package increase in 11 years? That isnt SQUAT if you divide that by 11 years, and its even LESS if you divide that by 12 months.
Then you factor in WHY UPS is losing volume ( drivers out late, packages lost, packages left in building, packages misloaded, packages incorrectly PAS, packages undelivered because of over dispatching, missed pickups because of cutbacks of routes, etc etc etc) then you will find that those GAINS at FEDEX are NOT related to FEDEX's ability to TAKE our business, but rather UPS willing to give it away.
We would EAT FEDEX's lunch with volume if we could only be allowed to do the job correctly. IF UPS would only take the IE out of IE and allow the business to function like it was designed to do ( SERVICE THE CUSTOMER) we would be larger than life and FEDEX wouldnt have been able to start a third rate ground business from the ground up.
Consider this. Politically speaking, if the GOP is thrown out of congress, in 2014, look for congress to finally take up placing FEDEX into National Labor Relations ACT and remove them from the National Railway Act and that alone will SINK FEDEX ground units.
Once that happens, the Teamsters will be able to organize the ground unit and air unit drivers and the operating costs will fall in line with UPS employees, and FEDEX's ground surge will be dead in its tracks.
On this issue, Both the postal service and UPS are onboard with this outcome.
Its a wait and see moment in this respect.
Back to ground volume, when UPS says FEDEX is "taking" our volume, that isnt true. Those are just the words from REGIONAL MANAGERS who dont understand that we are "GIVING IT AWAY".
None of them have the knowledge that the "business model" they employ is causing ground loss. The concept of "add more stops to trucks and cut routes" is where they should start.
Where in this concept do they factor in CUBE SPACE? When you bury a driver in ground stops, you take away CUBE SPACE for pickups, and when that happens, pickups have to be called in and customers have to wait until a driver with available CUBE SPACE can be found.
Sometimes, this could be 7pm or 8pm at night. Do you think this kind of customer would pick FEDEX ground if they could be there consistently before 5pm?
Once this becomes a pattern, and the pickup customer is sacrificed for ground deliveries ( because some genious thought it was an "optimal decision"), then they start looking for alternatives.
It isnt about cost, its about convenience.
UPS is making the business "inconvenient" for the customers.
The regionals just dont have the "balls" to say so.
Peace
TOS
