don't you wish you worked for GM?

[MrFedEx]

That wasn't the question nor is it the topic being discussed.

How come you just don't go over to Ground if it's so great? It's everything you believe in Mr. Hypocrite, so dump that mediocre union job you have and make the move to real capitalist idealism at work. You can't answer because it proves you're both a Libertarian cog and a hypocrite.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

The more I think about it the more I like bbsam's idea to become a safety consultant at Ground when I retire.

 

[MAKAVELI]

The more I think about it the more I like bbsam's idea to become a safety consultant at Ground when I retire.

That would be an oxymoron at Ground.

 

[MrFedEx]

The more I think about it the more I like bbsam's idea to become a safety consultant at Ground when I retire.

Cool. That job pays $5.00 per hour...with no benefits.

 

[MrFedEx]

That would be an oxymoron at Ground.

LOL!! Ground is safe...by Third World standards.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Cool. That job pays $5.00 per hour...with no benefits.

I can use that for spending money and my $5K/month pension will take care of the rest.

 

[1989]

I can use that for spending money and my $5K/month pension will take care of the rest.

5K a month? I would have to work 30 years for that kind of money or 62,400 hours.

 

[MrFedEx]

I can use that for spending money and my $5K/month pension will take care of the rest.

Your pension is double that of a topped-out 25 year Express employee under the defunct Traditional Plan. 5k is pretty good for a job that promotes mediocrity and attracts equally mediocre employees.

 

[Cactus]

The more I think about it the more I like bbsam's idea to become a safety consultant at Ground when I retire.

Yeah, I can see Ground's FMCSA scores really skyrocketing when you do.

Cool. That job pays $5.00 per hour...with no benefits.

And that's once you get to top of scale.

 

[Serf]

Well maybe for now. Maybe we'll sit back and watch the takeaways begin ala Fred S now that they realize that the union is no longer a threat.

You make a good point. RIGHT NOW, it's a nice deal. But what will it be down the line? Obviously, nothing is off the table when it comes to big companies. But VW isn't American. They are German. To the best of my knowledge they do outsource some labor, but it is under the close supervision of their engineers. Heck, I drive a Jetta. My factory sticker said: 31% of the car was manufactured in Mexico. That's no lie. So what would/could that mean down the road?

 

[MrFedEx]

You make a good point. RIGHT NOW, it's a nice deal. But what will it be down the line? Obviously, nothing is off the table when it comes to big companies. But VW isn't American. They are German. To the best of my knowledge they do outsource some labor, but it is under the close supervision of their engineers. Heck, I drive a Jetta. My factory sticker said: 31% of the car was manufactured in Mexico. That's no lie. So what would/could that mean down the road?

VW welcomed the union, probably because of their experiences in Germany with a unionized workforce. While it's true that unions sometimes protect lazy workers, it's also true that higher wages and benefits attract better workers. UPS makes it work, as do many other companies. I recently read an article about Boeing, and the quality control problems it has on the 787s built at their non-union facility in South Carolina. Many of the SC-built planes have to be flown to Washington, where the much higher quality union workers have to correct all of the problems...at a tremendous cost that outweighs the lower pay of the SC workers.

 

[Serf]

The initial article I read source was CBS. The Washington Times goes into much more depth. How possibly intimidation was used. And how possible Tennessee Lawmakers threatened to take away tax break incentives, etc. I find it interesting though, the article also states that Tennessee experienced the largest union growth in any state in the south last year.

VW welcomed the union, probably because of their experiences in Germany with a unionized workforce

It also stated that Germans are a cohesive unit. Both "white and blue collar." And they earn high wages for the quality of work they perform.

 

[FedExRookie]

You make a good point. RIGHT NOW, it's a nice deal. But what will it be down the line? Obviously, nothing is off the table when it comes to big companies. But VW isn't American. They are German. To the best of my knowledge they do outsource some labor, but it is under the close supervision of their engineers. Heck, I drive a Jetta. My factory sticker said: 31% of the car was manufactured in Mexico. That's no lie. So what would/could that mean down the road?

Legally a corporation is a "person" so it makes sense, people change, and so do corporations. Right now VW was pushing for the union, super rare to see a company want their employees to unionize, and now they are pushing for a labor council. I doubt that latter will happen, since that is pretty much a union by US law.

Maybe down the road VW will see that without a union they can start cutting cost on down years, pay and benefits for example, but only time will tell in regards to them changing.

 

[Serf]

VW will see that without a union they can start cutting cost on down years, pay and benefits for example,

Yes. Like the Express motto of nickel and dime'in employees. However, Volkswagen is a major, world wide automobile company. The things practically sell themselves. I don't foresee them pinching anyone, even though they have the green light to.

Also they said the average worker makes $18.00 an hour. That's huge in Tennessee. A state with no state income tax, low property and insurance premiums, etc. Average home cost is under 100,000. And household median incomes are in the 30 thousands. I know it's been said before. But if Express even came close to paying a "union type wage" and had SOME of it's benefits, I think people would sign up for that and forget all about a union. Makes me think of some guys that I B.S. with at work and they say they started at express as handlers making 9.25 an hour. Which doesn't sound like alot, but mind you minimum wage was 4.75 and gas was .90 cents a gallon! I just shake my head.

 

[Route 66]

....Makes me think of some guys that I B.S. with at work and they say they started at express as handlers making 9.25 an hour. Which doesn't sound like alot, but mind you minimum wage was 4.75 and gas was .90 cents a gallon! I just shake my head.

it's true....those were pretty heady days for us back at FEDERAL EXPRESS - back when any mention at all of the IBT would've drawn a condescending glare from virtually any employee.

Look at how far we've fallen now. Man, were we ever duped. I almost feel like we were the kids who got suckered in by the friendly neighborhood drug pusher. It was all so amazingly beautiful at first and we thought we had the world by the balls, but then eventually - little by little.......

VW employees take note - tomorrow may not be as sunny as today.

 

[bbsam]

LOL!! Ground is safe...by Third World standards.

Ground may actually be safer than what the FMCSA score suggests. If you look further into the numbers, a lot of that score comes from line haul drivers deemed by law enforcement to be unable to speak English well enough. I raise this point often and have yet to get real answers. If that score is so important, then why do we send out drivers that our own dispatch can't communicate with? They'll throw a poopfit about a marker light out but disregard that huge, glaring deficiency. I suspect it's all about the money.

 

[prodriver]

If the fmsca scores get even remotely close to disrupting operations, all contractors can easily get their own dot numbers for their own fleet.

 

[MAKAVELI]

Ground may actually be safer than what the FMCSA score suggests. If you look further into the numbers, a lot of that score comes from line haul drivers deemed by law enforcement to be unable to speak English well enough. I raise this point often and have yet to get real answers. If that score is so important, then why do we send out drivers that our own dispatch can't communicate with? They'll throw a poopfit about a marker light out but disregard that huge, glaring deficiency. I suspect it's all about the money.

The spin master hard at work.

 

[MAKAVELI]

If the fmsca scores get even remotely close to disrupting operations, all contractors can easily get their own dot numbers for their own fleet.

FedEx will never allow that.

 

[prodriver]

FedEx will never allow that.

I think if it was about to disrupt ops would be the only way.