One question: will FedEx want the ISP to be implemented in all 50 states before giving Ground our 2 and 3 day freight?
That is the $64,000 question.... You've come a long way...
The answer (IMHO) has more to do with political reality, than financial reality.
The Teamsters pulling the plug on the election has slipped COMPLETELY under the media radar. Bloomberg (internet business news) picked it up Wednesday evening. The webbots didn't hit the story till Thursday afternoon (appearing in Google searches). The Commercial Appeal had an almost verbatim copy of the Bloomberg piece by Thursday evening. I posted not too long after that. Neither the Boston Globe or Boston Herald has anything in reference to the story. The terminal is in the Boston metro area, to the south of Boston about 20-25 miles. It is local news for Boston. Nothing, NOTHING is in the Boston print media with regards to this story.
Given how quickly Bloomberg and the CA picked up the story, I highly suspect that FedEx gave the reporters a phone call and email, in order to get the info out ASAP. I encourage readers to look at both the Bloomberg and CA pieces. The last half of the articles read precisely like a FedEx press release. Maury Lane's fingerprints are all over the articles.
Out of the Teamsters..., absolute silence. Take a look at their site, specifically the press releases. Plenty of releases for August 10 through 12th - absolutely nothing regarding the dropping of the petition for a certification vote - nothing. This is a story in and of itself.
Since the Boston market is very sympathetic to organized labor in general (well, the Verizon stike is ticking off a few people it seems), one must assume that their lack of reportage on this story is due in large part to their desire to not show organized labor in an unfavorable light.
Back to political reality...
The Ground IC model is still contentious in many states, pulling freight off of Express - who is bound by the RLA - and placing it on a business model which has done a complete end-run on the classic employer-employee business model, would more than likely catch the attention of Congress, and many state attorneys general. I believe that FedEx will want to have the ISP model firmly in place, to thwart any "protests" of pulling work from a company which is heavily regulated in regards to unionization attempts and placing that volume on an op-co which cannot unionize.
Look at the fight that is going on with Boeing wanting to place production in the southern U.S. - which isn't unionized - in theory taking work away from unionized workers in Washington state. FedEx is aware of the issues that are brought up with "shifting of work" to more advantageous modes. I don't think FedEx wants to stir up that hornet's nest while Ground is still under the IC model. Put the IC model behind them, get the ISP model running and optimized, then look to shift volume over.
Frankly, given the "Run away, run away!!" move by the Teamsters, the pressure is completely off Express now to make any sudden moves. Think about it, if the Teamsters can't pull off a union drive in Massachusetts, where can they pull off a union drive??? It would be one thing if the drive was in Alabama or something, but Massachusetts???? For crying out loud, that should've been a Teamsters slam dunk - they blew it!!
As I said before, either make an exit plan, or grit your teeth for as long as possible. Once the ISP model is firmly in place within Ground, that is when I suspect Express will make open moves to shift volume.
The next election is less than 15 months away - not long at all. Sixteen months from now (given the speculation of the political pundits), there will be a Republican President-elect, the Senate will more than likely be in Republican hands and Fred S will have more than likely already made his reorganization of Express reality.
There is no way that the Democrats will try to reinsert the RLA language in the FAA bill when they have to address it in September (they did a "without objection" extention of FAA legislation, to get constuction back underway, and collect those taxes). They'll fight on the rural airpost subsidies, but FedEx has won in regard to keeping its RLA status.
If Express had lost its RLA status, the IBT would've made a serious effort in the northeast and Pacific coast regions of the US. They would've organzied those stations under NLRB rules, then made a move for a contract. With a contract in place, then a "domino effect" of other stations across the country would've followed - "Hey, I want better pay too, sign me up" would've been the cry. The Teamsters knew this, FedEx knew this, and this is why Fred pulled out the stops in 2009 to do whatever it took to keep the RLA in place, and threaten scorched earth if he didn't win (the Boeing order contingent on his keeping the RLA status...).
As far as Fred "taking care of those who stood by him...". Look at how he takes care of the Ground drivers. Look at your pension now compared to 4 years ago. Look at how the 401k matching funds were cancelled (right after the pension was gutted), when Fred got nervous in 2009. If your idea of being taken care of is something slightly better than wage slavery, then yes, Fred will take care of you.
As far as talking to co-workers (on company time), don't. There is nothing to gain now. Direct them here, talk to them off company time, but talking on the job now is a complete waste of time, and increases the probability of getting that bull's eye on your back.