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Fred Understates Income By 30.2 Million
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<blockquote data-quote="Ricochet1a" data-source="post: 534411" data-attributes="member: 22880"><p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'"><span style="font-size: 12px">As with all airline pilots, FedEx pilots are unionized. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they would honor a strike by Couriers or RTD’s (ramp transport drivers). They would honor a strike by the mechanics, since their lives are dependent on the work the mechanics perform. This gets into the politics of which union would honor another union’s picket line. This is why I stated that any attempt by FedEx employees to unionize, is dependent on what the mechanics would do. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'"><span style="font-size: 12px">FedEx has a ready supply of Courier replacements (strike breakers) available… Ground and Home Delivery drivers/helpers. Express is about 80% of the revenue for FedEx Corporation, but Ground has about as many package handling/delivering employees as Express does. In the event of unionization, and impending strike by Couriers and RTD’s, FedEx would protect its primary source of revenue… Express. I’m sure part of FedEx’s plan would be to bring Ground personnel over to Express, in order to keep Express volume moving. Ground is only about 10% of FedEx Corporation’s overall revenue flow. Shipping to and from commercial clients could be performed on a skeleton staff, and home delivery operations greatly scaled back. The simplest solution would be to integrate a day of delay to delivery times, and perform alternating day service to commercial clients. Certain customers would be serviced M-W-friend, and others would be serviced Tu-Th. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'"><span style="font-size: 12px">I know many RTD’s that are of the opinion that they are irreplaceable in the event they choose to strike. Not true. In the current environment (for the coming 12 to 18 months at least), there is a surplus of trained tractor-trailer drivers. In the eventuality of successful organization, and forced negotiation for a contract for Couriers/RTD’s, Express would implement a “war plan” of their own. Express would negotiate contingency contracts with non-unionized motor carriers, to provide personnel to move Express volume that the RTD’s currently perform. It would cost Express revenue, but all strikes cost corporations revenue. The intent would be to break the strike quickly, and de-certify the union. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'"><span style="font-size: 12px">This is why organizing is the only chance FedEx employees have to restore their pension, but anything beyond that is more wishful thinking at this stage. If the economy was doing well, FedEx employees would stand a better chance. Trying to go from a state of no union, to organizing, forcing a contract negotiation to having a successful contract all in the current environment is daunting. Right now FedEx is sitting on about $2 BILLION of cash reserves and lines of credit. They have a fairly formidable war chest to use in the event of a strike. The FedEx hourly employees have a strike fund of just under nothing. A successful strike would require the Teamsters to make a substantial loan to the “FedEx” strikers, to keep financially strapped employees from crossing the picket line to get back their paycheck. Years ago a similar loan was made so that the UPS strike would be successful. Since the AFL-CIO split a few years ago, it is doubtful if such an arrangement could or would be made now. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Most FedEx employees are still under the “delusion” that a union would turn back the clock by 15 years; a return to 4 year top-outs, a real pension, benefits that don’t cost 2 days of post-tax wages each month and a stable career opportunity. FedEx has seen the cost savings of having the charade of independent contractors perform delivery operations. The courts haven’t slapped down the charade, and FedEx is confident it can go to a near total part-time hourly work force to meet its needs. I’m sure the part-time work force will be unionized, but I’m also sure that the day of the career full time courier is coming to a close. If they can get away with paying Ground drivers $13/hr to move packages, they definitely can get away with paying Express couriers $17-20/hr part-time (including cost of health insurance, etc.); instead of the $25/hr average with all benefits that they are now paying. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'"><span style="font-size: 12px">This is why I’m convinced that the only thing Express employees can do is to organize quickly, and stage a massive and nationwide strike; which would be beyond the capability of FedEx to compensate against. There is one thing FedEx values beyond all else, and this is its public perception. If a strike could shut down Express, FedEx might just fold and give back the pension plan they stole from us, and possibly a return to a quicker top-out time instead of the 15+ years that is now in effect. However, this would be a temporary victory for the full-time Courier, as FedEx would most certainly accelerate its plan to go to a near total part-time delivery work force. It would allow the career Couriers to leave with something, instead of the absolute insult we get in the mail each quarter, detailing the balance in our “portable pension plan”. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'"><span style="font-size: 12px">I know many Couriers want to get a form of job security implemented within any contract. I believe that FedEx would stone wall any such attempt, since it would prevent the cost savings they hope to realize with a pure part-time work force. This gets to the crux of the debate. The career Courier wants an arrangement which mirrors UPS conditions; while FedEx is envisioning a model of part-timers that spend a few years working before they hit the revolving door. Right now FedEx’s weakness is that it doesn’t have the technology in place to take a person off the street, and turn them into a delivery driver in a week (while maintaining productivity and package commitment times). Within 18 months, 24 at tops, they will have the technology to enable new hires to be given a week of training, and turned loose with a delivery truck and map to deliver packages. If they go to the expense of integrating GPS displays of the next delivery address in the cab, then the career courier is done. Fred will have his “robots” delivering packages, and the only career FedEx employees will be salaried “professionals” and a small handful of hourlies to maintain continuity and training of the revolving door of new Couriers and handlers.</span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'">This is part of the march of technology. Portable electronics and GPS navigation systems can make the knowledge and reasoning ability of career Couriers obsolete. The skill which takes a few years to develop in Couriers will be imitated with electronics and part-time labor. This is why my pragmatism about the success of organizing FedEx Couriers has a large degree of fatalism within it. The mechanics are still not replaceable with automation/technology. RTD’s are still needed for their skill at handling a large vehicle safely. Couriers are still needed, BUT they can be replaced with lower paying part-timers combined with technology laden trucks and data interfaces. This is why I believe that the best that can happen is for the pension to be returned, and possibly top-out as many Couriers as possible, but not much else. </span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ricochet1a, post: 534411, member: 22880"] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]As with all airline pilots, FedEx pilots are unionized. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they would honor a strike by Couriers or RTD’s (ramp transport drivers). They would honor a strike by the mechanics, since their lives are dependent on the work the mechanics perform. This gets into the politics of which union would honor another union’s picket line. This is why I stated that any attempt by FedEx employees to unionize, is dependent on what the mechanics would do. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]FedEx has a ready supply of Courier replacements (strike breakers) available… Ground and Home Delivery drivers/helpers. Express is about 80% of the revenue for FedEx Corporation, but Ground has about as many package handling/delivering employees as Express does. In the event of unionization, and impending strike by Couriers and RTD’s, FedEx would protect its primary source of revenue… Express. I’m sure part of FedEx’s plan would be to bring Ground personnel over to Express, in order to keep Express volume moving. Ground is only about 10% of FedEx Corporation’s overall revenue flow. Shipping to and from commercial clients could be performed on a skeleton staff, and home delivery operations greatly scaled back. The simplest solution would be to integrate a day of delay to delivery times, and perform alternating day service to commercial clients. Certain customers would be serviced M-W-friend, and others would be serviced Tu-Th. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]I know many RTD’s that are of the opinion that they are irreplaceable in the event they choose to strike. Not true. In the current environment (for the coming 12 to 18 months at least), there is a surplus of trained tractor-trailer drivers. In the eventuality of successful organization, and forced negotiation for a contract for Couriers/RTD’s, Express would implement a “war plan” of their own. Express would negotiate contingency contracts with non-unionized motor carriers, to provide personnel to move Express volume that the RTD’s currently perform. It would cost Express revenue, but all strikes cost corporations revenue. The intent would be to break the strike quickly, and de-certify the union. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]This is why organizing is the only chance FedEx employees have to restore their pension, but anything beyond that is more wishful thinking at this stage. If the economy was doing well, FedEx employees would stand a better chance. Trying to go from a state of no union, to organizing, forcing a contract negotiation to having a successful contract all in the current environment is daunting. Right now FedEx is sitting on about $2 BILLION of cash reserves and lines of credit. They have a fairly formidable war chest to use in the event of a strike. The FedEx hourly employees have a strike fund of just under nothing. A successful strike would require the Teamsters to make a substantial loan to the “FedEx” strikers, to keep financially strapped employees from crossing the picket line to get back their paycheck. Years ago a similar loan was made so that the UPS strike would be successful. Since the AFL-CIO split a few years ago, it is doubtful if such an arrangement could or would be made now. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Most FedEx employees are still under the “delusion” that a union would turn back the clock by 15 years; a return to 4 year top-outs, a real pension, benefits that don’t cost 2 days of post-tax wages each month and a stable career opportunity. FedEx has seen the cost savings of having the charade of independent contractors perform delivery operations. The courts haven’t slapped down the charade, and FedEx is confident it can go to a near total part-time hourly work force to meet its needs. I’m sure the part-time work force will be unionized, but I’m also sure that the day of the career full time courier is coming to a close. If they can get away with paying Ground drivers $13/hr to move packages, they definitely can get away with paying Express couriers $17-20/hr part-time (including cost of health insurance, etc.); instead of the $25/hr average with all benefits that they are now paying. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]This is why I’m convinced that the only thing Express employees can do is to organize quickly, and stage a massive and nationwide strike; which would be beyond the capability of FedEx to compensate against. There is one thing FedEx values beyond all else, and this is its public perception. If a strike could shut down Express, FedEx might just fold and give back the pension plan they stole from us, and possibly a return to a quicker top-out time instead of the 15+ years that is now in effect. However, this would be a temporary victory for the full-time Courier, as FedEx would most certainly accelerate its plan to go to a near total part-time delivery work force. It would allow the career Couriers to leave with something, instead of the absolute insult we get in the mail each quarter, detailing the balance in our “portable pension plan”. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]I know many Couriers want to get a form of job security implemented within any contract. I believe that FedEx would stone wall any such attempt, since it would prevent the cost savings they hope to realize with a pure part-time work force. This gets to the crux of the debate. The career Courier wants an arrangement which mirrors UPS conditions; while FedEx is envisioning a model of part-timers that spend a few years working before they hit the revolving door. Right now FedEx’s weakness is that it doesn’t have the technology in place to take a person off the street, and turn them into a delivery driver in a week (while maintaining productivity and package commitment times). Within 18 months, 24 at tops, they will have the technology to enable new hires to be given a week of training, and turned loose with a delivery truck and map to deliver packages. If they go to the expense of integrating GPS displays of the next delivery address in the cab, then the career courier is done. Fred will have his “robots” delivering packages, and the only career FedEx employees will be salaried “professionals” and a small handful of hourlies to maintain continuity and training of the revolving door of new Couriers and handlers.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri]This is part of the march of technology. Portable electronics and GPS navigation systems can make the knowledge and reasoning ability of career Couriers obsolete. The skill which takes a few years to develop in Couriers will be imitated with electronics and part-time labor. This is why my pragmatism about the success of organizing FedEx Couriers has a large degree of fatalism within it. The mechanics are still not replaceable with automation/technology. RTD’s are still needed for their skill at handling a large vehicle safely. Couriers are still needed, BUT they can be replaced with lower paying part-timers combined with technology laden trucks and data interfaces. This is why I believe that the best that can happen is for the pension to be returned, and possibly top-out as many Couriers as possible, but not much else. [/FONT] [/QUOTE]
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