How dare UPS layoff workers after profitting $5.8 BILLION in 2010?

[rod]

Word coming down the pipe here is that all drivers will be expected to run scratch by this fall.

Hasn't UPS expected all drivers to run "scratch" since "scratch" was invented? Ain't gonna happen. (unless they do their magical mumbo jumbo numbers voo doo that they are famous for). In that case expect to see another butt load of them escorted out the door for falsifying reports. Looks like its a tought time to be in lower or middle management.

 

[menotyou]

Most drivers use to have a smile on their face, not a scowl. That does make a difference to some people.

Thank you, pretzel_man for clarifying a confusing situation for me, Fed Ex.
They do have an UNFAIR advantage. It is, also, UNFAIR for the drivers, the face of the company, to be stretched to the limit and beyond in an UNFAIR fight. 400,000 scowls can't be good. Not that everyone is scowling, but more and more are.

Smile!! Laugh!! Be happy!! Those should matter somewhere in the bottom line. That is my opinion.

 

[Just_another_day_at_work]

That was the talk around here a couple years ago, we even had a big 'ol building pcm where the DM stood up and told us that we were all gonna be expected to run scratch and if we didn't there would be "consequences". Eventually they gave up and moved on to something else.

My first thought was fix the time studies, case resolved. They did ojs for about a month no significant changes. 90 % of the drivers still "overallowed".

 

[Just_another_day_at_work]

Just for clarification....

FedEx Express has the legislative advantage, not FedEx ground. Because they started as an airline, ALL their employees are considered as being under the RLA. This makes it difficult to organize their drivers. This is the legislation that UPS and the Union have been trying to fix. A driver is a driver, not a pilot.

FedEx ground takes advantage of a contractor model. We believe that they are inappropriately classifying their people as contractors when they should be employees. Its amazing. Ask you neighbor if they know that a FedEx driver does NOT work for FedEX.

This situation gives FedEx a huge cost advantage in the ground business. They don't care if a driver is "over-allowed". They don't need to manage or supervise them. AND, they pay almost 1/2 for a driver that UPS does.

So, think about it. are we losing packages to FedEx ground because we don't say "Hi to Chrissy?" Is the FedEx ground driver (who doesn't get paid by the hour) taking the time? Maybe, but FedEx doesn't pay for it.

Our people are better, our service is better. From what I hear, we are losing volume because of price. (and sometimes time in transit, but that's more limited now).

This is why SurePost is coming. Not to make more profit (its a low margin service), but to not lose the volume.

I think sooner or later Fedex will lose that provision. It's more like we are "surviving" until the playing field is leveled.

 

[Catatonic]

I think sooner or later Fedex will lose that provision. It's more like we are "surviving" until the playing field is leveled.

I hope you are right but the best chance we ever had was when Obama was elected and controlled both houses of Congress including a filibuster proof Senate and it did not happen.
Most Americans see the FedEx model as where they are not paying for higher than average wages and benefits, and outdated pension plans. Not my personal belief as I benefit from that outdated business model but that is the voice of the people.

 

[705red]

Hoaxter your right we had a good chance of fixing that, but answer me this. Why did UPS not turn any of their republican senators in favor of this? UPS did not use any of their pull to help the Teamsters and other unions. Does UPS really want this? Or do they want to keep crying that FedEx is non union and our costs are too high because of us using union labor?

If you ask me, UPS wants it the way it is and they do not want FedEx to unionize or even play on the same field.

 

[pretzel_man]

Hoaxter your right we had a good chance of fixing that, but answer me this. Why did UPS not turn any of their republican senators in favor of this? UPS did not use any of their pull to help the Teamsters and other unions. Does UPS really want this? Or do they want to keep crying that FedEx is non union and our costs are too high because of us using union labor?

If you ask me, UPS wants it the way it is and they do not want FedEx to unionize or even play on the same field.

Red,

Actually its the opposite of that....

Do you know who is one of Fred S's best friends? John McCain. There were rumors that if McCain won, Smith would be Secretary of Transportation.

Its the Democrats that had the best chance of turning this around, not Republicans.

Another point... Ups give about 55% to Republicans, 45% to Democrats (something like that)

Teamsters give 97% to Democrats.

I honestly do not think the non-win is due to lack of trying by anyone. I know that I wrote the letters. I give to UPSPAC....

Changing this is hard to do. Especially with the deep republican ties....

 

[Jones]

I hope you are right but the best chance we ever had was when Obama was elected and controlled both houses of Congress including a filibuster proof Senate and it did not happen.
Most Americans see the FedEx model as where they are not paying for higher than average wages and benefits, and outdated pension plans. Not my personal belief as I benefit from that outdated business model but that is the voice of the people.

Well, there's a certain news network and a couple radio talk show hosts who work very hard to convince the American people that unions are bad, union workers are lazy socialist slackers, and left to their own devices they will drag down the noble freedom loving businessmen who made this country great and destroy the American working spirit. Moochers, the lot of them! On the whole, the US is not a particularly union friendly nation and that makes it tough to push through any pro union legislation no matter how much money you put behind it.

 

[804brown]

I hope you are right but the best chance we ever had was when Obama was elected and controlled both houses of Congress including a filibuster proof Senate and it did not happen.
Most Americans see the FedEx model as where they are not paying for higher than average wages and benefits, and outdated pension plans. Not my personal belief as I benefit from that outdated business model but that is the voice of the people.

Hoaxster, I don't think "most Americans" know this unlevel playing field exists. That old model made this country a strong middle class society for decades. It is this "Fedex model" -lower wages, lower benefits-maybe we should call it the Walmart model, that is destroying that once strong middle class society.

You are right Obama and the Dems had an opportunity to level that playing field. However, a few corporate Dems backed away when all of a sudden that legislation could have passed. Plus, no Repubs wanted to hurt their corporate benefactors. But then again, Obama's biggest mistake was not pushing from Day 1 campaign finance reform that included Public financing of elections, but I digress.

 

[804brown]

Red,

Another point... Ups give about 55% to Republicans, 45% to Democrats (something like that)

Teamsters give 97% to Democrats.

...

True, maybe if UPS gave to the Dems 97% instead of hedging their bets , the Dems might have pulled this off. It passed overwhelmingly in the House.

 

[JonFrum]

P man-
Post #46.......So what's your point?
Obama was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize......for what?
Maybe we should have awarded Obama the Heisman Trophy while we were at it.
So, again,........what's your point?

Really???

 

[Nimnim]

Really???

I wouldn't be surprised, but it appears that it's just the Nobel prize. Seems someone wrote a satirical piece of other award Obama is/will be winning and the Pulitzer was included.

If you replace Pulitzer with Nobel in the post by trickpony1 it does the same thing and is true.

 

[trickpony1]

Okay......I made a mistake.......shoot me.

 

[Catatonic]

Okay......I made a mistake.......shoot me.

One does not shoot their 1 trick pony.

 

[Karma...]

One does not shoot their 1 trick pony.

Thats right on...The Teamsters have all eggs in the UPS basket and better hope that UPS stays in the USA instead of pulling the plug on the ground....The American market is getting smaller and smaller for UPS......

 

[Catatonic]

Okay......I made a mistake.......shoot me.

One does not shoot their 1 trick pony.

That's right on...The Teamsters have all eggs in the UPS basket and better hope that UPS stays in the USA instead of pulling the plug on the ground....The American market is getting smaller and smaller for UPS......

Interesting yet sly segue of my play on trickpony1's name.

 

[iowa boy]

No doubt Upstate. Things have changed. And it has changed everywhere, not just in operations.
Production and cost rules the nest and all decisions and policies are driven from these two metrics.

I remember not too long ago we were actually concerned about servicing the customer and the safety of our employees. Nice to finally hear that production and costs are now more important.

This isn't directed you at you Hoax, so don't be offended. But when someone from Atlanta tells us that production and costs are running the show right now, it speaks volumes about the company as a whole.

 

[Catatonic]

Okay......I made a mistake.......shoot me.

One does not shoot their 1 trick pony.

I remember not too long ago we were actually concerned about servicing the customer and the safety of our employees. Nice to finally hear that production and costs are now more important.

This isn't directed you at you Hoax, so don't be offended. But when someone from Atlanta tells us that production and costs are running the show right now, it speaks volumes about the company as a whole.

Not sure a geographical location in close proximity to the real decision makers gives any credence or creditability to my observations.
Incidentally, cost and production have always been top metrics in my 37+ years with UPS.
I'm on the ups.com side of the business for the last 15 or so years so I don't have first hand experience of what happens out in the districts.
I know from the information we do receive that top UPS management is very concerned about our competitive disadvantage in pricing ...
but I also know that there is firm belief that our service levels are the highest they have ever been.

 

[iowa boy]

Not sure a geographical location in close proximity to the real decision makers gives any credence or creditability to my observations.
Incidentally, cost and production have always been top metrics in my 37+ years with UPS.
I'm on the ups.com side of the business for the last 15 or so years so I don't have first hand experience of what happens out in the districts.
I know from the information we do receive that top UPS management is very concerned about our competitive disadvantage in pricing ...
but I also know that there is firm belief that our service levels are the highest they have ever been.

Hoax, I know you're not at corporate, but you are in Atlanta. Thats where the inference comes from. I know production and costs have always been #1 and #2 on top of the metric charts, but it kinda sends a chill down my spine when I hear someone from Atlanta say this. When costs and production take precedence over customer service and are represented as more important than employee safety, it makes us out here in the field realize just how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things within the company.

I'm not trying to come down on you as being the bad guy, so please don't think that.

 

[MenInBrown]

We shall go for 50% increase in wage