IamFedExGround

[bbsam]

Brown287 nailed the whole LCD philosophy of the Ground scam. Do it for less, and safety and professionalism absolutely do not matter.

I have not found that to be the case nor have you. Express has delivered for less than UPS for decades and I have yet to here you report on your deficiency in safety and professionalism compared with UPS drivers...or is there a confession about to come?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Brown287 nailed the whole LCD philosophy of the Ground scam. Do it for less, and safety and professionalism absolutely do not matter.

While each of those may be true (but not nearly to the extent that you would have us believe) shippers are looking more to the bottom line and may be willing to sacrifice service to save money.

 

[Nick9075]

Brown287 nailed the whole LCD philosophy of the Ground scam. Do it for less, and safety and professionalism absolutely do not matter.

Depends on the routes are run and the contractor. on the routes I am buying the drivers get one week paid vacation and an extra $50 per week during peak. There were no complaints/accidents or disqualifying events over the past 24 months

 

[TUT]

While each of those may be true (but not nearly to the extent that you would have us believe) shippers are looking more to the bottom line and may be willing to sacrifice service to save money.

Or even more blunt, they are looking to stay in business themselves. This is about savings, nothing personal or anything like that.

 

[bbsam]

If a contractor does not expect and reward professionalism, he will not get it. Has to be clear on both sides.

 

[Brown287]

The big thing here bbscam is Ground will never have the drivers that UPS or Express have. The reason these guys rush is because there is no incentive to stay out and work longer because they do not get OT. I can't tell you how many shippers complain about the Ground guy coming for their pickup a hour early. I bet if Express and UPS were paid how the Ground guys were you would not see alot of us past 5pm on the road. Our incentive for staying out and working safer than Ground is we get paid for every minute we are on the road. You figure this route that was involved in the accident is out 70 hours a week because of the travel time and picking up the 2 fedex office's in two diffrent cities. 650 a week 70 hours a week is 9.28 a hour which is over minimum wage however 450 a week at 70 hours is 6.43 a hour. People wonder why the Ground guys are always rushing I rest my case. There should be some kind of guidelines to be sure these drivers do not get screwed. If they made a decent wage and were not a burden to Tax payers because they qualify for Food Stamps and Medi-cal. They may actually take pride in their work. I am not saying all Contractors treat their drivers bad but there is a connection between low pay and questionable service to a driver who makes a fair wage and gives good service.
Again I know every delivery company out there has accidents but when a drivers wage is low they are gonna go as fast as humanly possible so they feel they are not getting totally bent over. FedEx Ground for the most part definatley contributes to this in the way they treat their drivers.. There is zero incentive for these guys to stay out any longer than they have to, which is why we always see their trucks running when they are at a stop, their bulkhead doors are open and they are running from A to B all violations at UPS. That is the diffrence, you want good service and safe drivers then pay these guys a living wage.
One more thing I might add with these guys covering the area of 5 to 8 UPS routes they spend more time driving and if their day is so slammed that they do not get breaks and lunches that is a direct violation of the DOT. If the driver is fatigued because he does not get the proper breaks throughout the day because if he took them he would miss service who's fault would that be? Is it the drivers, the contractors or FedEx's for running business this way. What would happen to a driver if he took proper breaks and continuously missed service? Why is there no where for these guys to punch out for breaks and lunches? If there is a printout that the DOT reviews they will not see breaks and lunches, they will see travel time from one stop to the next which will get you all in hot water. Just saying

 

[bbsam]

They are incentivized by having a job, something your brother no longer experiences there.

 

[bbsam]

My drivers all make alot more than alot of college graduates these days. Just sayin'. I don't think they care if it is a scam or not.

 

[FedExer267]

They are incentivized by having a job, something your brother no longer experiences there.

Wow bbsam thats pretty cold even for you.. Hey Brown I will answer your question. If the driver takes his breaks and lunches and misses service he has the supervisors of FedEx in his truck going over the day before report with them. If it continues he gets fired. Happens all the time in my building. Which answers question number 2 we are expected to make all our service no matter what. While our Contractors and Supervisors sit on their butts all day and get lunches we are expected to not take them. They will never come out and say that but if you miss service for any reason your getting a visit not from your boss but from a FedEx Ground Supervisor!!! It is what it is Contractors pay the bills FedEx runs the show and the drivers get the shaft!!!!

 

[TUT]

It is what it is Contractors pay the bills FedEx runs the show and the drivers get the shaft!!!!

Lesson: "Don't be the driver".

 

[bbsam]

267. Cold as the economic climate we live in. And Brown was making statements based on very limited knowledge. There was nothing to "answer".

 

[vantexan]

I have not found that to be the case nor have you. Express has delivered for less than UPS for decades and I have yet to here you report on your deficiency in safety and professionalism compared with UPS drivers...or is there a confession about to come?

If we're talking decades there was a time where we progressed to top pay quickly, and weren't too far behind UPS. Even now, we have paid vacations, paid personal and floating holidays, paid sick days, bonuses, short and long term disability, medical coverage, retirement, and the ability to transfer. Discounts on airlines too. Comparing us with UPS isn't the same as comparing us with Ground. I think the quality of the Ground driver depends on the individual. He may have been laid off and that's all he can find but still cares about doing a good job. On the other hand having someone work 60+ hrs for a set amount with no benefits and just getting by will make many, if not most, people soon look for something better, and doesn't instill the kind of loyalty that used to be the hallmark of FedEx couriers(bleeding purple and orange). Question is if and when the economy gets better will you be able to keep your quality drivers?

 

[bbsam]

I had a Ground supervisor in my face about two late pickups one of my drivers failed on. Within 10 minutes he was in my driver's face. When I confronted him about it, he told me not to be a hard ass. So I took it to the senior manager. Haven't had a problem since. Point is, management can only do it if contractors let them. Much like at UPS, if union member don't grieve violations, management will continue to violate.

 

[bbsam]

Well, van, that's an interesting question. Most of them I have had since before the recession so I am guessing they will still be here. The others? Maybe, maybe not. What if I don't really care if some stay or go? All drivers are not equal, I don't care what Teamsters tell you.

 

[vantexan]

Well, van, that's an interesting question. Most of them I have had since before the recession so I am guessing they will still be here. The others? Maybe, maybe not. What if I don't really care if some stay or go? All drivers are not equal, I don't care what Teamsters tell you.

I think Ground is smart to use handlers to unload freight and load trucks. Express would be a much better place to work if we didn't have the sort. There'd be minimal interaction with management and being on the road is an independence you can't get with most jobs. I think no matter which FedEx division people put up with the hassles, low pay, etc because they do like the job. Couldn't imagine sitting in an office all day.

FedEx was great when you could get 25 years on your pension with pretty good pay and benefits. And eventually it will be a job for college students and housewives and others needing a part-time job. But this transition period is tough for all of us caught in the middle. Fred S said a couple of years ago when asked about raises that FedEx would take care of those who've stuck with them. I hope he remembers that when they start talking about buyouts. Many of us have worked 10-15 years with little to show for it. We deserve some kind of soft landing for our sticking with it.

 

[bbsam]

Couldn't agree with you more, van.

 

[Cactus]

They are incentivized by having a job, something your brother no longer experiences there.

What a load of crap. Let's see incentives.....Subminimum wage, no breaks, no lunches, all day in unsafe vehicles and oh yes, an over excessive workload. I'm sure Brown287's brother will have no trouble finding greener pastures than that.

 

[bbsam]

What a load of crap. Let's see incentives.....Subminimum wage, no breaks, no lunches, all day in unsafe vehicles and oh yes, an over excessive workload. I'm sure Brown287's brother will have no trouble finding greener pastures than that.

Maybe I just operate differently than you are used to. Fedex267 has been talking for a couple years about "when the economy rebounds" so maybe 287's brother has hit greener pastures. Maybe the same will be the case for future displaced Express drivers. Then again, maybe not.

 

[LTFedExer]

I think the quality of the Ground driver depends on the individual. He may have been laid off and that's all he can find but still cares about doing a good job.

True. But, in the end, it boils down to the contractor. You get what you pay for.

I think Ground is smart to use handlers to unload freight and load trucks. Express would be a much better place to work if we didn't have the sort. There'd be minimal interaction with management and being on the road is an independence you can't get with most jobs.

On the surface I agree with this. But, I'll bet there's more than one Ground driver that would love to load their own truck. I, for one, prefer to load my own truck.....I put something in the wrong spot, it's nobody's fault but my own.

 

[vantexan]

True. But, in the end, it boils down to the contractor. You get what you pay for.

On the surface I agree with this. But, I'll bet there's more than one Ground driver that would love to load their own truck. I, for one, prefer to load my own truck.....I put something in the wrong spot, it's nobody's fault but my own.

What stops them from running through the freight quickly to make sure it's in order? Beats spending an hour or longer unloading cans and then going to your truck to fine sort.