Lacking Innovation
- Thread starter vantexan
- Start date
That is a sign of the corporate environment. Each company is playing by the same game-plan and competing against one another for stock $$$. I look at oil companies making more profit than any company in history and they are treating their employees like any other corporation. It's just not that UPS's and Fedex's golden days are gone, the powers that be have swung the pendulum so hard in managements favor, no one in the working class is in their golden days including workers at the most profitable companies ever. I think we are waking up to this, will be interesting to see what happens over the next couple of years. I think the powers over-played themselves and whatever doubts commoners had, are quickly becoming clear.
LTFedExer
Well-Known Member
Been here a bit over 11.
If you've ever read my posts before, you'd realize I don't defend what FedEx does with their money. I merely said it's not our place to say how it's spent. Just because a company makes a profit, doesn't mean you go right out and spend more. Do I think they should do more for the couriers? Yes. But, I'm not going to wait for it to happen.
Well I guess you'll just have to wait for it to happen. No, let's just accept our lot in life. They deserve more than us because, after all, they're them and we is us. Don't raise any objections, don't point out any problems, just take what I get and like it. Got it. (raises his bowl)Suh, can I have summore?
LTFedExer
Well-Known Member
How is what FedEx does with their money any different than any other big company? Just curious....have you ever told your manager or senior manger your thoughts? Have you ever fired off a letter/email to someone even higher? You're very vocal here and have many concerns that should be addressed to someone who can actually do something about it (looks at MFE also). If I didn't like the company I worked for, I'd find another job. Just remember, the grass is not always greener on the other side.
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
They need to decide to spend more of their profit on the people who make it for them, namely us. Quit being such a company lackey.
whenIgetthere
Well-Known Member
They never wanted to reduce the amount of damaged packages, just the claims. I had a manager tell us do not hit "damaged delivered" at all!! B.S., if it's damaged, that's the DEX I use. I am protecting my customers, that used to be called good customer service.
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
I once took a course to become the designated "damages" person at my station. Essentially, it was several hours of listing the various ways we could deny customer claims, even if they had done everything right and packaged the item to survive almost anything. After taking the course, I simply refused to play the game, and always referred them out to the Claims Dept. There was a rather large suit against Fedex several years ago for not paying claims, and FedEx lost.
I've stated my name and ID number here and twice on Fedexaminer. I've told ops mgrs, sr mgrs, and about 2 years ago a director how unfair I think pay policies are. I've put my neck on the line because it's the right thing to do. It doesn't matter what any other company does, this is the one that I've given most of my adult life to. You are very cavalier about how easy it is to leave, as well as how little things like the pension mean to you. When you're pushing 50 in a bad economy you may see things differently. I'm not interested in hurting the company. I don't expect them to spend all their profit on us. But they certainly can afford to do better than they have. And finally, when you resort to the love-it-or-leave-it argument it means you really don't have a valid argument. But what's the point in arguing with you? You make so much that you'll sail into retirement with nary a care. Maybe you should start a post explaining your special expertise and help your fellow couriers do better.
LTFedExer
Well-Known Member
This I believe. Not sure why, but I do.
FYI....I'm 45
I have never, nor will I rely on a pension to support me. I can think of a minimum of 5 people (relatives and friends, including my fiancee) that will not have a pension from the company they work for. Any pension you get should be considered as supplemental, not primary source of income. I have no 'expertise' on money management. I just budget myself where I can put 15% of my gross into my 401K with a 1% increase every year.
P.S. My 'love it or leave it' argument applies here perfectly. There's nothing about the company you like. Simply getting more money won't make you happy anyway.
Really? Nothing? I like the work very much. I greatly enjoyed some of the domiciled areas I lived in. I didn't enjoy dealing with bad mgrs who screwed up my situations in those places. You would say they were just doing good business. I would say doing things like putting pkgs in the mail to keep me from getting overtime is bad business. I'd still be in that particular location happy as a clam but they screwed it up. You'd take their part because after all, they mgrs and must have a legitimate reason for doing such a thing. MFE got it right about being a lackey. So there.
I'm glad your relatives are doing fine without a pension. For those who don't make much a pension used to be the cornerstone of a sound retirement. It sounds like you've been convinced that pensions are somehow evil. What's evil is shipping off so many good jobs overseas, turning this economy into an 80% service economy, putting our retirement on us through 401ks, and convincing us THAT will work well when what it mostly does is invest in the stocks that corporate honchos own and makes them wealthier. Millions of Americans near retirement who had their future tied up in 401ks found this out the hard way in the last 3 years. A guaranteed pension would've made a huge difference to them.
Good luck with that 401k. Be sure to invest in the international funds, that's where the growth is.
LTFedExer
Well-Known Member
1. I didn't say you didn't like the work. I said you didn't like the company. There are other companies you could work for doing the same job.
2. The relatives/friends I referred to have yet to retire. What I'm saying is to pretend you don't have a pension for retirement and budget that way.
3. I never said pension were evil. I SAID, if you rely on your pension as your primary source of income in retirement, that's a bad choice.
4. I agree with you about jobs going overseas/across the border. I remember when Swingline Staplers shut down their production in NYC and moved to Mexico. It was weird not seeing their sign lit up as I was coming across the bridge.
4. I got lucky with my 401K. I withdrew a good portion to buy a townhome in 2007, exactly 9 months before it took a dive. BTW....I stopped my contribution when the company stopped theirs.
Mr. 7
The monkey on the left.
First words out of my mouth when I'm handing someone a damaged package is..."I've already marked this as being damaged, I just need you to sign here".
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
We are not allowed to sheet damages as damaged in my center--we are instructed to sheet them as "Future" so that the PM clerks can rewrap them, if possible, or RTS them if not. We are told to note in the remarks column if a pkg is open.
Mr. 7
The monkey on the left.
Upstate.
I appreciate your information as to how things are different at UPS compared to X.
You can refer to my post about the pkg. that got misdel'd by UPS and the customer was told it would be 10 days before UPS would send someone to retrieve it. (all true, BTW, I don't have time to make up BS stories on the internet)
Lets just say that X is bending over backwards for customer service at the expense of us couriers. I don't like it but, it's pretty damn good service.
1. You said, in bold I might add, that there was nothing about the company that I liked. Uh, the company is about picking up/delivering pkgs. Where've you been?
2. I still don't get how you expect to replace what a pension would give you by budgeting accordingly. You are very optimistic about your investments.
3. Why is it a bad choice? I got rehired at $10.86hr. They've been feeding me a little extra every year in raises, if they gave one at all. Where, while maintaining my own household, was the money to replace my income in retirement? Are you saying that if the company lied about providing a full pension it's on me and others who believed all the info they provided year after year about what we would get if we stayed with FedEx? Do you believe in working towards a goal? Is there something wrong with working towards getting a full pension that would greatly help in retirement? They told me I'd top out in 7 to 8 years too. You've remarked numerous times about FedEx practicing good business. Do you believe it's ok to "fudge" the truth to get people to help the company be successful but not reward them for their efforts by just keeping the promises that were made? It's OK to exploit others as long as you do well?
Bottom line is you make excuses for them to the point that I can't help but feel you have a vested interest in doing so. But don't worry about me. I got just enough of a pension to move to South America in 5 years. I also know of a job in south Texas where I can make $50k a year while my pension checks go in the bank, which I'll probably do for awhile to make up for the lack of a full pension. I would leave and do it now, but I really want the reduced airline travel I'll get as a retiree with FedEx. And, unfortunately, doing that particular job will require some sacrifice like dealing with 100+ temps and being onsite 24/7 for weeks at a time. Nothing comes easy, but at least there are opportunities still out there for those willing to deal with the negatives.
LTFedExer
Well-Known Member
You don't give them the option of refusing it?
All I'm saying the fact that you get a pension at all makes you better off than a lot of other people. You said it yourself in the quote above 'Is there something wrong with working towards getting a full pension that would greatly help in retirement?'. The key word being 'help', not support. I also have 'remarked' that FedEx practices good business practices. But, I never said it was good people practices.
I have also said, many times, that there are things the company does I dislike. But, as far as I'm concerned, they don't outweigh what I like about the company. Sorry if you can't accept that.
I've always said a pension is the foundation of a good retirement. You're the one who keeps talking about sole support. And what you can't accept is criticism of the company and make excuses for them. You either have other sources of retirement income or are naive about what your 401k will do for you. Better not count on it as your sole support.
There was a time when the majority of workers got a pension. As companies trimmed backed we still got one. Why? Because they had to offer incentives to get and keep good workers in a labor intensive job. That's the point of humping like crazy, you get rewarded for the effort. But with the advent of 401k's and cash balance plans companies saw the chance to get rid of pensions. Very few companies offer a traditional pension now. So FedEx felt comfortable getting rid of their's because they don't have to worry about losing workers to companies that do. But they hedged their bet by replacing it with a cash balance plan. Without that I'm certain alot of people would leave because why hump all day when there are jobs to be had for a little less pay that don't require constant running and rules out the ying-yang.
Get used to the criticism, it's well deserved.
Mr. 7
The monkey on the left.
I sure do. Usually, the pkg. isn't all that bad. I let them open it up, check it out, and go from there.
Of all the damaged pkgs. I've del'd only a mere fraction get refused.
Hmmmm...ask your UPS friends here if they think their pension isn't necessary. You know, they were making much more in 1997 than I'm making now and yet they went on strike for better pay. And yet I'm disgruntled according to you. My $17.64hr now was worth $12.77 in 1998. What were they making in '97, about $22hr? And yet they went on strike for much better pay. And yet I'm supposed to be happy with my $17.64hr. Do you have any idea what I've done for FedEx in the last 12.5 years? Alot more than you have. I'll put my numbers up against yours any day. It's too late for me now, but I bet younger guys willing to hustle won't last long in this environment. It's not worth it.
