Major ground failure in San Francisco.

[bbsam]

Of course that's what I want. If UPS. can do it, so can FedEx.

Can but they don't HAVE to so...

 

[gixxer squid]

Unless you live in the BayArea you have no idea what the true cost of living is. Besides the costs we also have a very robust economy with an extremely high employment rate. Not to mention cities like San Francisco and San Jose all have their own minimum wages that are far above the national norm. So this all together can spell disaster for companies like FedEx that have designed their model around low wages.

We are currently paying our helpers almost $15hr plus overtime plus a $100 weekly bonus for showing up everyday. From what I know that's more than FedEx Ground drivers wage.

To top that off we have a charter bus bring employees from outlying areas to the BayArea hubs just so we can be fully staffed. So you can start to see the issue here.

So if UPS has to do this and offer this pay to stay staffed I can only imagine that FedEx would need to do the same.

Don't let my drivers see this, LOL Under the ISP model, its always "our" problem to figure out, not theirs. Speaking for ground and hd. Express may be a different story. Still takes us 2 weeks just to get a driver approved before we can actually hire and in that 2 weeks, most will find a job. Its such a vicious cycle and I am within the 2 cities you mentioned above,

 

[MAKAVELI]

Can but they don't HAVE to so...

Not yet...

 

[bbsam]

Not yet...

How long have I heard that around here?

 

[MAKAVELI]

How long have I heard that around here?

Patience is a virtue.

 

[bbsam]

Patience is a virtue.

We're all gonna die too.

 

[MAKAVELI]

We're all gonna die too.

Some sooner than others.

 

[Cactus]

Oh, that won't happen.

Time will tell and probably sooner than later.

Besides, you Express kids couldn't handle Ground freight.

Why would we want to anyway? You're in the furniture /appliance delivery business now, like it or not.

 

[bbsam]

Time will tell and probably sooner than later.

Why would we want to anyway? You're in the furniture /appliance delivery business now, like it or not.

You wouldn't want to. Explain it to sph.

 

[dvalleyjim]

Its really a catch 22 IMHO. Lets say X did compensate us contractors for geographical areas, I am so sorry to admit but there are slum contractors in my terminal that honestly don't give a smilet about there workers and the high turnover or whether they work a night job to support themselves. Under ISP and every other contract X cannot specify what we pay to drivers, thats part of the gray area on control and up to the contractor to set the hourly wage and they (x) wash their hands. No guarantees that the extra money given by X will actually trickle down to higher pay and/or even benefits by the contractor. It would be nice however if we were paid enough to at least have the choice and additional income to be able to pay and keep our turnover ratio to a minimum.

Yes this is a big problem with the ISP model In the RPS days I could bring a driver on. Train him myself and have him or her approved after the drug test and background check came back. This driver could work for me a couple of years and get his own single van contract and start contracting. There was a place for a driver to grow with the company. I started 5 or 6 guys this way. The ISP is a dead end for drivers.

 

[Bounty]

Yes, MFE. That's how corporate America does things. They'll push it to the point of collapse and rebuild. But turn us into employees and watch us become money losers like Express? No. I think he's seeing how that plays out enough to know that's not the right path.

X might not have choice one day

 

[FedGT]

We are for sale and with all the failures with new owners because the smart ones got out before, we are highly concerned that we will not be allowed to sell or take an extremely long time.

We have been the top contractor in our entire terminal 2015 with a score of 99.6% Why? We have 1 full time manager and 1 full floater and me being the 3rd back up. Know how much I have paid myself this year? ZERO, not a single cent.
8 trucks running with 2 backups. Both manager and floater out everyday helping with bulk and stops to ease the pain, neither sitting on their asses doing nothing. Often they help other contractors as well. Even with the 2 backups I have probably driven a combined total of 40 days this year. Yes, crap happens, you think you got yourself covered but things just happens.

All you in ISP or PSA people still know the numbers, not much different anywhere. Try adding 1 guy per your 4 trucks, how much expendable income is actually left to pay yourself? EXACTLY. Its a joke and not worth the headache, counting my days till I am free from this burden

In a lot different part of the country on this end but am set up very much the same as you. 7 regular drivers, 1 full time flex driver, 1 manager, and myself. We pay our drivers well for driving jobs where we are located and am able to pay myself a high driver wage and clear enough in the business account to buy at least 2.5 new 1200s on a yearly basis. Not sure how our dynamics are so much different but it can definitely be a vastly profitable business if you are in the right part of the country. I would say avg 2 bedroom rent in our parts is anywhere between $700-$1100 depending on city or 30 min away suburb.

I do feel for you in this situation I was assuming you guys in these areas had some escalators or some time of sliding scale paying you more per stop and package.

 

[dex 84]

No, I'm suggesting an all employee workforce and the efficiency of combining their ground and air operations is more profitable than FedEx separating its opcos.

This would make a lot of sense if something happened to make the Ground model not sustainable in its current form. It might not have as high of margins on ground shipments but it would be a lot more stable and would require less drivers, less trucks, and less stations/terminals. And as we all know, FedEx is all about doing more with less.

That's not going to happen. You want X to build a model to emulate UPS? And invite in the union? Crazy talk.

Besides, you Express kids couldn't handle Ground freight.

For all we know this might happen in response to organization, if it is ever successful.

And who do you think handled the ground freight before Ground? There will be plenty of complaining when all that heavy starts showing up but we'll get used to it eventually. And then once we're used to putting up with it we'll still complain. Relax, it's FedEx.

 

[It will be fine]

And who do you think handled the ground freight before Ground?

UPS did.

 

[MrFedEx]

Yes this is a big problem with the ISP model In the RPS days I could bring a driver on. Train him myself and have him or her approved after the drug test and background check came back. This driver could work for me a couple of years and get his own single van contract and start contracting. There was a place for a driver to grow with the company. I started 5 or 6 guys this way. The ISP is a dead end for drivers.

In the RPS days, you might actually be able to say it was your business, not Fred's. Ground is clearly run by FDX and not the ISPs and/or contractors. I give the scam about another 2 years before it comes tumbling down.

 

[fatboy33]

All the boys from pittsburgh were up trying to find a out what the hell is going on with this terminal. Its mainly coming from the new contractors but some old as well. They started offering $8.00 a stop to make things happen last month, today, its now $10.00 a stop to get boxes delivered. A few of my buddies came up from Fresno to take advantage of this.

Bottom line dip z if your reading this, freaking pay us contractors more than 2.75 cents a stop and .17 cents a freaking box when a 2 bedroom apartment in the city starts at $2700 dollars a month for a shack. Do the math, 120 stops and 300 boxes and 850.00 month salary. Workers comp that starts around 14-16 per hundred of payroll. We can't keep the employees because if we paid them anymore we would have to borrow to run the business. I can't wait to get out of this company. Independent contractors my arse. More like SLAVES

I am sure they are still making money paying 10 bucks a stop as well.

I know with AIR, pay is based on the city and cost of living in that area. It's willful ignorance on the part of the Ground leaders thinking they can get away without paying a higher wage in a city like SF. Ground will continue to fail so long as the cost of living in Tech city is so expensive. I guess they expect their employee live in Richmond(The Hood) and make the drive into the city. Good luck to you guys.

 

[MAKAVELI]

I know with AIR, pay is based on the city and cost of living in that area. It's willful ignorance on the part of the Ground leaders thinking they can get away without paying a higher wage in a city like SF. Ground will continue to fail so long as the cost of living in Tech city is so expensive. I guess they expect their employee live in Richmond(The Hood) and make the drive into the city. Good luck to you guys.

Actually at Express it has nothing to do with cost of living. It has to do with turnover, employee retention and comparable salaries in the area. In other words, they only pay what they feel they need to pay for a specific area. As long as FedEx can pass that responsibility to the contractors, they will.

 

[gixxer squid]

In a lot different part of the country on this end but am set up very much the same as you. 7 regular drivers, 1 full time flex driver, 1 manager, and myself. We pay our drivers well for driving jobs where we are located and am able to pay myself a high driver wage and clear enough in the business account to buy at least 2.5 new 1200s on a yearly basis. Not sure how our dynamics are so much different but it can definitely be a vastly profitable business if you are in the right part of the country. I would say avg 2 bedroom rent in our parts is anywhere between $700-$1100 depending on city or 30 min away suburb.

I do feel for you in this situation I was assuming you guys in these areas had some escalators or some time of sliding scale paying you more per stop and package.

I am native californian, but its gotten out of control. Water bill is 100 month, electricity runs 200-250 plus a month, insurance, gas is expensive as hell. We have a refining plant in Martinez less than 45 minutes away but gas is more expensive than in the desert areas or areas that have to be trucked in for hours. Worker comp higher, actually, not even sure whats NOT higher than anywhere else.

That and this state is infested with the likes of Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein who moronic liberal morons don't kick out of office.....

 

[gixxer squid]

I know with AIR, pay is based on the city and cost of living in that area. It's willful ignorance on the part of the Ground leaders thinking they can get away without paying a higher wage in a city like SF. Ground will continue to fail so long as the cost of living in Tech city is so expensive. I guess they expect their employee live in Richmond(The Hood) and make the drive into the city. Good luck to you guys.

Ha, apparently you haven't been the the recent bay area commute. What takes 30 minutes on the weekend now takes 1.5 hours during commute time. Carpool used to be a beautiful thing now congested with the (If I could ever run a car over it would be this one without a doubt) prius and chevy volt owners clogging car pool since they can with only 1 person. Richmond, more like Vallejo and East Oakland or Union city now....

Again, ISP washes its hands of anything, its the contractors problem, NEVER theirs. Too bad all the other contractors would strike for a week until we got 10 bucks a stop, we all know about it.......

 

[fatboy33]

I am native californian, but its gotten out of control. Water bill is 100 month, electricity runs 200-250 plus a month, insurance, gas is expensive as hell. We have a refining plant in Martinez less than 45 minutes away but gas is more expensive than in the desert areas or areas that have to be trucked in for hours. Worker comp higher, actually, not even sure whats NOT higher than anywhere else.

That and this state is infested with the likes of Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein who moronic liberal morons don't kick out of office.....

You say you're a native but you fail to realize California is a liberal state. Why would a liberal state kick out liberal politicians?
Are you saying Richmond is now a nice place to live? Things have chanced. I assume East Oakland is still a S-hole?