New Policy Phasing PT'ers Out?

MassWineGuy

Well-Known Member
For the last two weeks I've been leaving the building with about 23 stops. I'm pm part time w/Express and mostly do pickups. I was usually averaging about 30 or so. Mine is a busy route and I usually get on-calls on the road. These plus sweeps I request for drop boxes bring my stops back up.

Turns out there's a new policy being rolled out nationally where day shift drivers will pick up on-calls that are ready early in the day. Eventually, pt hours may shift, be reduced and routes consolidated "to improve efficiency," as my manager explained it. Most full time drivers at my station are hardly reaching 40 hours/week, and often less.

He told me that the company has to assure that it can pay pensions and/or other retirement benefits in 20 or 30 years. It earns $0.09 on each dollar spent, according to him. That's $90,000 on each million spent. Apparently enough for Fred S to get a $2 million raise last year.

FedEx needs part timers so it makes no sense thinking this policy is intended to make them quit. If that is the goal, it's a mystery as to why.

Have other pt drivers seen recent changes at their stations?
 

MAKAVELI

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I know. Still, the medical plan is worth it to me even if my hours get reduced.
I don't think their intentions are they want pt workers to quit. Rather they might be finally realizing that utilizing ft routes to cover pu where they can to increase efficiency. It's about damn time they start trying to emulate UPS as far as efficiency.
 

Purplepackage

Well-Known Member
For the last two weeks I've been leaving the building with about 23 stops. I'm pm part time w/Express and mostly do pickups. I was usually averaging about 30 or so. Mine is a busy route and I usually get on-calls on the road. These plus sweeps I request for drop boxes bring my stops back up.

Turns out there's a new policy being rolled out nationally where day shift drivers will pick up on-calls that are ready early in the day. Eventually, pt hours may shift, be reduced and routes consolidated "to improve efficiency," as my manager explained it. Most full time drivers at my station are hardly reaching 40 hours/week, and often less.

He told me that the company has to assure that it can pay pensions and/or other retirement benefits in 20 or 30 years. It earns $0.09 on each dollar spent, according to him. That's $90,000 on each million spent. Apparently enough for Fred S to get a $2 million raise last year.

FedEx needs part timers so it makes no sense thinking this policy is intended to make them quit. If that is the goal, it's a mystery as to why.

Have other pt drivers seen recent changes at their stations?

Just my opinion but Fedex doesn't need part timers. The AM guy who is punching out at 3:30 everyday could easily cover the pup route in his area. Fedex just doesn't want to pay him 55 hours a week, in reality we don't need part timers
 

Oldfart

Well-Known Member
For the last two weeks I've been leaving the building with about 23 stops. I'm pm part time w/Express and mostly do pickups. I was usually averaging about 30 or so. Mine is a busy route and I usually get on-calls on the road. These plus sweeps I request for drop boxes bring my stops back up.

Turns out there's a new policy being rolled out nationally where day shift drivers will pick up on-calls that are ready early in the day. Eventually, pt hours may shift, be reduced and routes consolidated "to improve efficiency," as my manager explained it. Most full time drivers at my station are hardly reaching 40 hours/week, and often less.

He told me that the company has to assure that it can pay pensions and/or other retirement benefits in 20 or 30 years. It earns $0.09 on each dollar spent, according to him. That's $90,000 on each million spent. Apparently enough for Fred S to get a $2 million raise last year.

FedEx needs part timers so it makes no sense thinking this policy is intended to make them quit. If that is the goal, it's a mystery as to why.

Have other pt drivers seen recent changes at their stations?
Your manager is full of it. There are several reasons for that policy but those aren't it. It is an efficiency ploy like mentioned above. Also, for stations with multiple outbound flights, they want as much early freight to the station as possible. Cutting PT rts is not a way to fund the pension. If anything, PT people at my station are a benefit because they are newer and make less money so they can so the job cheaper and cut down on OT. We just can't seem to find many PT that want to work more than the minimum. Too many of them are married to doctors and lawyers. We tried that policy but abandoned it after 1 week. Too many PM rts had no trucks to drive because we were busy making their pu and it just added to our OT
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Just my opinion but Fedex doesn't need part timers. The AM guy who is punching out at 3:30 everyday could easily cover the pup route in his area. Fedex just doesn't want to pay him 55 hours a week, in reality we don't need part timers

It's obvious you don't pay the bills.

As I understand it, FTers are guaranteed 35 hours/week and PTers 17.5, at a much lower rate of pay. Eliminating the PTers and shifting those hours to the FTers would dramatically increase labor costs.

Using your example and round numbers, shifting the 20 hours to the FTer would result in 5 additional hours at $20/hr and 15 hours at $30/hr, resulting in a $550 increase in their weekly gross. Using the PTer for 20 hours at $15/hr would only cost $300. $550-300= $250. $250 * 52 = $13,000.

Your suggestion to eliminate the lower paid option in favor of the higher shows that you really don't have a clue.
 

Operational needs

Virescit Vulnere Virtus
It's obvious you don't pay the bills.

As I understand it, FTers are guaranteed 35 hours/week and PTers 17.5, at a much lower rate of pay. Eliminating the PTers and shifting those hours to the FTers would dramatically increase labor costs.

Using your example and round numbers, shifting the 20 hours to the FTer would result in 5 additional hours at $20/hr and 15 hours at $30/hr, resulting in a $550 increase in their weekly gross. Using the PTer for 20 hours at $15/hr would only cost $300. $550-300= $250. $250 * 52 = $13,000.

Your suggestion to eliminate the lower paid option in favor of the higher shows that you really don't have a clue.
Umm Dave, there is no difference in pay between FTers and PTers if they've been employed at FedEx for the same amount of time.
 

McFeely

Huge Member
I'm not even sure that my station has any PM PT pup routes any more. Any time we have a PM PT employee, they either convert to FT or just leave the company in short order.

As a result, a lot of our swings are doing P1 overflow then going on a 4 hour break until they do a pickup route in the afternoon.
 

MassWineGuy

Well-Known Member
Ok wait a second. Did he just say he goes out with 23 stops and his route is busy? LOL

No, no. I meant just the opposite. If I'm on the road by 3:15 I get back about 7:45. Maybe sooner, though db's can't be done early. If I have 34 or 35 stops, it could be after 8. Cans need to be in the truck no later than 8:30, so that's pushing it.

Mak, I agree with your point.
 

dezguy

Well-Known Member
Up here, they're drooling at the idea of taking ft routes and splitting them into pt routes. Have about 10 guys retiring in the next 5 years.
 

bacha29

Well-Known Member
Welcome to FedEx.
Change is the only constant and nothing's binding. Trying to accurately estimate where volume levels will be has always been the bane of that industry and over at Ground contractors have to literally guess at how big or small their loads are going to be and how much assets they need to have available .When it comes to contractors obtaining volume projections from management they practically have to choke it out of them. At small stations ISP's cannot afford to pay guys just to have them there every morning no matter how many boxes show up and management in it's infinite wisdom believes that all an ISP has to do is wave their magic wand a truck appears ,pick up their phone and somebody will always come running.
 

McFeely

Huge Member
I gotta wonder where the breakover point is for FT vs. PT drivers. I mean, if you have PTers in the morning doing P1 overflow, you gotta have more vehicles and PowerPads. Same goes for the afternoons. More PPADs and vehicles cost money, but so does having a FT route getting 1-2 hours of overtime a day. Also, more routes on-road decreases station productivity because of stem time.

When we have late freight, the regular FT route driver doesn't get back early enough for a PT pup route to use his vehicle or PPAD. So then what? The pup route starts their route late, possibly jeopardizing the CTV pull that evening.

I know we can't hold onto PTers in the afternoon shift because of either lack of hours or the pay. And most FTers in my station would love to get about 45 hours a week just to make it easier on their budget (myself included).
 

Operational needs

Virescit Vulnere Virtus
Management in my station (or above) has decided to push start times for PM couriers later and later and then they wonder why people are constantly quitting. Umm, could it be because they're not getting any hours? Maybe they realize the benefits really do suck? Nope, it's because we don't have good public transportation......Nevermind that there has been a bus stop in front of our station for years and it's never been a problem til now. Lol.
 
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