I've made no secret of the fact that I do have sources that feed me information.
I based my postings on Monday off a pre-release document I received the Thursday prior and spent the weekend trying to confirm the information with another person before I posted. I was frankly shocked that they would give a 5-6% raise to those in the top half, while giving only a 3% raise to the lower half. I simply didn't believe the FedEx would pull such a crass move - thus the delay in posting until I could get confirmation. Once I did get confirmation, I posted.
I'll still won't and never will reveal my identity or theirs, since first it will add no weight to the truth of what I write and second it may cause considerable harm to those who do give me information. There are a great many within the walls of corporate headquarters who do not like the way the company has been and continues to be transformed and do what they can to get the word out to those who will listen while not jeopardizing their own jobs.
FedEx has been on a deliberate, slow, methodical path towards eliminating career wage employees while doing it slowly enough to avoid a sudden surge of representation card signing. They've also pissed off a lot of salaried employees who did make the decision to make Express a career - only to have their pension plan gutted a few years ago. In all of this, that was the biggest mistake FedEx did - they broke faith with the salaried work force by gutting the pension plan - thus the leaking of information when possible.
The handing out of the "bump" to those that are most pissed off right now is the short term solution to what has been a building discontent. It's the tradition from the Roman Empire than when the plebeians get pissed - throw around some bread and gold - then hold a really good game to two to take their attention off the real issues. Half got something (not a lot) and the other half got screwed with a cost of living adjustment that is already being ate up by the increased premiums and copays of their health insurance. Put a coin in one pocket then take a coin out of the back pocket - all the while telling the person that they should be thankful that they have a job and shouldn't complain.
You've been with the company long enough to know the FedEx of 10 years ago isn't the FedEx of today. The uniforms are the same, the vehicles, the moving of time sensitive volume...
What isn't the same is that Express employees went from being compensated and treated like they were the best in the industry to being compensated and treated like they are low life. FedEx has taken full advantage of the economic downturn to intensify the atmosphere of threats, intimidation, and coercion to get its way with wage employees. In addition, there has been compensation stagnation since March 2008 - and when the gutting of the pension plan along with increases in benefit premiums, copays and deductibles are considered - a backward slide in overall compensation has taken place.
Express wage employees have gone from being solidly in the middle class, to being in the lower middle class with no chance of advancing out of that situation as long as they stay with Express while it is being run the way it is.
There are two ways an individual can either change or attempt to change this situation. First, they can leave FedEx. Odds are, they will be better compensated once they can find something. Oddly enough - this is also Fred's goal - get the malcontents to leave. Second, start grassroots organizing and get a voice at the table when it comes to determining what the compensation package is going to be. You know damn good and well, no feedback was sought in regards to compensation - Memphis ran their numbers and did a cost/benefit analysis and determined that by giving a bit of extra pay to those who are most vocal, will soothe them just enough to prevent any problems for the next year.
Meanwhile the defined pension plan is starting to become a distant memory and more and more salaried employees are realizing that their retirement is now going to be (after all sources of retirement income is considered, including Social Security) about one-third less that they planned on it being just 5 years ago.
Yes, loyalty to FedEx is at an all-time low. The question is whether the wage employees will finally decide they've had enough and certify a union - or if they'll allow themselves to be intimidated and bought-off with a few extra dollars to keep them from signing that card. Many salaried employees know that the only hope for Express - is to have a union certified for the wage employees, have them negotiate a reinstatement of either the defined benefit plan or have the contribution to the PPP brought up to 13% (or so) - so that Express would have no choice but to do the same for the salaried workforce. The intelligent managers at local level know that the only hope for their compensation package, is that if an union is certified. Because if Courier, RTD, Ramp Agent and CSA compensation goes up - theirs will too (or Memphis won't be able to hold people in lower and mid-level management).
