Seniority for Swing Drivers- Hours and Shifts

[McFeely]

They take care of the swings at our station. They pay them over $3 more per hour. Is that not company wide?

I'm honestly not sure what the pay differential is for swings at my station. I think starting wage is something like $1.30 more an hour than a regular courier. That $1.30 extra doesn't mean much when you're on a split shift and taking a 4.5 hour break between 10:30 and 15:00. Especially if you're nowhere near your home to take your break or run errands.

Swings in my station are in a FedEx vehicle/uniform from 07:30 until 18:45 five days a week, yet some barely get 40 hours.

 

[Star B]

I'm honestly not sure what the pay differential is for swings at my station. I think starting wage is something like $1.30 more an hour than a regular courier.

That sounds about right. Thankfully my manager doesn't pull that split shift BS often (if at all)... if he's calling you in, he is giving you enough work from when you go on road to take you very close to the start of your PUP route. Swings seem to stay at our station... because the manager doesn't pull nearly as much crap as other stations do apparently.

 

[McFeely]

And our manager wonders why we have high turnover and an employee morale problem. Lol.

 

[Oldfart]

Our station doesn't have splits. We have about 18 swings that run am only. I never see half of them because they usually stay on the other belt. Our managers allow the swings to swap routes if one feels more comfortable on a route than another. We have a couple of part time swings to cover part time routes so the full time swings get plenty of hours. Our swings usually don't even apply for open routes for 1 reason or another so they must like their situation. Most of our open routes are given to people hired thru jcats or pm people wanting am.

 

[whenIgetthere]

They take care of the swings at our station. They pay them over $3 more per hour. Is that not company wide?

Swing gets an additional 67 cents/hour here. I was a swing for 14 years, it ain't worth it for all the BS they have to deal with. What pay scale pays three bucks/hour for a swing? I've been in two pay scales, the first was a dollar/hour for swings.

 

[whenIgetthere]

Our station doesn't have splits. We have about 18 swings that run am only. I never see half of them because they usually stay on the other belt. Our managers allow the swings to swap routes if one feels more comfortable on a route than another. We have a couple of part time swings to cover part time routes so the full time swings get plenty of hours. Our swings usually don't even apply for open routes for 1 reason or another so they must like their situation. Most of our open routes are given to people hired thru jcats or pm people wanting am.

Many of the open routes at my last station where I was a swing were not open to swings to bid. They had a good set of swings, so they would prevent us from bidding, claiming we were a different job classification, true to a small degree. I never had a shot at any of those open routes, but the more senior swings did. One of them GFT'd that type bidding and lost.

 

[Purplepackage]

That sounds about right. Thankfully my manager doesn't pull that split shift BS often (if at all)... if he's calling you in, he is giving you enough work from when you go on road to take you very close to the start of your PUP route. Swings seem to stay at our station... because the manager doesn't pull nearly as much crap as other stations do apparently.

My manager did a good job not scheduling splits, but when he did I would just milk what I had to make sure I could only take an hour break.

We would have 4-5 swings on routes and then an extra for overflow. My favorite weeks were when I would do a different route (and usually totally different areas in 3 counties) everyday of the week. Talk about a mind

 

[Fred's Myth]

Many of the open routes at my last station where I was a swing were not open to swings to bid. They had a good set of swings, so they would prevent us from bidding, claiming we were a different job classification, true to a small degree. I never had a shot at any of those open routes, but the more senior swings did. One of them GFT'd that type bidding and lost.

Swings are required to resign their position in writing before they are allowed
to bid on open positions, not open routes. Management always filled open routes before posting the position, so that the crappy route was the only thing available once the downbid swing stepped down, in effect preventing the swing from downbidding. The swing also loses their premium as well as the incremental raises on that premium. A very discouraging set of circumstances that I believe is discriminatory and is in violation of Fedex's own Fair Treatment policy.

 

[BootsOnTarmac]

When you say "open positions" and "Management.........posting the position" are you talking about JCATS postings?

 

[Swngdrvr]

The "swing premium" here was .30, and it is gone after our most recent raise. It was used to calculate the raise however.

 

[Oldfart]

Our swings make 28.46, same as dispatch and RTD. Courier top is 25.31 or so. Our swings get to bid on internal rt postings and fall in line with the regular couriers using seniority. We haven't had a swing take an open rt in a while. They seem to like the extra money and the change of scenery.

 

[whenIgetthere]

Our swings make 28.46, same as dispatch and RTD. Courier top is 25.31 or so. Our swings get to bid on internal rt postings and fall in line with the regular couriers using seniority. We haven't had a swing take an open rt in a while. They seem to like the extra money and the change of scenery.

Topped out swings make that, not all swings. Most swings are nowhere near top of range. TOR for swings at my station was 28 and change when I took a route, I was making 20.45.

 

[whenIgetthere]

Swings are required to resign their position in writing before they are allowed
to bid on open positions, not open routes. Management always filled open routes before posting the position, so that the crappy route was the only thing available once the downbid swing stepped down, in effect preventing the swing from downbidding. The swing also loses their premium as well as the incremental raises on that premium. A very discouraging set of circumstances that I believe is discriminatory and is in violation of Fedex's own Fair Treatment policy.

I didn't resign my position when I bid on an open route. I was given an offer letter for the route after three other couriers turned it down. Hurt taking more than a two dollar and hour cut in pay, but I got some resemblance of a life back.

 

[whenIgetthere]

When you say "open positions" and "Management.........posting the position" are you talking about JCATS postings?

Usually internal postings, only PT and crap routes go to JCATS here.

 

[Oldfart]

Topped out swings make that, not all swings. Most swings are nowhere near top of range. TOR for swings at my station was 28 and change when I took a route, I was making 20.45.

All of our FT swings are topped out. I was told the only swings we have that are not are the couple of PT swings we have. I don't even know who they are because they seem to only run FO routes and maybe a PT route on the other belt and I never see them.

 

[Fred's Myth]

I didn't resign my position when I bid on an open route. I was given an offer letter for the route after three other couriers turned it down. Hurt taking more than a two dollar and hour cut in pay, but I got some resemblance of a life back.

I did the same thing, bid on open route, informing my manager that I wanted the posted route. Before he would even consider my bid, I was required to resign as a swing, in writing. He stated that this requirement was Fedex Policy, not his. Hopefully, as in your case, the policy has changed. The 30-cent premium I received at the time, in lieu of my scheduled raise, (against company policy to give simultaneous raises) became a $1.57 penalty taken away when I stepped down. Sorry, but compounding doesn't explain that result. This form of financial rape is why I still harbor hard feelings.

 

[Purplepackage]

Topped out swings make that, not all swings. Most swings are nowhere near top of range. TOR for swings at my station was 28 and change when I took a route, I was making 20.45.

Before I moved I was making 29.80 or something like that as a topped out swing, I'm pretty sure in the San fransico market top swing pay is a few dollars over 30

 

[whenIgetthere]

I did the same thing, bid on open route, informing my manager that I wanted the posted route. Before he would even consider my bid, I was required to resign as a swing, in writing. He stated that this requirement was Fedex Policy, not his. Hopefully, as in your case, the policy has changed. The 30-cent premium I received at the time, in lieu of my scheduled raise, (against company policy to give simultaneous raises) became a $1.57 penalty taken away when I stepped down. Sorry, but compounding doesn't explain that result. This form of financial rape is why I still harbor hard feelings.

I agree with you on the unfair practice of screwing swings who 'downgrade'. When I became a swing at my second station, I got an extra 67 cents/hour plus the 30 cents/hour premium. When I took the open route, I lost more than two dollars per hour (not even including the 30 cent premium), and I had only been a swing at that station for the 18 months in my commit letter. I was lucky, the route became available the day after my 18 months was up. Policy must have changed, because I didn't have to sign a LOR either time I became a swing.

 

[Yomama11]

Talk to your SM. If he/she does nothing, tell him you will be calling HR. The hours should be spread out. If you don't press the issue, nothing will change. You have to be willing to fight though. If they come back with the BS response about area knowledge, let them know that that is only PART of what the policy says. It also says that management must train you.[/QUOTE

 

[59 Dano]

Hello all, I'm a 19 year FedEx emp. I'm a swing driver, due to me transferring. I have the most seniority in my loop of swing drivers, but keep getting a crap schedule, working two or three splits a weekand, which I usually get paid the min. 7 hrs, get minimum 35hr pay at least twice a month, while other swings are getting overtime every day and not working splits or pick ups. Isn't the senior emp supposed to get the most hours? I've addressed this to my manager, but favoritism is still a problem. Any insights? Thank.

The policy for scheduling swings is that there is no policy for scheduling swings. Management can schedule swings however they want. The senior swing is entitled to whatever the manager decides.