With all due respect I have no idea why you guys are debating the how and why of trying to figure out what kind of raises they hand out. The day of yearly raises is over. That's gone. Memphis has set a precedent in the last 5 years that they will give out raises when they want and how they want and if they decide they don't want to, well too friggan bad. There's the door. Don't let it hit ya where the good lord split ya. That's the main reason I'm gone from this company in the next 3 months. We are all at FedEx or any job for that matter for the money.
My personal belief with the way they have handled the lack of raises the last few years, was they had a well thought out calculated plan. They stop handing out yearly raises altogether or hand them out very sporadically (one every 3-5 years). The topped out couriers eventually retire or quit or are fired. And no courier at FedEx ever makes that kind of wage again.
Are you actually a courier? In the last 5 years, 2008-2012, they only had one year that they didn't give a raise. Three years the raise was either 2% or 2.5% based on seniority, and in 2012 they gave 3% to topped out employees, and either 3, 5, or 6% to midrange employees based on where you were in the pay range. Which appears to be what they will be doing in October.