Sustainability--The Top of the Lie Pyramid

[MrFedEx]

Perhaps you have seen the new FedEx ad touting our "sustainability" on televison. Fairyland creatures live in an "enchanted forest" (thanks, vantexan) that is in perfect harmony with ultra-green FedEx. This is fertilizer of the highest order, but since being green sells, Fred is going to weave a whopper of a tale about just how concerned FedEx is about the environment.

As I walked down the line of CTV's at the ramp this morning, it was raining, and there was a rainbow trail of oil leading straight into a storm drain that leads into our local creek. I told one of the RTD's that he had an oil leak, and he just laughed. Apparently, most of the older trucks lose a couple quarts per week because they leak like a sieve and FedEx won't pay too fix them. The tractors are "too old" and not worth the repair investment. That's pretty "green". FedEx moves vehicles out of states with strict Clean Air laws to other states that have less stringent laws. The vehicle just pollutes somewhere else for another 15 years. See any of those "clean machines" outside of a few particular states? No, you don't. If Fred spent an extra dime on the environment it's because there was a gun to his head.

At my station, we still have several 80's vintage W600's and 700's. They also leak (badly), and especially like to weep transmission fluid, to the point where drivers are warned to watch the level daily. Drip pans catch most of it at the station, but don't they leak on the road too? Extremely green.

Oh, and how about that executive jet fleet? If Senator Blowhole of TN wants a FedEx jet to fly him to his girlfriend's house in Los Angeles, FedEx will do it, because Blowhole will vote Fred's way on anti-union and other pro-FedEx legislation. Pure green....for Blowhole.

And when you send (or receive) that vital box of candy, Italian shoes, or video games, never mind that a fuel-guzzling MD10 burned through a few hundred gallons of Jet-A just waiting to take off. Who is the #2 user of jet fuel in the world? FedEx. Very, very green. And who would be the #2 contributor to flooding the atmosphere with greenhouse gases? Why, that would be FedEx too. Fred is buying new cleaner jets, at the expense of his poorly-paid hourly employees, and he'll sell the old ones to Botswana Express so they can fly drugs all over the world and pollute there too. Green as the Lucky Charms guy.

Electric trucks and hybrids. Any at your station? I've seen one, which was on a tour...that's it. Hey Fred!! Exactly what percentage of our fleet is electric, hybrid, or alternatively-fueled? What? I can't hear your answer. Uh oh...that few, huh? Oh, and you didn't really invent that particular electric van, did you? You pretended that we financed the R&D, when nothing of the sort happened, and then heavily publicized this tepid turd on the famous Route 66 Tour, during which the TT was trailered much of the way. Oops, another lie.

Lies, untruths, and misrepresentations, all from the master of all that is false and misleading....FedEx.

Please show all of those little forest creatures and fairies gasping for breath and keeling over as a fleet of FedEx planes and vehicles passes through the "enchanted forest". That would be truth in advertising.

 

[DOWNTRODDEN IN TEXAS]

One of the guys at my station has a Prius...does that count toward FedEx being "green"? Or is this more in-line with the "employee financed charitable contributions" that Uncle Fredward takes the credit for?

 

[vantexan]

We watched MT3 discuss TVgate on Frontline this morning. I'm guessing all of this is PR to take the public's mind off a well thrown pkg.

 

[Ghostwriter]

All of these replies are great! One thing I learned (in college) Biological Preservation and Ethics 101, was that; no matter if we all fueled our vehicles with biodegradable glitter it has little to do with solving the actual problem. The one most consuming/ polluting resource (by which no licenses need be obtained) is people. People living longer, no restriction on actual number of people, (shoot, there are 15 year olds having babies). I'm off track (I know). Lets say a person threw a party for 15 people, (food and refreshments for 15 people). Then lets say 65 people arrived, then 100. Its safe to bet that it would not be a party. (just a thought)

ghost.

 

[DOWNTRODDEN IN TEXAS]

I hate it when I throw parties and more than anticipated show up...but my parties used to be E P I C..(as the kids say now)...lol

 

[snackdad]

On the station level FedEx is the antithesis of "Green". I saw so much waste everyday it made me sick. Nobody cared or had the time to care.
Sometimes a company would shut down or move and a courier would have to do a pick up to get all the supplies. Well most of these supplies were half boxes of letters and courier paks. Maybe a stack of mismatched courier boxes and a mixed pile of airbill pouches and airbills. Now some of the supplies did come in folded or so unorganized it was not worth the time to separate them but our station SAL agent or CSA would toss EVERYTHING into the dumpster, not even the recycling bin. I would see rolls of bubble wrap in the dumpster and when I asked why it was there they said a customer dropped it off but since we SELL bubble wrap we just throw it away.
One Christmas there was a food drive. At first some people brought in food like Ramen, Mac n Cheese, Soups, canned goods. Well Christmas came and went. Nobody had time to go drop off the food collected. The CSA's started treating the donation barrel as a snack bar. Eventually people used the collection barrel as a trash can. In the spring when Christmas and hungry homeless were a distant memory the whole barrel, trash, and food all just went into the dumpster. Now that is GREEN!
We have a warehouse floor that floods every year. It has never been fixed in over 25 years. The water pools up inside and the safety messages go out like crazy to warn us if we get hurt it is our fault. OSHA has come several times, FedEx has paid the fines but refuses to do anything about the skating rink/pool that develops there every year. I have seen so many slips, falls and sliding vehicle accidents that it is comical.
Well management has figured out a great solution. Order tons of large courier boxes and lay them down in the water covering all the puddles to create a safe walkway through the swamp for us. When the boxes get waterlogged, add more or eventually shovel up the pulpy mess when we have a break in the rain storms.
FedEx touting itself as a green company, as a people company, as a safety company, as a customer service company, etc. it is all just slick public relations. Keep the machine rolling, just add fresh bodies and a good measure of falsehoods and lies and intimidation.
One thing I thought about recently is that the dynamic between couriers and management is an amazing us versus them daily dance and drama. Some days are normal until managers get a memo or something goes wrong and then it's General Quarters, heightened alert for everyone. Who is on the hot seat today? Who will get an OLCC today, for what? Which of us is so high up the food chain that they are protected by management. Probably the ones acting as informants and snitches in the station for managers. If someone gets a letter or god forbid a termination the rumor mills go full steam compounded by the silent and serious demeanor of management.
Managers play the couriers off of each other. They force us to cannibalize our warehouse friendships. For some it is better to throw your co-worker under the bus rather than be run over. I sure would not want to be surfing with that guy when a shark shows up.
Managers routinely hand out OLCCs, gather statements from one courier against another. Often couriers do not know they have a choice. Do not sign anything, never make a statement, keep every paper, trust few and cover your back. Check 6.

 

[snackdad]

FedEx promises innovation to help the environment and when it is not be delivered blames it on not wanting to give an advantage to the competition.


"WHEN BREAK-EVEN WON'T DO
Larger-scale versions of his lightbulb struggle are playing out at numerous other companies. Hailed as an environmental pioneer, FedEx (FDX ) says on its Web site that it is "committed to the use of innovations and technologies to minimize greenhouse gases." With 70,000 ground vehicles and 670 planes burning fuel, the world's largest shipper is a huge producer of heat-trapping gases. Back in 2003, FedEx announced that it would soon begin deploying clean-burning hybrid trucks at a rate of 3,000 a year, eventually sparing the atmosphere 250,000 tons of greenhouse gases annually from diesel-engine vehicles. "This program has the potential to replace the company's 30,000 medium-duty trucks over the next 10 years," FedEx announced at the time. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the effort a Clean Air Excellence prize in 2004.

Four years later, FedEx has purchased fewer than 100 hybrid trucks, or less than one-third of one percent of its fleet. At $70,000 and up, the hybrids cost at least 75% more than conventional trucks, although fuel savings should pay for the difference over the 10-year lifespan of the vehicles. FedEx, which reported record profits of $2 billion for the fiscal year that ended May 31, decided that breaking even over a decade wasn't the best use of company capital. "We do have a fiduciary responsibility to our shareholders," says environmental director Mitch Jackson. "We can't subsidize the development of this technology for our competitors."

 

[MrFedEx]

In other words, another LIE.

 

[Cactus]

Back in 2003, FedEx announced that it would soon begin deploying clean-burning hybrid trucks at a rate of 3,000 a year, eventually sparing the atmosphere 250,000 tons of greenhouse gases annually from diesel-engine vehicles. "This program has the potential to replace the company's 30,000 medium-duty trucks over the next 10 years," FedEx announced at the time. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the effort a Clean Air Excellence prize in 2004.

Fred must have greased the EPA's pockets 'cause FedEx sure as hell didn't do anything they said they were gonna do.

"We do have a fiduciary responsibility to our shareholders," says environmental director Mitch Jackson. "We can't subsidize the development of this technology for our competitors."

Environmental director? Jeez.....gimme a break.

That's probably another $120,000 a year in wages thrown down the toilet but typical for a company that is way too top heavy with white collar postions.

 

[MrFedEx]

Fred must have greased the EPA's pockets 'cause FedEx sure as hell didn't do anything they said they were gonna do.



Environmental director? Jeez.....gimme a break.

That's probably another $120,000 a year in wages thrown down the toilet but typical for a company that is way too top heavy with white collar postions.

You have a "bad attitude" for questioning the FedEx commitment to being green. Your station will be getting an electric van in 2015. That's how long it takes to get there from Memphis. I can almost guarantee you that the position of "Environmental Director" has a lot more to do with spreading PR manure than actually doing anything "green". Fred is saving the green, but not in any way remotely connected to the environment.

When is this company going to be fully exposed as the steaming sack of crap it is?

 

[Cactus]

You have a "bad attitude" for questioning the FedEx commitment to being green.

Damn, there I go again. Sorry 'bout the "bad attitude" but I'm so overwhelmed with stops today that I forgot that the green IS in Fred's pockets along with his cronies. So yes their commitment to green is there and it's iron clad.

 

[Cactus]

I can almost guarantee you that the position of "Environmental Director" has a lot more to do with spreading PR manure than actually doing anything "green". Fred is saving the green, but not in any way remotely connected to the environment.

When is this company going to be fully exposed as the steaming sack of crap it is?

Bullseye!