In Canada,at the local level,the two jobs between UPS driver and Fedex driver may seem to be one and the same type of job. In some ways they are,but only in driving a truck to deliver are they the same job. The difference is in the freight itself. Where UPS is more like a freight forwarder,Fedex is more document oriented. And,Fedex,because of it's tight controls on hazardous goods,seems to be much better organized with that kind of commodity. Fedex may be a little top heavy as far as management goes,but it is appears to be better organized at the lowly "front-line" employee level. If you are a driver,and have some concerns for a customer,you can realy the info to your sales rep,and they (usually) will go and see the customer to help them overcome whatever problem they may be having. From what I see at UPS,the sales people are not required to 'hold the customer's hand",and try and solve some of the problems they may have. Case in point, I had a complaint about a local cusotmer,they were having billing issues. I relayed the info to my local sales rep,who then emailed someone in accounting,who point blankly said, "they are in arrears,if they can't keep their payments up to catch up,we will not deal with them,and are sending them to collections". The customer WANTS to use UPS,but can't,becuz they are a small company and don't have alot of cash flow. they had workied out some sort of repayment plan with the former UPS collection person,but that person quit,and a new collections person took over,who then changed the payment plan,and was not willing to budge,at all. The collection person agreed this was account that was worth a potential $30K a year for the company,but would not deviate from his payment plan,and therefore,would not help this small company grow and expand,and grow some more,etc.
Anyways,maybe in the States,where UPS air and ground drivers are each handling only air and/or ground freight,it might appear that you and the Fedex guy you share a route with,it looks like the same job. But it really isn't. Because of Fedex's airline status,the rules of the courier game differ greatly.And Fedex has ALOT more rules to begin with that UPS drivers don't have to contend with.
You want a raise?..that Fedex manager now has about a 12 page,very detailed review they must complete,in order for you to get that raise,. And you,as an employee,have alot to do with the size of that raise. You want more money?..You dress the professional part,you come to work everyday,as every sick day counts against you.You turn in those sales leads,you go the extra mile for customers(whether they 'deserve'it or not)..you start helping before you are asked or told..you show initiative. I'm sure there are plenty of UPS'ers that do that too. But your union also protects alot of lazy,selfish workers. At Fedex,if you get fired?..end of story..at UPS,no worries,your union will get you your job back,whether you deserve it or not.
Yes,alot of UPS'ers work WAY harder than the Fedex guy,you also get more per hour at top wage...but you get paid more per hour right from the beginning...no 30 months of waiting to get to top wage. Benefits start the day you start as permanent employee at Fedex. No union dues to pay either.
And then there are the perks,especially the discounted shipping rates,and the interline agreement,which enable every Fedex'er to fly on most regular scheduled airline(not charters)..
UPS may have been around for 102 years,but they keep thinking like a dinosaur,in recognizing the contribution a well,looked after workforce can do for a company. Low turnover being a good point.Every new employee costs a company alot of money to get up to speed,and it takes time to learn all the ropes of a job. If you can keep your employees,that cost goes down...way down..because now,that longer term employee knows how to do the job more efficiently,thereby saving the company time and alot of money.
Companies have to work smarter nowadays,not necessarily harder.