The time is now

[partykid]

If and When Fed-Ex ever goes Union...,,,, All you guys that are groning and moning about its VERY SIMPLE!! The pay and benefit increases that you get, Call your Fred an tell him to take it from your check you dont want it!!!! Im sure he'll argue with you

 

[Testicular Fortitude]

most stations posted fedex’s response to the house passing the faa reauthorization bill, and the senate not yet having taken it up (under bronczek’s signature), monday. It is rather long, but gives the game plan for fedex to defeat attempts by its hourly employees to successfully establish collective bargaining. It is full of the usual fedex euphuisms and distortions regarding the issues at hand.

completely absent from the document was any mention of the unilateral abrogation of the defined benefit pension plan last year, the “suspension” of the 401k matching funds (which was supposed to be our “remedy” to make up for the gutted pension plan) and the pay freeze that has been in effect for the past 10+ weeks (contrary to the “psp” philosophy fedex practiced till a few years ago). Bronczek states that fedex prefers a “direct relationship with its employees” (euphuism for a non-union company). When a company uses the “direct relationship…” phrase, it is carefully dancing around the fact that it is anti-union, and doesn’t want to have to compensate its employees as other union companies compensate their employees.

bronczek goes on to state that both the teamsters and ups are in favor of fedex losing its rla exemption, which by definition is bad for fedex. He is absolutely right. It would be bad for the senior management and executives to have a union make its way into express, and force a halt to the take-away’s which have characterized the relationship for the past few years. No hourly employee should ever make the mistake of assuming that what is good for fedex (the corporation) is good for them too; since psp has died and has been replaced with a disingenuous employer/employee relationship (that “direct relationship with its employees” garbage).

other airlines (this is how express views itself, as a part 121 cargo airline, not a company which moves packages from shipper to recipient), that have the “direct relationship…” with its employees are notorious for having low wages, poor benefits, poor working conditions and constant maneuvering by executive management to see just how many concessions they can get out of their employees, before they either generate an excessive turn-over rate, or unionize. We all know the turn-over rate fedex has experienced in the past few years. If it wasn’t for the economy tanking late last year, the turn-over rate would’ve been astronomical this year.

don’t allow fedex get away with completing the process of turning us into “package monkeys”. Write your senators and let them know we need to have fedex’s rla exemption revoked, so that we have some power to say no to the abuse that we’ve been experiencing.

as an aside to my previous post, check the latest addition to the teamster’s site for fedex mechanics:
www.fedxmx.com (no www…)

the morning after i wrote my post (evening of may 28th), the teamsters recommended writing your senators to get them to include the revocation of fedex’s rla exemption. Sound advice if i may say so myself...

we all know that june 1, 2009 was the start of the fiscal year for fedex (where budgets and allowances are started from). If you haven’t already done so, check the balance for your uniform allowance for the fiscal year… then ask your manager why the balance is what it is… you’ll get a kick out of the answer.

when he says direct relationship with the employees you must understand managements translation ofthis statement.do not use a condomand do not use any anal lubrication

 

[MrFedEx]

when he says direct relationship with the employees you must understand managements translation ofthis statement.do not use a condomand do not use any anal lubrication

Yes, dry and direct has been the preferred method of communication for years now. They are really not liking the idea of this "privilege" to screw us whenever they wish going away, are they?

Now that we are on the verge of reversing the situation, Fred and Dave are crying because they can no longer have their "direct relationship" with us. Gee guys, why are you so scared of the big, bad Teamsters? After all, since you've been so damn good to us, we're just going to tell Hoffa to go pound sand, right? Nobody at FedEx wants to be part of a union. I'm almost in tears writing this because I can no longer have an impromptu "one on one" meeting with a manager. No more "rap" sessions,no more unpaid mandatory meetings with all that great pizza and donuts? No more OLCC's for miniscule violations of policy or letters for not making ridiculous SPH goals? All of us would miss that, and I'm not going to let a union take any of that great stuff away from me...NO SIR!!

Guess what, boys. You're like a little kid at the beach trying to hold back the ocean with a plastic shovel and a 6-inch wall of sand. I can hardly wait until peak, when we all walk off the job and let you figure out how all those pkgs are going to get delivered from Peak HQ there in Maui. Screw all of you...it's payback time.

 

[skir]

@ 11 years with the company i maid $93,000 Gross + benefits and pension - $888.00 union dues a year, + 10% Discount on company stock + Tips. Ill let you add that up.

 

[SmithBarney]

only correction I'd like to make for above, is most 10 yr FedEx'r have not come close to $20, most are stuck at 17ish... I think if they topped out everyone instead of the forcasted 2% raise this year, you'd have a few more happy campers, less likely to want Union Help

I made twice as much at UPS, in my first year as a driver($15.75-17/hr) than I do now in my 3rd year at FedEx. (~14) (difference in hours and overtime is where the 3x estimate comes from)
Its sad but a sacrifice I needed to make. I'd go back in a heart beat, knowing that even while in progression as a new driver at UPS I'd make more than senior Couriers at FedEx

And for FE ALLTHEWAY My Union dues were 1/2 of what I pay weekly
for health coverage... so that's not even an Argument

 

[FedEx2000]

@ 11 years with the company i maid $93,000 Gross + benefits and pension - $888.00 union dues a year, + 10% Discount on company stock + Tips. Ill let you add that up.

You know it's a great country when someone who can't even pass 6th grade spelling can make almost $100k. You made $93,000....the maid cleans your house.

 

[TechGrrl]

You know it's a great country when someone who can't even pass 6th grade spelling can make almost $100k. You made $93,000....the maid cleans your house.

I think they call that an "ad hominem" argument: can't refute the actual statement, so attack the guy who made it.

Fred is threatening to cancel orders for airplanes he won't be able to use anyway, because he is losing market share steadily. The whole RLA thing is a shiny thing to distract the analysts from the underlying dirt in the earnings call next week.

 

[FedEx2000]

Call it whatever you want, just pointing out a grammar error as everyone on here is so apt to do. Can't have any fun around here anymore.....

It's not really a loss of market share as it is the economy as a whole. Everyone's volume is down, or has at least shifted more towards deferred products rather than overnight. It's not b/c everyone is jumping ship to UPS or vice versa. It's a cycle that has happened before and will again......just like the natural heating and cooling cycles of the earth. (Or is that Global Warming?)

Of course the earnings won't be pretty, who's are these days? Tough to increase earnings with 1998 volume and 10-11 years worth of inflation and health care costs thrown in. The RLA issue is completely separate and has nothing to do with the earnings statement, but is obviously a big issue. If the analysts don't look past that, they aren't doing their job and that is their fault, not FedEx/Fred's.

 

[DorkHead]

You know it's a great country when someone who can't even pass 6th grade spelling can make almost $100k. You made $93,000....the maid cleans your house.

Yes you are right! But by making $93,000.00 last year he can afford a maid!!

 

[MrFedEx]

Call it whatever you want, just pointing out a grammar error as everyone on here is so apt to do. Can't have any fun around here anymore.....

It's not really a loss of market share as it is the economy as a whole. Everyone's volume is down, or has at least shifted more towards deferred products rather than overnight. It's not b/c everyone is jumping ship to UPS or vice versa. It's a cycle that has happened before and will again......just like the natural heating and cooling cycles of the earth. (Or is that Global Warming?)

Of course the earnings won't be pretty, who's are these days? Tough to increase earnings with 1998 volume and 10-11 years worth of inflation and health care costs thrown in. The RLA issue is completely separate and has nothing to do with the earnings statement, but is obviously a big issue. If the analysts don't look past that, they aren't doing their job and that is their fault, not FedEx/Fred's.

I'm going to point out that Fred didn't keep anywhere near the pace of inflation even when profits were sky-high. Whose fault would that be? He kept up the takeaways when he should have been paying closer attention to keeping his employees happy.

Now, when profits are down, he's going to get slammed because nobody is going to be happy with 2% and bringing back the 401k match. Maybe the analysts need to consider 15 years worth of screwing over the workforce and realize Fred is going to eventually have to pay for his indiscretions.

I know you're management, but come on....Smith and FedEx have gone to the well one too many times and now it's dry. You guys can try and spin the poor economy however you'd like, but I personally believe that FedEx will actually have to move into the red in order to try and buy-back all of the loyalty and good will they've pissed away in recent years.

The UPS people on this site have only the slightest inkling of what's been going on at Express, and how angry most of the workforce is right now.

 

[MrFedEx]

Yes you are right! But by making $93,000.00 last year he can afford a maid!!

He "maid" about $43,000 more than the average FedEx courier. That makes him look pretty smart in my book. I'll gladly trade you my two worthless college degrees for an extra 43K.

 

[FedEx2000]

Yes you are right! But by making $93,000.00 last year he can afford a maid!!

Well, at least somebody got it. That was more of my point than trying to "attack" them, my fault though for poor choice of wording.

Mr. FedEx--I'm not trying to spin the economy in any way, it's a fact that the economy sucks right now. I know some of the mgrs won't shut up about it, and people get sick of hearing about it, but unfortunately there are many employees that don't read the paper or have any idea what is really going on. It would be very naive of us to operate as if there is nothing wrong and let everyone get 10 hrs of OT a week, if any at all.

You, and others, may feel that your raises have not been up to par, and that is fine. I was a courier for 7-8 yrs and felt that I was paid fairly. I never washed my truck on my day off or worked off the clock, I just enjoyed what I did.

Again, why should FedEx have to pay the same, or about the same, as UPS? It has been pointed out in many threads that UPS is a more profitable company, so why shouldn't they pay more? It's all about the market, supply and demand. If people are willing to work for $13-$24/hr, why increase it? (From the company's perspective, not yours) Why should any company be expected/required to pay the same as a competitor? Their prices would be the same if all else was equal, and who loses? The customer.

If all it takes to get your loyalty back is for Fred to buy it, well that pretty much shows where your motivation lies. I think you have more integrity than that.

 

[MrFedEx]

Well, at least somebody got it. That was more of my point than trying to "attack" them, my fault though for poor choice of wording.

Mr. FedEx--I'm not trying to spin the economy in any way, it's a fact that the economy sucks right now. I know some of the mgrs won't shut up about it, and people get sick of hearing about it, but unfortunately there are many employees that don't read the paper or have any idea what is really going on. It would be very naive of us to operate as if there is nothing wrong and let everyone get 10 hrs of OT a week, if any at all.

You, and others, may feel that your raises have not been up to par, and that is fine. I was a courier for 7-8 yrs and felt that I was paid fairly. I never washed my truck on my day off or worked off the clock, I just enjoyed what I did.

Again, why should FedEx have to pay the same, or about the same, as UPS? It has been pointed out in many threads that UPS is a more profitable company, so why shouldn't they pay more? It's all about the market, supply and demand. If people are willing to work for $13-$24/hr, why increase it? (From the company's perspective, not yours) Why should any company be expected/required to pay the same as a competitor? Their prices would be the same if all else was equal, and who loses? The customer.

If all it takes to get your loyalty back is for Fred to buy it, well that pretty much shows where your motivation lies. I think you have more integrity than that.

Spoken as a true manager. Your error is in assuming that people are willing to work for $13-$24 per hour...most are not, at least not very hard or with any concern for quality. What you get are the C and D team couriers instead of the A and B team couriers. In the long run, turnover and poor performance actually cost FedEx more. Nobody is expecting 10 hours of OT right now, but we are expecting to be paid fairly for what we do, which is essentially the same thing UPS drivers do. Productivity is at an all time high, yet wages have continued to trail behind. Granted, the recession makes paying more difficult, but FedEx has kept wages low even during brisk economic times because they could. Voting-in a union will end the carte blanche era of upper management throwing us peanuts and expecting us to kiss their feet in return.


The customer would actually win if FedEx paid better wages because more competent couriers give better service. They are also more productive, which benefits FedEx through higher efficiency and less turnover and training. It's pretty telling that even in a severe recession, couriers are still choosing to quit FedEx. If it were a halfway decent employer, they'd stay, move farther down the learning curve, and provide the superior service that customer used to get from us. Instead, you get someone who has been a courier for 6 mos that brings back Code 1's, mis-delivers pkgs, and is only about 80% as productive as an experienced courier.

Again, stepping over a dollar to pick-up a penny. Penny-wise and pound foolish...that's FedEx.

 

[FedEx All the Way!]

Well, at least somebody got it. That was more of my point than trying to "attack" them, my fault though for poor choice of wording.

Mr. FedEx--I'm not trying to spin the economy in any way, it's a fact that the economy sucks right now. I know some of the mgrs won't shut up about it, and people get sick of hearing about it, but unfortunately there are many employees that don't read the paper or have any idea what is really going on. It would be very naive of us to operate as if there is nothing wrong and let everyone get 10 hrs of OT a week, if any at all.

You, and others, may feel that your raises have not been up to par, and that is fine. I was a courier for 7-8 yrs and felt that I was paid fairly. I never washed my truck on my day off or worked off the clock, I just enjoyed what I did.

Again, why should FedEx have to pay the same, or about the same, as UPS? It has been pointed out in many threads that UPS is a more profitable company, so why shouldn't they pay more? It's all about the market, supply and demand. If people are willing to work for $13-$24/hr, why increase it? (From the company's perspective, not yours) Why should any company be expected/required to pay the same as a competitor? Their prices would be the same if all else was equal, and who loses? The customer.

If all it takes to get your loyalty back is for Fred to buy it, well that pretty much shows where your motivation lies. I think you have more integrity than that.

Very well said.
Thank you.

 

[MrFedEx]

Very well said.
Thank you.

It's flat wrong, but you bought it...hook,line,and sinker.

 

[skir]

At that point you can hand over your paycheck as well - the teamsters do need to party!

i think for $74 dollars a month for protection not bad.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

i think for $74 dollars a month for protection not bad.

$89/month here

 

[scratch]

i think for $74 dollars a month for protection not bad.

I call it "job insurance", and worth every cent. Hopefully our competitors will finally start standing up to Fred S for a change. He has been abusing them since day one anyway he could.

 

[SmithBarney]

FedEx is currently going after the teamsters for "making money"
currently FedEx is the only one profiting from its workers... I feel better spreading the wealth...

I'd gladly pay..2.5 times my hourly vs the $~140 I pay for benefits..

lets see 2.5 times my pay rate or 10times my pay rate..

 

[mungrin]

FedEx is the only one profiting from its workers..

Yeah thats lame and wrong.