You're right about needing to organize 705Red, and while it's true that some UPS drivers can "run circles" around FedEx drivers, our couriers generally cover much wider areas than their UPS counterparts, and also have a much higher proportion of on-call stops. Most UPS drivers have the same shippers day after day, and so do FedEx people, but all it takes is a few oddball stops to throw a wrench into your day, especially when your area is so large. In metro areas, I can assure you that FedEx trucks leave full and also return full, so the differences between the 2 jobs aren't that huge. The UPS Feeder and FedEx RTD(Ramp Transport Driver) positions are pretty comparable, and a lot of FedEx RTD's also do double duty as Heavyweight Couriers (150 lbs and up pkgs), which can be a real hassle. Visualize delivering a 1200 lb pallet or a 300 lb non-palletized crate to a residential by yourself and you get the idea. Happens all the time...
From what I've seen so far in terms of responses, the wage gulf is even wider than I originally thought...we are truly being bent over backwards. The addition of the long top-out period only makes it worse. Thanks for the input so far....I'll be sharing it with my co-workers in the hope they will finally get going with organizing.