Comments on: What if FedEx Express Drivers Went on Strike?

By: FredSmithcanBITEME

FredSmithcanBITEME — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:26:27 +0000

When UPS went on strike, FedEx made millions, stopped their money back guarantee and told customers that their deliveries and pickups would be taken care of whenever the driver got there. The drivers, meanwhile got overworked and over-stressed, nothing new at FedEx, and only overtime for hours worked, no bonus, no thank you, this company is really a joke when it comes to how it treats it’s employees. FedEx’s initial success in the 70s is based on UPS going on strike, otherwise FedEx may have gone out of business back then.

God Bless the Teamsters!

By: FredSmithcanBITEME

FredSmithcanBITEME — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:17:04 +0000

The sooner Fred Smith drops dead, the better off we’ll all be. The PSP motto at FedEx has always stood for “People Screwing People”, and Smith could care less about the drivers/sorters/handlers, as witnessed by the high turnover rate and crappy rate of pay/raises/and time it takes to reach top pay. Yet Smith is worth 3 billion dollars, has money to spend on golf tournaments, basketball,football, baseball, etc., but when the economy turns south, who gets hurt?: The employees, ie., termination of the pension plan, termination of contributions to the 401k, cutting managers salary(long over due, these idiots are worthless, spending the entire morning/evening walking around playing pocket pool and asking loaders/sorters/drivers why they aren’t doing more work.
God Bless the Teamsters, God Bless James R. and James P. Hoffa
If Smtih doesn’t like Unions and his employees, may a union made/French conglomerate AirBus fall on him and his buddies.

By: ofb1995

ofb1995 — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:56:25 +0000

Fedex could have avoided putting themselves into this situation by treating it’s employees better (especially it’s senior employees). Since 1988 they have been implementing policies and procedures that have set their express couriers up for wrongful termination and a diminished chance to reach retirement. 1988 – they changed the eligibility to gain maximum medical benefit coverage in retirement from 10 to 20 years. 1994/95 – they started a program called “gainsharing” which quickly turned into “Best Practices”. The M.A.P.S system (Minimum Acceptable Performance Standard) was also put into use. Both M.A.P.S and Best Practices have been used to terminate (wrongfully) senior employees. It is still being used. I have been there over 20 years and have seen these changes take place and the effect it has had on Fedex’s employees. Add to that Fedex taking away profit sharing early on (which we enjoyed in the 80’s), and their unwillingness to compensate it’s employees with at least an adequate pay rate to keep up with inflation throughout the years (even in times of record profits). Fedex employees don’t want a union to “hamstring” it’s operations, stop commerce, or go on strike, they just want to be treated fairly. Fedex has used it’s RLA status to hide behind so they can abuse and retaliate against targeted employees without fear of retribution. Look at any of the recent employee handbooks they give out to employees (that they ask them to sign off on before receiving). The paragraph that says “the company can modify this publication by amending or terminating any policy, procedure, or employee benefit program at any time.” That does not sound like a People-Service-Profit company philosophy to me.

By: Andy Kubicki

Andy Kubicki — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:06:05 +0000

Oh, wait, this is titled “what if Fedex employees went on strike?” What happened when UPS went on strike a few years ago?

By: Andy Kubicki

Andy Kubicki — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:01:53 +0000

I’m an Express employee for almost 25 years now. Though I am not a pro union guy, consider what changes will Fedex have to undergo if we unionize.

Fedex 4 life, you mentioned greed- as if we employees are greedy for wanting to get similar compensation for similar work that our fellow workers get at UPS. Have you looked at the compensation for our executives? Please, do that. You can get a good idea of their compensation and bonuses by looking at a stock site- look at insider trading. Then ask yourself if you are being greedy, or if you are being taken advantage of and want to do something about it. And look at the older employees disappearing at Fedex. Look at UPS. I see more grey haired drivers with UPS (percentage-wise) than I do at my job. I wonder why Fedex is fighting this bill. Hmmmm….

22 years ago, the Teamsters showed up at our gates and we basically told them “thanks, but no, thanks!”. We stood by our employer. Could it be possible that something is different today, or maybe I must be an unhappy disgruntled employee…that must be it!

Federal Express treated us fairly then. We returned the loyalty. But, if you ask anyone who has been around as long as I have, you will hear that things have changed. Fedex is living off the reputation of Federal Express Remove the restrictions of the RLA and have the Teamsters show up at the gates of Fedex today. Are you afraid of this, Fedex?

Why so many anonymous nicks here?

By: FedEx 4 Life

FedEx 4 Life — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:30:26 +0000

Type your comment here

morocca : Fedex 4 Life,what is your solution ? You have been a nay sayer for everything Chuck says but you have presented no solutions. Should we leave the status quo ? When was the last time Fedex consulted you in regards to decisions they have made about us ?

Solution to what? I assume if you're referring to its current labor status (Express), my opinion is pretty clear. In regards to your second question - never. I am grateful for what I have. Certainly I wouldn't mind having more, but that's the greed of human nature. I've come from much less and I am proud of what I have today. No matter what, people will always be disappointed, so no matter who 'represents' you, I guess there is no "one-solution-fits-all."

By: morocca

morocca — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:18:07 +0000

Fedex 4 Life,what is your solution ? You have been a nay sayer for everything Chuck says but you have presented no solutions. Should we leave the status quo ? When was the last time Fedex consulted you in regards to decisions they have made about us ?

By: FedEx 4 Life

FedEx 4 Life — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:04:44 +0000

C.S : The bottom line here is this; if Fedex pays us fairly for what we do and starts showing us a little more respect on the job then we won’t go on strike. I’m so sick of hearing people say that if we’re reclassified under the NLRA that it will disrupt our entire operation or shut us down, what a complete lie and scare tactic. Chuck, keep up the good work, and keep getting the facts out there for everyone to see.Thanks

I would mostly agree except you know there are those employees that are unhappy no matter what. This is the type of things unions feed from. I'm not saying that FedEx couldn't pay us better, offer better incentives, etc., but the answer (from my own experiences) certainly is not the union. If you think it is difficult enough having one entity managing you, imagine two.

By: John

John — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:43:41 +0000

UPS Killer : I think people are forgetting that Fedex carrys the all US mail on thier planes.A strike from Fedex would actually screw everything up.Also,Fedex express trucks pickup packages,but they end up on a plane.Its still part of an airline.When an American Airline picks up passengers from hotels,do they arrive in planes? No.

Fedex is not the only carrier for US mail, UPS and probably many other airlines carry US Mail, probably depends on amount of mail and destination, so that arguement doesn't apply here.

By: FedEx 4 Life

FedEx 4 Life — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:09:53 +0000

5 year UPS Employee : Fedex 4 Life, come on now, seriously? LOGIC dictates that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it is therefore a DUCK. Unless at a moments notice a Fedex Express (why is express twice anyway?) driver can jump into a plane, take off and deliver that plane and all of its cargo to a destination then I see a major problem. 1) UPS Drivers (Trucks not Planes like at Fedex) are truck drivers 2) Fedex Express Drivers are Truck Drivers. Do you see the similarities between 1 & 2? I do, so therefore they should be held accountable BY Law under the same rules otherwise as stated Fedex Gets Unfair Treatment. A truck driver is a truck driver is a truck driver…..See my point? ‘Nuff Said! BTW I’m only 27 y/o fedex, how can you be so blind to common sense I can see it clearly!

UPS Employee - it's simple. Business model, linehaul and logistical issues. "Don't judge a book by its cover."