fedex ground

[moreluck]

Nice Emu
Nutritional Eggs
Naughty Egret
Notable Error
Narcotic Equivalent
Narrow Equator
Nasal Exchange
Nautical Enthusiast
National Eagle
Narrative Epic

Hey, she started it!

 

[over9five]

Nice Extremists? Oh, that was the Nazi thread...

 

[racerx]

Ddomino, good point. Let me try to clarify. In my analogy, I was describing competition between two separate companies, like Citgo vs. Chevron. While there are multiple grades of gas (Regular, Mid-grade, and Premium), there are multiple levels of service for transportation (ground, deferred air or 2nd Day, and overnight). Of course people will be willing to pay more for Premium gas because they are getting a better product (higher octane). The same goes for transportation people will pay more for NDA vs. Ground because the shipment will get there quicker. My point was that 99.9% of the population would chose Citgo regular gas priced at $3.00 per gallon over Chevron regular priced at $3.50 per gallon. Gas is gas. That is the main characteristic of a commodity. It is my fear that the view of our business is that transportation is transportation.

Sorry to get back on topic. Everyone can get back to slamming susiedriver now

 

[workinstiff]

One of you guys mentioned in an earlier post about Fedex being under the RLA. That is true for express division only, where a vote to go union would have to be a nationwide "sweep." As for Ground and Freight, it is under the control of the NLRB, so if we were to organize, it could be done on a shop to shop basis, not nationwide. As for past attenmpts at unionizing Ground, I havent heard of any serious attempts. I am a handler for Ground, and while the pay is good, we get no benefits, no vacation pay, no overtime. Unfortunately, in my building, most of the other handlers are not informed about what a union could do for them, thus any decision made by them would be one based on ignorance. As for the express side of the operation, I did hear of an organizing campaign for the Ramp transport drivers, but as to the result, I dont know. Over 9, you are right when you say ground is ripe for organizing, I just wish we could get some support from the labor movement.

 

[racerx]

Workinstiff, are you sure? Fedex Ground is part of Fedex, right? It is not a subsidiary. As far as I know, if Fedex the company is considered an airline and therefore under the RLA, any part of it would fall under the same guidelines. I have not read anywhere that different parts of the same company can fall under different labor guidelines.

Of course, as my wife likes to point out, I am wrong A LOT! So if you have any type of documentation or information that you could share, that would be great.

Also, seeing as how your are close to the frontlines there at Fedex, how is the class action lawsuit by the drivers being view both by the drivers you know as well as local management? Do most of the drivers side with the plaintiffs, or is this just being blown out of proportion? I look forward to your responses.

 

[workinstiff]

If you refer to the NLRB website you can read a plethora of cases dealing specifically with the issue of organizing ground. While most deal with the issue of IC's, there was a case out of Maspeth, NY dealing specifically with inside workers or package handlers. While Ground is part of Fedex Corp, it does operate independently of express, freight, and the newly aquired Kinko's. Based on convesations I have had with management, each Fedex division operates with essential autonomy, despite the fact that Fred S serves as the figurehead of Fedex Corp. Since both Freight and Ground are trucking companies, and since we have no interoperation with the express division, we are covered under the NLRB. It seems as though there is a wide misconception about that, and many assume that Fedex is just one giant company. However, if I wanted to transfer to Freight or express, I would literally be in the same boat as any regular off the street hire, and believe me, from fellow workers experiences, that is the truth. Racer, as for your question regarding the opinions of drivers, based on my experiences (I will not generalize) it appears that many of the drivers side with the plaintiffs. I dont have to gointo it here, but you guys know that the ground drivers do not operate independently, almost everything they do is closely scrutinized by fedex. I should also mention that most of these drivers (in my building) dont even own the routes, they work for so-called absentee contractors who pay them next to nothing. Unfortunately, the part timers dont have too many interactions with the drivers (except for pre-loaders. Right now there is a real lack of unity amongst part timers and drivers at ground and it really is a shame. Hopefully this answers your questions, and if you have any more let me know.
WS

 

[racerx]

Thanks, Workinstiff! I always thought that ALL of Fedex fell under RLA. That just goes to show that you learn something new everyday. And thanks for the prospective on your ground drivers. I know that the media can blow little things up and make it seem that a large group of people are 100% behind a particular issue when in reality, it is just a handful of folks that hold a particular opinion. I have been trying to get an actual read on this for months..

As far as any other questions, how do you see this lawsuit playing out? Do you feel that Fred and Company will have to drastically change the way they run their ground unit sometime in the near future or do you feel that this will just go away? Again, I look forward to your response

 

[workinstiff]

It should be interesting to see how this whole thing plays out. Many of the contractors in New Jersey banded together and filed a case with the NLRB, and they ruled in their favor, so last week we saw the birth of the New Jersey Ground Contractors Association (formally, it won by a vote 0f 14-8). This was in Barrington, NJ. As expected, Fedex immediately announced that it was going to appeal the decision. I think essentially what this association calls for is open dialogue and to some degree negotiation between drivers and management to how they (the drivers) do their jobs. If you go on a website called Fedexaminer.com, you can actually post in the Ground forum and discuss things with a driver who was involved directly in the Barrington case. Unfortunately, that particular site doesnt have the same sense of community that BrownCafe does, but it is a start. Now, as to what the decision means for all of the inside work, that is the sorters, loaders, etc, I have no idea. I posted on Fedexaminer raising the idea that to make the situation better at ground, there needs to be a sense of unity established between the handlers and the drivers. Needless to say, that opinion was met with much cynicism. Hope this answers your questions.
WS

 

[montecarlo11]

workinstiff,
Do you know if there are any ground drivers that pick up ground pkgs from express hubs or stations in your area?
We have a prompt in our power pads that will let us scan ground pkgs that we get in our dropboxes.
CSA's at our front counters also except and process ground pkgs and two ground drivers pick up each day. One does an early afternoon sweep and there is a regular pickup for the other driver later in the day.

 

[workinstiff]

Monte-There is actually an express sort facility across the street from where my building is, and I have seen drivers on occasion picking up packages. Also, just about every night I have to bring express packages to QA that are next day guaranteed. I dont know who picks those up, but when I leave the building at 11:00 there usually still there. It also seems that once a week one of the drivers will pick up a UPS package as well.

 

[moreluck]

FDX downgraded today by Legg Mason from a 'buy' to a 'hold'.

 

[over9five]

A company on my route has been waiting 3 days for a Fedex ground pick-up.

If the freight wasn't so ugly, I'd put in a sales lead!

 

[susiedriver]

.5,

What would you consider 'ugly freight'? Just curious.

 

[over9five]

Do you know what "display cases" are? Picture 30 of them (65 lbs each) on the third floor, small elevator, no loading dock.

Uggggly!

 

[susiedriver]

Sounds profitable, and a good time study element. Be a good employee and put in a sales lead!

 

[over9five]

{sigh} .....ok......I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[wily_old_vet]

Sounds profitable, and a good time study element.


Susie-that would be nice if time studies were still being done. Also you know that on the day of a time study that company would have 0-1 pkgs. That's always the way it went on time study day.

 

[susiedriver]

wily,

Are you suggesting that we turn business away? Or just arguing because you don't like me?

 

[wily_old_vet]

Never say turn away business. I was just pointing out the fallacy of your thinking as regards to time study elements. And if you weren't married I'd come sweep you off your feet.

 

[susiedriver]

wily,

There have been time studies done recently, if there is cause for it. Unfortunately, the results are usually not what the driver would have hoped for. The IE dept does more than just screw up everyone's route!

I have personally seen special allowances given for a particularly unusual stop in the not too distant past, so don't be so quick to point out what you perceive as a fallacy on my part.