In the "good ol' days" UPS still paid more than FedEx but it wasn't so much more that it would entice most FedExers to try to get on with them. Actually close enough in pay that a lot of UPSers jumped ship for the less demanding job. But over time with union contracts UPS pulled way ahead while FedEx had dreams of expansion but still were trying to maintain Wall Street profits. So employees took it in the shorts. But all isn't well at UPS either. The advent of FedEx Ground started putting cracks in the dam. The rise of Amazon delivering their own pkgs is putting on added pressure. Will be interesting to see how next year's union contract negotiations go. Everyone seems to be in denial mode about how this or that is affecting their respective companies but the fact is these companies are under pressure from Wall Street to perform and they put that above what employees want. They by their actions don't care if they have employees stay 20+ years. Cheaper for FedEx in the long run not to pay pensions and 401k matches and higher pay. Company culture? Since about the early mid-90's the culture has been profits above all else. Eventually there won't be employees who remember P-S-P. Complain all you want but it's wasted breathe. The only way FedEx will ever go back to the good ol' days is if it has been determined that's the best, most surefire way to make management rich. With competition from UPS, Amazon, and whatever is coming in the future do you think they'll determine that they'll get wealthy by giving a large workforce much higher pay, much better benefits, a much better retirement? If they cared that much about employees would they have gone down this path to begin with? FedEx will only pay enough to keep retention at a certain rate. And will only raise pay enough to maintain that rate and even then grudgingly. I optimistically believed 10-15 years ago that they would come through with better pay once Ground was up and running. I was wrong. Don't put your trust in them to do right by you. They aren't that kind of people.
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And this is why you unionize. So you at least have a seat at the table in regards to pay & benefits. They’ll never get everything they want.. but no matter what happens with that contract those drivers pay is going to go up. And their benefits will stay great compared to ours.
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yadig
Well-Known Member
Dano and falcon think the company will do the right thing.
59 Dano
I just want to make friends!
There is no "right" thing in this regard. There's a level of compensation and enough people will accept for the company to be viable or they won't.
yadig
Well-Known Member
I agree with you on that, it’s just that the majority of the compensation goes to the top. If they didn’t have a big compensation problem, why give the premium pay? They know, just don’t care yet. I love watching the turn over, it helps me rape them on overtime!
Fred's Myth
Nonhyphenated American
They've been stockpiling profits in order to pay for fuel. Foresight and planning, baby!
59 Dano
I just want to make friends!
I'd double check the math on that if I were you.
It's a problem in some areas - the ones that have the premium.
AB831
Well-Known Member
My old station was so desperate for help that they were offering cash bonuses to drivers who got their friends hired. Sounds like people are really excited about your immutable level of compensation.
McFeely
Huge Member
They're still doing $300 referral bonuses here (I think it's nationwide, but not certain). I cannot think of a single person that has tried to convince their friends to join Express in the last 2+ years.
AB831
Well-Known Member
If you're friends with a FedEx driver, you should know better than anyone that you want to avoid the place like the plague.
59 Dano
I just want to make friends!
Doesn't matter to me. People will either accept it or they won't. If it doesn't attract enough people, they'll do something about it. They're upping starting pay again. Good money for a job that easy.
floridays
Well-Known Member
Of course it does.
Fred's Myth
Nonhyphenated American
What @59 Dano means is that he believes it doesn't AFFECT him, therefore it doesn't matter to him.
As long as he has his, he could care less. Also known as ASPD.
59 Dano
I just want to make friends!
What I mean is that it doesn't matter to me who runs it. All I care about is his or her performance. Richard Smith, Richard Marx, Richard Sherman... doesn't matter. The better things are for the company, the better things are for me.
Will he do well? I have no idea. No one has suggested anyone who would do better.
MassWineGuy
Well-Known Member
In the strongest possible terms, I suggest someone who’s actually worked as a courier and has the slightest inkling of what the job entails.
59 Dano
I just want to make friends!
That's sounds good but it's irrelevant.
Plus, according to what I've read here, the only couriers who go into management are the bad ones who have no soul and just want to make life miserable for anyone in their employ. Imagine how bad they'd get if they rose to the top!
MassWineGuy
Well-Known Member
I agree with you in very large measure. But I do know a couple of very good people who began as couriers and became managers. As well as many more who were dismal.
I’ve also known quite a few former driver managers. Most of them were pretty cool before they got the job. But after about a year you start to see the disconnect. And they slowly become people you don’t want to talk to anymore. About anything.
59 Dano
I just want to make friends!
It depends.
Some people go into it with wildy ignorant or uninformed expectations. Some think all you have to do is make sure every route is covered and (under normal circumstances) make service. You've got 20 to 30 people of varying skills, abilities, motivations, and so on and you get to be responsible for everything they do. There are those who can deal with that and those who can't.
MassWineGuy
Well-Known Member
Yes. And probably most here have seen both types.
A driver where I work went through management training but stayed a driver because at the time he was making $25,000 more a year than a starting mgr salary.
A driver where I work went through management training but stayed a driver because at the time he was making $25,000 more a year than a starting mgr salary.
