FedEx Eroding Workers' Living Standards
 

Hopefully, this isnt a re-post but this was an interesting article I noticed in the IPA industry news emails. FedEx used to be viewed as a good place for employees but that seems to be changing...at least to an outsider...


Blue Ribbon Commission Panel Findings Show That FedEx Has Eroded Its Workers’ Living Standards Substantially (PRNewswire, Mar. 26)

A Blue Ribbon Commission panel has found that FedEx has systematically eroded the living standards of its employees to the point where its workers find themselves on the brink of falling out of the middle class.

Without good middle class jobs, the economy cannot recover, according to the report "Blue Ribbon Commission on Keeping FedEx Jobs in the Middle Class," released on the 26. The commissioners, Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-CA., Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl and United Methodist Church Bishop Mary Ann Swenson heard testimony from economic experts, FedEx workers, clergy and community members at a hearing in Los Angeles in December 2008.

"FedEx Corp. enjoys revenues surpassing $36 billion annually, with operating profits estimated to be $2.9 billion," said Rep. Linda Sanchez. "Yet over the past several years, during times of enormous company profits and unbridled executive compensation, FedEx has threatened the economic stability of its employees, not only with stingy wages, frozen pensions, and inadequate health benefits, but also with aggressive anti-union tactics that intimidate workers and prevent them from organizing to improve their lot."

The Commission issued several key findings, including evidence that FedEx has a history of repeated threats, intimidation, and other apparent violations of federal labor law. Its policies undermine the middle class status of employees.

"FedEx appears to have adopted, as a cost of doing business, a corporate philosophy of disdain for workers' rights and an acceptance of the occasional penalty for violating labor law," said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. "FedEx Ground's business model rests on misclassifying drivers as independent contractors, which places them outside the protection of most labor and employment laws."

This allows FedEx to enjoy the benefit of a workforce that they have no responsibility "to" or "for." Every government jurisdiction suffers from a loss of revenue as a result of these schemes. Instead of being a good corporate citizen, FedEx has shifted its share of the cost of the local services it receives to the average hardworking taxpayer. FedEx also has made a practice of denying its workers the right to form a union, the report said.

Among the BRC panel's recommendations is for Congress to pass the Express Carrier Employee Protection Amendment, part of the recently introduced FAA Reauthorization Bill. The amendment would provide FedEx Express workers the right to form a union on the same basis as workers performing similar work for other package delivery companies.

The panel also recommends that Congress pass the Employee Free Choice Act. The panel also calls on FedEx to adopt a policy of neutrality regarding workers' efforts to form a union, and to stop misclassifying workers as independent contractors.

Blue Ribbon Commission Panel Findings Show that FedEx Has Eroded Its Workers' Living Standards Substantially - FOXBusiness.com

Employees already have a free choice , are we not all here voluntarily ?
Employee free choice act = loss of secret ballot





LIBERTY

"Hopefully, this isnt a re-post but this was an interesting article I noticed in the IPA industry news emails. FedEx used to be viewed as a good place for employees but that seems to be changing...at least to an outsider..."

A different story here...

100 Best Companies to Work For 2009: FedEx - FDX - from FORTUNE

I am shocked, I say shocked, that a UPS employee would post a negative story on FedEx!! I guess the folks at Fortune disagree with Democrat Linda Sanchez and her so called "Blue Ribbon" committee. I notice you left this little tidbit out of your posting..

"The December hearing was co-sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO; and Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice Los Angeles (CLUE: undefined, undefined, undefined%). "

Not exactly an unbiased bunch. Thanks for the UPS propaganda update though!!

You lose any credibility with me when you quote this icon of corruption as your subject matter expert having anything to do with Fedex. No wait, isn't that the company the Teamsters have been trying to get in their pockets for the last 20 years?

"FedEx appears to have adopted, as a cost of doing business, a corporate philosophy of disdain for workers' rights and an acceptance of the occasional penalty for violating labor law," said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa.

Please tell me you are embarrassed to use this article as anything close to an objective opinion of the work environment at Fedex.

No propaganda...my friend. I simply cut and pasted an article that was relevant to our industry that I thought others might find interesting. I wasnt thinking Brown vs Purple. I look at us as all brothers and sisters in this industry. When the MD-11 went down last week I was just as shaken as if it had been a Brown tail. Sorry if you felt like my post was shot at your company. I have many good friends and family working and flying at FedEx and wish both of our employers well!

Well the thread title you created doesn't seem to me to just be something you found interesting, and certainly is a shot at my company. It seems to be a statement of what you consider fact after reading and posting a very biased article. Since it is UPS and the Teamsters who have been pushing hardest for this action against FedEx, please excuse my natural assumption it was propaganda of some sort. I guess to be accurate I should have said IPA propaganda but UPS is on the same side as them with this issue. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts on our fellow airman we all lost.

Now, now he just quoted an article from a biased pro democrat, pro union news source. If he catches heck for that we would have to ban all postings that quote ABCNNBCBS, the New York Times, or the Associated Press.

My favorite part:

"every government jurisdiction suffers from a loss of revenue as a result "

Those wacko CA reps. care only about how to raise more taxes for their bankrupt state.

First, he quit his cut and paste too soon, he forgot this at the bottom: ....http://www.teamster.org.....

Next, anything that contains the phrase The commissioners, Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-CA., Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl and United Methodist Church Bishop Mary Ann Swenson... is guaranteed to be absolutely as biased, politicized, and diametrically opposed to common sense as feasibly possible.

On another thread, someone quoted that everyone THINKS they are being objective. When they quote references such as these, they are either being purposefully decietful or ignorant. For a bunch of supposedly educated people, there is no other excuse.

As a conservative editorial writer (the only one) for the Atlanta paper once wrote: "any time you see an organization with the word 'justice' in its name, what that really means is "stand by for a confiscatory left-wing agenda that cannot be sold on its merits.'"

That would be fine by me.:cool:

That line says it all right there. Californico....love visiting.

Once I saw her name, I told myself, "move along, nothing to read here!" :rolleyes:

Don't you kinda miss Patsy Schroeder? I mean all I had do was know what her position was on any issue and know I could take the complete opposite position and be assured of knowing I was on the right side of it every time. Made life really easy..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/majikthise/266615303/

As my crashpad roomie and his squadron mates once said, "Hickory Dickory Dock,....." :D

So regardless of this article, do you FedEx pilots that are unionized feel it is justifiable that FedEx continue to intimidate your "private contractor" delivery drivers in an effort to keep them from unionizing?

Please state an example of FEDEX Express intimidating a "private contractor".

Why are FedEx pilots so sensitive about this?

Let's face it, FedEx has an enormous advantage over UPS with this issue. Yes, I'm a UPS pilot. Are we supposed to just dance around this and not hurt each other's feelings by saying the wrong thing?

Not to generalize, but it seems to me that as a whole, the FedEx pilot union is a bit hypocritical. They want all the benefits and lifestyle that their union has won for them over the years, but they don't want anyone else in their company to enjoy the same.

When FedEx and UPS are making BILLIONS in profits, there is plenty of gravy to go around. No need to start hording the mashed potatoes for yourself. We're all in this together, no matter what color your uniform is.

I can't speak for all Fedex pilots, but I am not sensitive about it. Anybody wants to unionize great. There are rules, follow them. The mechanics had a pretty good drive going about 5 years ago. Fred bought them out of it. Big mistake on their part. Do you have a problem with that, should union membership be imposed on them?

Somebody makes an anonymous accusation about intimidation, I don't believe it. That does not make me sensitive. Again you guys have to realize that Fedex Express, Ground, Freight, Home Delivery, LTL and Office are different companies.

Maybe you should worry about your own company and it's attempt to extract concessions from your group to avoid a furlough. I love how folks try to stir the pot at a company they don't even work for. All of the FedEx Companies are separate companies, did you ever notice the different colors?

Bottom line here is if you talk to a bunch of the Ground guys, many like to be independant contractors. They have a chance to make more money, plain and simple. Capitalism at it's best. Sure some are not happy, well they can go find somewhere else to work, maybe they can wear Brown.

If groups want to unionize then that's great, but do it by the law.

"with aggressive anti-union tactics "
I think that quote pretty much sums up this article and its quoteeee

My Ground guy is vehemently anti-organizing with teamsters. He has two other routes that he has guys drive for him. He is basically a small businessman. Our Express drivers, well, they work for an airline and if they want to organize, fine. Good for them. However it will be under the RLA as a national.