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FedEx Freight | UNION: Organize, or not?

Scarecrow3968 you just said it all big brother is out to squach all labor and if we all dont all help each other labor will loose.
 
scarecrow3968 said:
I've been reading these threads off and on for years mainly for entertainment. This thread is a serious matter. I see the good in both sides of this thread. The million dollar question is will the union force management to behave? Do we need to be represented to be heard? I tend to believe with the proper channels.....we can be heard. This a job that I cared about until the takeover/ buy out. The 6 business principles.....where did they go? These are new times. Deep inside, I'm very concerned, scared and wondering what the future holds for me and my family here at this job. I looked on the other side of the fence and it is no better and in many cases worse like so many other drivers have said that I talked to. We need to be heard... and what will it take to make this happen? We can rattle our brains here on this board to try and figure out what Freights next move may be. The new scorecard for safety is a BIG one!! I have no points.... not bragging... just saying. But, it pisses me off to see drivers yanked from behind the wheel. Friends to boot. Now, we have to work work together to be heard. We need to set a date and stand up for our beliefs and what little rights we have left here at this JOB! I can do my job, collect a check and be a good little boy like the majority.....but is this the time to stand up and do something? What will it be like next year? And the following year.....will we still be safe, secure and the most part be happy or content....mostly likely not with all the pushing from management in the past years. Is the Union the answer? I don't know. Do my coworkers know the answer? Can we be heard.....I believe we can. I hear this saying all the time from Billy big rigger on sesame street....with out trucks, America stops. With out us, the company stops.....think they will hear us then? We are the resistance. Lets utilize this information highway tool at our fingertips and spread the word to get the train rolling. Maybe I'm just dreaming about this whole thing. But, that Martin Luther King guy had a vision as well. FXF in Canada...they are all owner operators, line haul and P& D.....hmm just saying. Maybe a Union is the answer....maybe not. If we choose Union,,,,it will get ugly before it gets better. If we stand up in front of the gates and not let the wheels turn...just to be heard.....it will get ugly before it gets better with out the union. We need a voice from all yards to get this choo choo rolling and fast. The constitution and bill of rights were formed by our founding fathers to keep big brother in check.....but big brother is out to squash us and our rights....but that is a thread for a different page. If the Union is easier to be heard.....so be it. We are the resistance.:grouphug:
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Sounds like a 1 occurrence 2 day off nation wide 4 day weekend to me! I'm all in! If over half a board at each center called in sick on Thursday and Friday Fred himself would come down from his mansion to talk to us!
 
hmmm, I've never worked for a Union shop however the last few months as a driver here at FXF makes me wonder how we don't have the Teamsters breaking in easily. I've been in the LTL industry for 10 years, and I've never seen a bunch of idiot managers holding the purse strings of drivers and the company making the dumbest decisions all to make their bonus check fatter like I do now. And the FedEx promise is a frigging JOKE. In the short time I've been driving here, I've been pushed to work right up to my 14 hrs almost daily, in fact many times I've been asked to go beyond only to say that I could use the 16 hr exception. This is not only UNSAFE, its NOT ETHICAL and AGAINST THE LAW!! One of The problem I see is that there are many greedy inexperienced drivers at my shop that don't say anything and just do whatever management tells them to do because they want that Fat Paycheck at the end of the week. Most of them have less than one years experience and haven't had any type of accident ...yet. I'm not wishing an accident on anyone but with the way we are worked, makes me wonder how there isn't an accident every week.

Just last week, a driver that I work the dock with from was suspended for hooking up to a trailer that was still at the dock with a supervisor in the trailer. Mind you the Driver followed safety protocol by putting the chock block on the dock, checked the door that was closed and sealed before he hooked up. In the short period of time it took this driver to walk back to his truck, hook up, and perform a tug test, the supervisor opened the trailer, and was inside during the tug test. Now the trailer was pulled about 1 foot from the dock with the supervisor inside. No injuries what so ever. They suspended the driver for 3 days without pay, and gave him a critical for it. I witnessed this event happen, tried to talk to management about it, and they wouldn't even listen to me

Example of defective equipment.....there was a driver at my barn that had a dolly detach and hit the ground from the pintle hook of the lead trailer. The only thing saving the trailer from breaking away completely was the chain. The driver was able to hook the set back up properly, no damage occurred to the equipment at this time, however it was later determined when the driver completed his trip that the pintle hook was damaged. The driver couldn't release it the remove the dolly. The shop red-tagged the trailer and replaced it. Thank GOD this didn't happen on the expressway and fortunately it happened on the yard. BUT this driver still got written up for the accident!! They said the accident caused the damage to the lead trailer's pintle hook...BULLSH**T

BRING THE UNION SIGN ME UP
 
scarecrow3968 said:
I've been reading these threads off and on for years mainly for entertainment. This thread is a serious matter. I see the good in both sides of this thread. The million dollar question is will the union force management to behave? Do we need to be represented to be heard? I tend to believe with the proper channels.....we can be heard. This a job that I cared about until the takeover/ buy out. The 6 business principles.....where did they go? These are new times. Deep inside, I'm very concerned, scared and wondering what the future holds for me and my family here at this job. I looked on the other side of the fence and it is no better and in many cases worse like so many other drivers have said that I talked to. We need to be heard... and what will it take to make this happen? We can rattle our brains here on this board to try and figure out what Freights next move may be. The new scorecard for safety is a BIG one!! I have no points.... not bragging... just saying. But, it pisses me off to see drivers yanked from behind the wheel. Friends to boot. Now, we have to work work together to be heard. We need to set a date and stand up for our beliefs and what little rights we have left here at this JOB! I can do my job, collect a check and be a good little boy like the majority.....but is this the time to stand up and do something? What will it be like next year? And the following year.....will we still be safe, secure and the most part be happy or content....mostly likely not with all the pushing from management in the past years. Is the Union the answer? I don't know. Do my coworkers know the answer? Can we be heard.....I believe we can. I hear this saying all the time from Billy big rigger on sesame street....with out trucks, America stops. With out us, the company stops.....think they will hear us then? We are the resistance. Lets utilize this information highway tool at our fingertips and spread the word to get the train rolling. Maybe I'm just dreaming about this whole thing. But, that Martin Luther King guy had a vision as well. FXF in Canada...they are all owner operators, line haul and P& D.....hmm just saying. Maybe a Union is the answer....maybe not. If we choose Union,,,,it will get ugly before it gets better. If we stand up in front of the gates and not let the wheels turn...just to be heard.....it will get ugly before it gets better with out the union. We need a voice from all yards to get this choo choo rolling and fast. The constitution and bill of rights were formed by our founding fathers to keep big brother in check.....but big brother is out to squash us and our rights....but that is a thread for a different page. If the Union is easier to be heard.....so be it. We are the resistance.:grouphug:
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Been on the non union side of the fence in freight.My opinion of the non union mgmt model.Not very labor friendly on the non union side.Too many hours working the dock makes it unsafe for the driver to do his or her work completely and safely.The harassment is unabated.God forbid you have an accident and have to go in front of a stacked against you board.
 
It seems like every year about this time we get on our we need a union bandwagon. I've worked for both union and nonunion companies. One thing for sure drivers whine on both sides of the street. I should know I was one of the biggest whiners. If you break the rules you can get fired from either one. Is the grass greener across the street, of course it is. There will always be somewhere with greener grass, but we do make a better than average wage with benefits, pension plan and a 401K. Its really nice to see that pension and 401k check in my account the first of every month. As far as rules go I think we already have enough of those. I've also found that if you treat people with respect, they will generally treat you the same way. Did I always agree with managements decisions, of course not, but its their game. If you want to be a player, then you play be their rules. This worked for me for almost 34 years, but its just my opinion. TP
 
Twice Pipes said:
It seems like every year about this time we get on our we need a union bandwagon. I've worked for both union and nonunion companies. One thing for sure drivers whine on both sides of the street. I should know I was one of the biggest whiners. If you break the rules you can get fired from either one. Is the grass greener across the street, of course it is. There will always be somewhere with greener grass, but we do make a better than average wage with benefits, pension plan and a 401K. Its really nice to see that pension and 401k check in my account the first of every month. As far as rules go I think we already have enough of those. I've also found that if you treat people with respect, they will generally treat you the same way. Did I always agree with managements decisions, of course not, but its their game. If you want to be a player, then you play be their rules. This worked for me for almost 34 years, but its just my opinion. TP
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Keep drinking the corporate koolaid.it is a proven fact that labor is twice as susceptible to being fired at a non union shop than a union shop.you just look at a supervisor wrong at a non and you're gone
 
Union

Moderator should put all this union crap on another site it is getting really boring. If people don't like fedex freight . Maybe the should just quit and go to a union job
 
just wondering if anyone knows how many barns are attempting to organize? havent heard anything at mine, only here on tb. spoke to a kcy driver about it and his reply to me was he did'nt know anything about it nor did he care. and he walked away. maybe he was afraid to speak on it. idk, but kinda shocked me
 
Why should we quit when we have the right to choose collective bargaining if we want. When fedex freight becomes union if you don't like it then you can quit. You can go get on a diffrent bus at mr reed said on a mile marker cd a few years back. If 50% plus 1 say yes at any barn then maybe your at the wrong company and you can quit and go start all over again somewere else.
 
Twice Pipes said:
It seems like every year about this time we get on our we need a union bandwagon. I've worked for both union and nonunion companies. One thing for sure drivers whine on both sides of the street. I should know I was one of the biggest whiners. If you break the rules you can get fired from either one. Is the grass greener across the street, of course it is. There will always be somewhere with greener grass, but we do make a better than average wage with benefits, pension plan and a 401K. Its really nice to see that pension and 401k check in my account the first of every month. As far as rules go I think we already have enough of those. I've also found that if you treat people with respect, they will generally treat you the same way. Did I always agree with managements decisions, of course not, but its their game. If you want to be a player, then you play be their rules. This worked for me for almost 34 years, but its just my opinion. TP
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With all due respect, TP, you haven't worked here in a while. Quite a while, in fact. I would venture an educated guess that you had well over 20 years in the Viking defined benefit pension plan before it was changed to the PPA. Unlike you, there are a large number of folks here that were in the 13 to 20 year range on that plan and have been severely penalized as the PPA won't even to make up the difference. So yes, your pension may be wonderful while others aren't. And people, please don't think joining the union is going to generate you a full retirement check if you join today and retire tomorrow. It would still require years of credit for hours worked to generate a full pension.

Also TP, you left well before things really started to change, so our pasture while still greener than some, is pretty patched and dusty compared to what it was.

But I still respect you, even if you can't remember who I am.
 
FedEx falls under the RLA. So if 50% plus one at your barn vote yes then you will still be non union. The entire company has to vote at one time. You call me an idiot and tell me I don't know what I am talking about. Answer me this if FedEx doesn't fall under the RLA then why aren't barns in New York or Chicago union? Why arent union reps standing outside the small end of the line barns ttrying to get cards signed? Because the logistics and man power of setting up a company wide vote are astronomical. The union is a business and will only do things that help their bottom line. Setting up an entire vote company wide when a number of those barns are in right to work states where most employees probably won't pay dues anyway it doesn't make sense. I have been here six years now and every two years there is a push on truckingboards to organize FedEx and it never happens, not saying it never will. If people want this to happen then it will take an enormous effort of a lot of FedEx employee. Homer Simpson said it best" Don't strike just go in everyday and do your job really halfass. That's the american way"
 
cityslug said:
Moderator should put all this union crap on another site it is getting really boring. If people don't like fedex freight . Maybe the should just quit and go to a union job
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You just created another Union Thread... I will merge it into another one for you...

We are not the thought police here, people can talk about anything they want as long as they keep the conversations clean and civil.
 
I can't see why anyone that is labor in the freight business wouldn't want some sort of union.It doesn't have to be Teamsters.The higher seniority guys don't want any representation because they are pretty cozy at the top where they are.At least when I worked for Conway that was the way it was.Usually the top tiered higher seniority people had runs that allowed them the comfort of not working the dock and just mozy on down the road.For those still trying to make it to the top and having to be harassed and threatened by management at every turn.It is a long road to hoe.Labor should be organized by outside representation.To protect your job to protect your wages and to provide a wider range of insurance and retirement benefits to all.Your workplace would be a much better place to work at.Now I know there are some out there that do stupid and nefarious things.Not all that do stupid and nefarious things get to keep their job with outside representation.ive witnessed it.Under outside representation it affords all many benefits.For a small membership fee a month (wages would go up, therefore it is a small fee)Everyone would have equal quality of better treatment in the workplace.
 
cityslug said:
Moderator should put all this union crap on another site it is getting really boring. If people don't like fedex freight . Maybe the should just quit and go to a union job
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Lol really! Don't click on the thread!! That's like sticking your finger in a light socket an complaining when you get shocked!
 
Richard Cranium said:
With all due respect, TP, you haven't worked here in a while. Quite a while, in fact. I would venture an educated guess that you had well over 20 years in the Viking defined benefit pension plan before it was changed to the PPA. Unlike you, there are a large number of folks here that were in the 13 to 20 year range on that plan and have been severely penalized as the PPA won't even to make up the difference. So yes, your pension may be wonderful while others aren't. And people, please don't think joining the union is going to generate you a full retirement check if you join today and retire tomorrow. It would still require years of credit for hours worked to generate a full pension.

Also TP, you left well before things really started to change, so our pasture while still greener than some, is pretty patched and dusty compared to what it was.

But I still respect you, even if you can't remember who I am.
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Absolute disrespectful. No other way to spin this RC Obama.
 
silent trucker said:
Absolute disrespectful. No other way to spin this RC Obama.
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ST, I have to say I agree with you 99% of the time . After reading RCs post I still can't find anything disrespectful in his post. I think he was only pointing out a few good facts. I have no idea when TP retired but if it has been more than 6 months , there have been a lot of changes here. None for the better. While I am not for a union ,when someone replies to one of my post with respect I will read it and move on. It's only when they attack my character because we don't see eye to eye on a issue, that I retaliate.
(But I still respect you, even if you can't remember who I am.) I'm sure that part was a joke.
 
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