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FedEx Freight | Let's start working on a CONTRACT.

SwampRatt

SwampRatt

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I think it's time to start thinking about what we want included in the contract. Many centers will soon be voting, and we should start developing an idea of what we want and what we are VOTING for. We are voting for representation. That representation will be fighting for a CONTRACT that WE WANT.

This thread is not about if you want union or don't want union. And it appears than many centers will, in fact have representation, it is now about what you'd like to see in a contract. Think about it... I'f we don't come to terms with what we want, how can we expect to achieve it?
 
Employees Covered:

This Agreement covers those employees who are employed as
drivers, either road or city

Compensation:

FedEx agrees to pay the “prevailing wage” for the LTL industry. That wage is (as of 1-1 15) $27.15 (UPSFreight), and will be matched or exceeded at the highest paid centers. The dollar amount required to match said wage will be used a guide and all centers wages will be raised by an amount equal to that increase. Example: if it takes $1.10 to match the prevailing wage at highest paid centers, that same $1.10 will be added across the board at all centers.

The various classes (A.B,C, etc) used to classify centers MUST be re-evaluated every 5 years to reflect changes in costs of living in the various areas.

Raises going forward will occur annually (date to be determined) and exceed increases in consumer price index (CPI) by no less than .4%. (.004), calculated by multiplying increase in CPI times 1.004. This figure will then be multiplied by current center pay grade, the resulting figure will be the amount of the annual increase.

Insurance: Insurance terms and costs to employees shall be locked in for a period of no less than 4 years or the length of this contract, whichever is a longer period. Any increased cost to employees will occur at the same time as wage increases

Pension: Company contributions shall begin after 1 year of employment at a rate of 4% of wages and increase 1.5% after 4 years and ever 5 years thereafter. Topping out at 10% at 20 years of service and continuing for the employee’s remaining years of service.

401K: Company will continue to match employee contributions at a rate of 50% on all amounts up to 6% of wages contributed by employees who choose to participate.

Return of the quarterly bonus, which was promised as a way to offset a less than adequate raise in the year it was introduced. This can be paid through legal US currency or Company Common Stock or Stock options.

Seniority:

There will be 2 seniority lists. One for local (city) and one for road (line haul).

In the event of a layoff, one (combined) list will be used and it will be based on company seniority.

All city routes, road runs, and vacations will be bid by seniority.

Extra board /Unassigned/ Flex bids shall not account for more than 15% of the total bid number.

Extra work shall be offered to available extra board/unasigned/flex employees first, then put up for volunteers based on seniority. Saturday and Sunday work shall be considered extra work. Failure to follow this procedure shall result in the effected employee being compensated for the lost earnings, upon request.



Third party contracts.

Purchase Transportation (outside Carriers) shall only be used in the case of “dire need” unless all drivers in the effected job class have work of an acceptable and similar nature, except as agreed to and allowed by this contract to reflect fluctuations in freight volumes, for example end of month, or in limited, agreed to percentages to allow minimal rail movement in the agreed lanes and for agreed to distances.



Rules:

Rules governing conduct and practices shall be in written and printed (hard copy) form and remain in effect until the next printing and subsequent distribution date.

Reviews/Appeals shall be conducted by a panel, a majority of which are peers. City drivers reviewed by city drivers, Road, by road etc. Minimum 4 out of 5 members of review panel must consist of parties of the same job class.

Corrective action forms MUST be signed by the person receiving said action. Any counter arguments may be noted before signing. If the employee refuses to sign on 1st request, then 2 witnesses must be present on the second request and sign statement that the person did indeed refuse to sign.

Just the start... add to it or flame away...
 
yrc-atm said:
Why dont you concentrate on the vote. You are getting ahead of yourself
Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree. I don't yet have the right to vote, but I do have the right to aid in the discussion. Many would like to know what we are going after and have some input as to the the ultimate outcome. The ultimate outcome is a contract, not just representation. Sorry to inform you. Also, I see this as a crucial exercise, and a way to figure out exactly what we want. I started the thread to gauge everyone"s thoughts on the many aspects of the contract. This is just my take on a starting point, not the end all, just an opening of more specific discussion. IMHO everything is negotiable. We want representation, to achieve something, but what exactly? This is important for us for decide, even before the first vote. Especially before the first vote.

Now then, it will be our contract, and I think we should start to design it. Voting is important but let's get specific on what we want to achieve . I'm not in this for a vague "hope and change" type mantra. Sorry, but it's gonna take more than that to win the votes, in my opinion. I like to get into the specifics, and I suspect others do as well. If not, this thread will fade and die quickly, but it seems more important than talking about "what if, this and what if that", or much of the dribble being discussed.

Rather than discount the concept of forming a framework for a contract, why not tell me what you don't like or would like to see. But then again, never mind, with all due respect, you won't be voting anyway. This will be a FedEx Freight contract. I think we'll do it our way.
 
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Just a note but this is really a dream list here. I don't even think the old master freight had all the stuff your looking for. That being said it is better to shoot too high then to aim low because the offer FedEx brings to the table if they even negotiate willingly will be the exact opposite as in they will probably want to do away with the 401k match, cut pay, cut vacation time, etc. That is not what will be in the final tentative agreement but it will be give and take on both sides.
 
Firstly, I think all of you know which side of the fence I am on.

A few questions and I really hope I don't **** off the whole world.
Do you want something guaranteed to force the company to dig their heels in, or do you want the company to look at it and decide that they can live with it?

Does the current UPSF contract have better language than their first contract?
I've not read either, but I'd be willing to bet that the current contract is a hell of a lot better than the first.

Please don't make your wish list so grandiose that people will see it as a complete non-starter for the company and cause them to back away from our cause.

We can always make the next one better if we have the whole workforce at our back.
 
PEOPLE, let's not get too ahead of ourselves!!! I know there is a lot of excitement in the air, but this process has just started and we have a LONG way to go yet. SW, you need to sit back, relax, and learn. No offense, but let the experts tell us when it's time to bring our thoughts together as UNION, and engineer a contract. Now is not the time. AND wages should not be the main focus when putting together a contract. Though, contrary to most people, wages always take front seat, that's when people start bickering amongst each other. Wages should be one of the last things to negotiate. Think about it and you will find enlightenment.
 
That is what I've tried to tell a lot of folks we have more to lose than gain. When you go to negotiate you start at zero. We have what we have now. Come on with the bashing now.
 
Actually 2nd contract is almost the same as 1st. It got better in some sections but worse in others. You guys will have a leg up though because you will have a couple of hubs already lined up instead of just EOLs.
 
A successful and fair contract takes time and patience. Everything UNION takes lots of time and patience. YOU NEVER RUSH to put together a contract, and you don't let the other side know what you might negotiate ahead of time. People will always think with their pocketbook first, and that's a big mistake. Don't let GREED control you or your fellow members. YOU MUST BE REALLY CAREFUL when putting together a contract. The first contract should be for a short period, say 2 years. That way, if it needs tweaking, you don't have to wait, say, 5 years. Remember, once both parties come to a mutual agreement, there is no going back until the contract expires. Teamsters help put together the package, but in the end it's the membership that decides what goes in it, and how long it should be honored for. IF BOTH PARTIES AGREE!!! I have seen contracts agreed upon which gives Corporations the upper hand, in other words, UNION was outsmarted and membership did not realize or understood the "LEGAL" language and later on were kicking themselves in the rear. A well written and thought out contract requires knowledge, legal expertise and turns into a tug-o-war. And corporations will push you to the breaking point so you give up and give in. Then when the membership realizes that they gave in too soon, it's too late, the ink has dried on the document.
 
I agree with the others about lets be patient but will add that most guys at my location want a national contract like UPSF if and when they get the chance to be part of the movement. We are tired of working side by side others doing the same work while most actually live in the same town/area as these fellow employees making more but instead making less just because we drive east vs west to go to work.
 
One last thing. The Corporation LOVES to see infighting, the YES VOTES vs. the NO VOTES. If people try to persuade you to why a UNION is a bad thing, or try to engage in hostile argument, ignore them and walk away. Remember, there are some drivers that "WORK" for management, the kiss butts, the "FAVORITES". DON'T SWEAT IT!!! Don't give them a reason to work us against each other. DO NOT LET YOUR EMOTIONS GET THE BEST OF YOU!! Bottom line. We WILL PREVAIL!! BUT KEEP A COOL HEAD. When you see an argument starting to brew between a YES and a NO, grab the Pro Union individual by the arm and walk him away from a possible verbal argument with an Anti Union individual. WE must be the smart ones, we have everything at stake here and we cannot let it go south!!!
 
cityrat said:
I agree with the others about lets be patient but will add that most guys at my location want a national contract like UPSF if and when they get the chance to be part of the movement. We are tired of working side by side others doing the same work while most actually live in the same town/area as these fellow employees making more but instead making less just because we drive east vs west to go to work.
Click to expand...

That's the idea. Once every single terminal has voted in to UNIONIZE, then we work on the next hurdle, a Company wide contract. ONE CONTRACT, ONE COMPANY. And it's gonna take a long time to achieve that goal of getting every terminal on board. I CANNOT SAY IT ENOUGH TIMES, we're gonna have to have a LOT OF PATIENCE!!! Some may retire before it's all said and done.
Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.
 
I see nothing wrong with threads that get us past the cheer leading stage, less BS, and get down to making the FXFE "deal" the best it can be if thats where things go. If this happens and we have naysayers and nervous nellies that are worried the sky will fall then why not cover the bases, and try to work things out and leave no stone unturned. If and when I get on board I'll be damned if I'm going to settle for just following what's been done in the past, accept inept or halfassed representation. There are a lot of smart minds on both sides. **** the nonsense and get down to making something happen.
 
Ok, guys tell what you'd like to change... I'm not gonna let FedEx know what we'd be willing to accept. I'd rather start from the other end of the spectrum. That IS what they are gonna do. We'll meet somewhere in the middle.

Just so you know, every aspect is at or well below the UPSF deal. I'm going by what everyone says they want... And compensation is top of my list, so I got specific. Ya'll can add your most important issue. Everything is negotiable, to a point.

Prevailing wage? In there, with lower wages in lower cost areas.
Pension? significantly less than UPSF.
Insurance? Only that it remains in effect for a loner term.
Rules? Only that they remain in effect until a revised rule book is printed and distributed.
Seniority? In there, in a reasonable form.
Security? Appeal process was my own idea... Panel of primarily your peers.
Purchase Transportation? In there... alter in any way you see fit.

Problems with my (incomplete) opening offer? Where's your counter offer? Why don't you add to it? Again, it's just the beginning of a framework, and incomplete...

As for "jumping the gun"? I stick by my statement that it's time to discuss what we want in the contract, not just that we want something. And I'm sick of debating the antics of a strike that is very unlikely to happen, and whether or not FedEx will negotiate etc.

Yall go ahead and debate among yourselves...
 
petes4891 said:
I see nothing wrong with threads that get us past the cheer leading stage, less BS, and get down to making the FXFE "deal" the best it can be if thats where things go. If this happens and we have naysayers and nervous nellies that are worried the sky will fall then why not cover the bases, and try to work things out and leave no stone unturned. If and when I get on board I'll be damned if I'm going to settle for just following what's been done in the past, accept inept or halfassed representation. There are a lot of smart minds on both sides. **** the nonsense and get down to making something happen.
Click to expand...

When the dust settles, we will have to come up with the smartest minds amongst us to "engineer" a well thought out contract that benefits us all. It WON'T be perfect, but that's what we will always aim for every time the contract comes up for renewal, better, always. NOBODY is going to have to settle with, as you put it "inept or half assed representation. We will not settle for mediocrity with the TEAMSTERS, and I am sure they agree. We will ALWAYS shoot for THE BEST, without getting too greedy. GREED DESTROYS!!!
 
PurpleDrool said:
PEOPLE, let's not get too ahead of ourselves!!! I know there is a lot of excitement in the air, but this process has just started and we have a LONG way to go yet. SW, you need to sit back, relax, and learn. No offense, but let the experts tell us when it's time to bring our thoughts together as UNION, and engineer a contract. Now is not the time. AND wages should not be the main focus when putting together a contract. Though, contrary to most people, wages always take front seat, that's when people start bickering amongst each other. Wages should be one of the last things to negotiate. Think about it and you will find enlightenment.
Click to expand...

Are you suggesting I remove wages from from the framework? You want to ask for less? Or would we rather not talk about it? I just don't get it.

Maybe the term CONTRACT is feaking everyone out. Sorry, but has to be addressed...
 
Everyone knows where I stand, but I'll bite. Here's what I disagree with:

Wages- everyone shouldn't make the same. Cost of living differs according to region

Seniority- two boards should still be used in the case of layoffs otherwise you would force bottom drivers to have to move to other board. I know I would not be happy getting bumped to the otherside.

Bonus- I would rather have cash than more stock. Prices jump around too much.
 
SW, you sound a little upset there pal. Relax!!!! This is precisely what we want to avoid. Everyone is going to want to add their 2 cents, and opinions. EVERYONE will be heard, but in the end, not everyone will get EXACTLY what they want. One more time, a contract has to be put together SMART, GREED will only cause people to... get upset. And this is precisely what FXF Management wants, FIGHTING amongst each other. I am a linehaul driver, I want what's best for me, you and our fellow employees. And we WILL NOT rush to put together a contract that ends up being the wrong one. We want a GREAT contract, NOT a good one. We will not settle for a good contract, but a GREAT one instead.
 
renegadebaileys said:
Just a note but this is really a dream list here. I don't even think the old master freight had all the stuff your looking for. That being said it is better to shoot too high then to aim low because the offer FedEx brings to the table if they even negotiate willingly will be the exact opposite as in they will probably want to do away with the 401k match, cut pay, cut vacation time, etc. That is not what will be in the final tentative agreement but it will be give and take on both sides.
Click to expand...

Just so ya know, nothing in my post is above UPSF, cost wise. If fact every item is a little below in some aspect. Apparently you have yet to read it.

Here ya go: http://teamster.org/sites/teamster.org/files/1614upsfta1414ver3.pdf
 
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