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To start with, FedEx’s appeals process, known as its "Guaranteed Fair Treatment" policy, begins to deceive employees just by virtue of its very name. Think about it for a moment? Just what form does this “Guarantee” take? Generally speaking, a “guarantee” is a specifically laid out set of terms makers of products or deliverers of services present to their customers in black and white. Such guarantees usually specify that products or services will meet certain standards for various periods of time and if these standards are not met, the guarantee also specifies remedies the customer is entitled to. A very real example of a genuine guarantee is the one FedEx gives its customers where our service commitments are concerned. We promise to deliver packages by certain times, and if we fail to do so, the customer gets their shipping charges refunded in full. An even better example of a real “guarantee” is a union contract where the parameters of what constitutes a breach of discipline or policy actionable by management are clearly spelled out in black and white on a legally binding document! Compare those guarantees to the so-called guarantee of fair treatment FedEx is so proud of.

Probably every employee has heard one member of management at some point in their career say that the vast majority of GFTs are won by employees and this is somehow proof positive that FedEx is fulfilling its “guarantee” of fair treatment in the work place. Okay, so where are the numbers? Obviously it would be a simple matter for this computerized company of ours to easily come up with hard numbers to back up their assertions. So where are they? Has anyone ever seen such a statistic on paper or heard it mentioned on Frontline?

Some of you are probably thinking that even if FedEx did publish such numbers, how would any of us have any proof that the numbers weren’t fabricated? The answer is that we wouldn’t unless FedEx hired an independent auditing firm and gave it free access to corporate records to put together the statistics. Now think about something for a minute. FedEx showcases the GFT as the centerpiece of its entire employer/employee relations package. Outsiders like newspaper and magazine reporters have cited the GFT process in articles as the primary reason why FedEx employees feel no need for a union. Of course, those writers were likely wined and dined by FedEx public relations people and presented with hand-picked “model” employees to interview. But if the GFT process were as heavily weighted in favor of employees as FedEx has always claimed it is, wouldn’t you think that FedEx would be anxious, if not obsessed with getting statistics out to its workers to prove how great the system is? Wouldn’t it be more than worth management’s while to hire an independent auditor to certify the GFT process to be as wonderful as FedEx has always asserted it is?

To offer an analogy, if a buddy wanted to fix you up with a blind date, would you be more anxious to meet the girl if he had another friend with him who assured you that your prospective date was pretty or if all your friend could offer you was assurances that the girl he wanted you to meet had a “great personality?” Until we see concrete proof that the GFT process is the square deal FedEx claims it is, we’d all probably be best served if we regard it as a blind date with a “great personality.”

Given that we’re really “guaranteed” nothing from a GFT, the best we can hope for right now is to play the game as best we can with the cards we’re dealt. What I consider to be the cardinal rule where disciplinary matters are concerned is “When in doubt, file a GFT!” What I mean by that, is that anytime you find yourself on the receiving end of disciplinary measures meted out by management where you have any doubts whatsoever about the fairness of the matter at hand, you’d be foolish not to GFT it! The reason I say this is because I’ve seen far too many instances where people have either lost their jobs or come terribly close to losing them because they had allowed a disciplinary letter to go unchallenged in their files which they probably could have successfully GFTed if they had done so at the time it was issued. A perfect example of what I’m talking about just recently came to my attention.

A courier with 14 years seniority lost his job because he accumulated three letters in his file. One of the letters was issued because of an accident he had with a rental truck FedEx had assigned him to use. The rental had been outfitted with a DADS unit which had been mounted on a board and had been secured to the passenger seat of the rental with the seat belt! As the courier made a turn in this death trap, the DADS unit broke free of the seat belt and began to tumble over. The courier instinctively reached over to stop the DADS unit from falling and this momentary distraction caused him to strike a pole with the truck.

Not only should this courier have not received a disciplinary letter for this accident, but anyone with half a brain can see that the real people to blame in this accident were the BERT who installed the DADS in such an obviously hazardous manner and the management people concerned who allowed such a vehicle out on the road. FedEx is indeed fortunate that the courier in question didn’t inform OSHA of this incident. FedEx was even luckier that the courier wasn’t struck and injured by the DADS unit when he struck the pole! Yet, instead of thanking their lucky stars, FedEx management heaped the blame on the courier and added insult to injury by having the unmitigated gall to discipline him to boot! Now, that courier is unemployed and that ridiculous letter played a part in his termination! Had he GFTed that letter over a year ago when the accident occurred, he’d likely have his job today! His GFT is currently pending....

Thus the importance of “When in doubt, GFT!” On the other hand, being the imperfect creatures we all are, we do make mistakes at times in our careers. And while there are some folks who would advise you to GFT every disciplinary action you face, I am of the opinion that if you use the GFT for frivolous reasons and/or when even you know you were clearly in the wrong, all you will likely do is gain a reputation with management as an irresponsible and self-righteous twit. Like the “boy who cried wolf,” when the time comes where you really do have a legitimate beef, such a reputation can work against you with devastating results. Always remember one thing. So long as you are working as an “at-will” employee without a union to protect your interests, you are essentially at the mercy of FedEx management. If you develop a reputation as being someone who protests every trivial issue, you run the risk of alienating the very managers who may be called upon to review a legitimate GFT you file in the future.

Even though the case against you might appear to be cut and dried with no apparent basis upon which to lodge an appeal, things might not be as bad as they first appear. Whenever FedEx accuses you of doing something worthy of disciplinary action, perhaps the most important question you need to ask yourself is why you did what you did. Often, I’ve heard people on the receiving end of warning letters lament that they thought what they did was acceptable or that the reason they did something was because of extraordinary circumstances. However, despite clearly seeing such red flags regarding their cases right before their eyes, the thought of filing a GFT never seems to occur to many such people! Yet, motivation and/or extenuating circumstances are perfectly valid justifications which can be effectively used to put together very compelling GFTs which have excellent chances of being won! To give you an example of what I am talking about, I’ll go back to a GFT I became intimately familiar with and involved in several years ago.

A coworker and friend was terminated for supposedly falsifying the report we fill out annually where we report any traffic citations we’ve been served. The case against my friend seemed open and shut. He had reported on the form that he had received no traffic citations, yet when FedEx received the transcript of his driving record from the Department of Motor Vehicles, a citation was indeed recorded against my coworker. A clear case of falsification right? Wrong!

Here in Illinois, it is possible to have pending minor traffic citations expunged from your record by attending so many hours of remedial traffic school if a judge decides to offer you such an option. My friend had received just such a choice, and eagerly accepted the traffic school option. Unfortunately, on the day he was to report to traffic school, we had a lot of late freight at our station, and as this fellow was also a CTV driver, he got delayed past the scheduled time he was to have reported for the class. He called the DMV and explained his situation and received a rescheduled traffic school date without any problem. It was about this time that my friend was required to fill out the traffic violation report for FedEx. Reasoning that he fully intended to attend the traffic school and thus prevent any trace of the violation from ever appearing on his driving record, my friend indicated on the report that he had no violations on his record. Unfortunately, a few days later, my friend’s father passed away. His passing was common knowledge, as many people from the station attended the wake and funeral and my friend’s manager had received proof of the death because my friend took a few days bereavement leave.

It isn’t surprising that my friend, in dealing with the loss of his father, completely forgot when his traffic school date came and went. Shortly after he returned to work after his bereavement leave, his record from the DMV came in and since he had failed to make his rescheduled traffic school date, a traffic violation had been recorded in his file. His manager terminated him for what seemed to be a very obvious case of falsification. Yet everyone who knew, or came to know all the circumstances leading up to this fellow’s termination clearly understood that the falsification was never intended, nor was there any reason for him to falsify such a document in the first place.

This particular case contains two important elements anyone preparing a GFT should remember and consider if applicable to their own situation. Those two elements are reason and intent. In my friend’s case, there was clearly no intent to violate policy, nor was there a reason to violate policy. Regarding intent, because my friend was confident that he would attend the traffic school and thus expunge the violation from his record, when he stated on the form that he had no traffic citations to report, he was being as truthful in his intent as he could. In fact, had he listed the citation and then attended the traffic school, his DMV report would have come back without the citation on it and in that case, he could also have faced falsification charges! As for reason, since no benefit devolves to the employee if he or she reports a spotless driving record nor is a reported traffic citation detrimental to an employee’s standing in the company (with the exception of DUI/DWI) there is absolutely no reason for an employee to falsify the report. Any manager with even the most vague grasp of justice is bound to concur that if there was neither reason nor intent in a violation of policy, the employee obviously made nothing more than a simple mistake and certainly does not deserve to lose his job for something so trivial.

Unfortunately, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere on this site, you can never assume intelligence, compassion or logic where FedEx management is concerned. Some have these qualities, some don’t. In this particular case, the GFT was rebuked at every step in the process until it finally wound up on Fred’s desk (or wherever the final step was 8 years ago)! Many of us were incredulous that the GFT even got past the senior manager’s desk given all the circumstances. When it was also passed on at the district level, we were utterly astounded! When it was time for the final step, I became involved and wrote a several page letter on my friend’s behalf (with his permission) wherein I expressed my disbelief that FedEx management had literally kicked this fellow when he was already prostrate with grief over the loss of his father and had seemingly abandoned not only compassion, but the ability to rationalize that this was clearly a case where neither intent nor reason for falsification could be divined. I persuaded several of my coworkers who were also intimately familiar with the case and were equally outraged to sign the letter with me. I then sent copies of the letter to every level of management all the way up to Fred. I not only wanted to appeal to Fred, but I also wanted to beat those managers who had passed the GFT along over the head with their own callousness and lack of reason. Either the letter did the trick or my friend’s GFT finally landed on a desk occupied by someone with compassion and/or intelligence, because soon afterwards, he was fully reinstated and received over a month’s back pay!

Every so often, I run into a hard-headed coworker seemingly bent on his or her own destruction regardless of how much I plead with them to see the error of their ways. For instance, I’ve come across a courier who, in my opinion, had watched one too many hours of “Court TV!” His approach to the GFT process was to point our minuscule variances between how FedEx uses some words in its “People” manual and the strict dictionary definition of those words! Another case had a courier making allegations of discrimination but when FedEx began to make sincere efforts to investigate his charges, he refused to cooperate because he wanted to avoid stirring up hard feelings among coworkers and thought FedEx should evaluate his GFT based on other issues he raised in it. I’ve even heard of couriers searching for legal precedents to support their GFTs.

In summation, here are what I believe are the most important things that go into preparing an effective GFT. Remember, this is FREE advice and may be worth just what you paid to get it!

1. GFT every disciplinary letter issued to you where you have any doubts as to its fairness. Remember, at FedEx, letters stay in your file FOREVER so all future managers you are assigned to for the rest of your career at FedEx will see them!

2. Whenever you are disciplined, ask yourself three questions.
   a. Was the policy violation deliberate?
   b. Was the policy violation caused by extenuating circumstances?
   c. Had you not been caught, would violating the policy have been in any way to your
   benefit? If the violation was not deliberate, caused by extenuating circumstances
   or of no benefit to you, then use any or all of those points (as they apply to your
   case) to formulate your GFT appeal.

3. Avoid being petty by bringing up clerical errors, semantical ambiguities or other technicalities in FedEx policies.

4. Don’t raise issues you have no intention of fully utilizing in your appeal. Don’t infer or make vague references to unfair treatment without evidence and your convictions to pursue the issue.

5. If you have awards, complimentary letters from customers or other favorable items in your file, tactfully include mention of them in your appeal. Let management know that you’ve done good things in service to the company. Don’t forget that once you get past your senior manager in the appeals process, you’re essentially dealing with total strangers who know only the negative things about you raised in the disciplinary letter(s) involved in your GFT.

6. Avoid mentioning personalities in your appeal. Saying things like “My manager has a grudge against me!” just makes you look like you haven’t got a reasonable leg to stand on and are simply grasping at straws!

7. Prepare a detailed letter containing all explanations and justifications for the indictment(s) against you which you are confident you can prove.
   a. The opening paragraph should briefly describe all issues where you feel you were unfairly treated and state your intention to contest them.
   b. Don’t rush constructing the letter.
   c. Make it as detailed as possible and try to keep it cohesive.
   d. Tackle one issue at a time.
   e. Remember, never assume compassion or empathy on the part of the reader! Clearly explain how and why a policy or procedure was unfair in your particular case.
   f. Once you’ve finished the letter, give it to a disinterested person to proofread. Ask for their criticism and suggestions.
   g. Most important of all, read and reread your letter until you know it by heart no matter how long it takes! Remember, regardless of how well you’ve written your letter, you will still have to orally state your case and defend it when you come face-to-face with the managers reviewing it. If you have studied your letter properly, your thoughts will be organized and you’ll easily be able to discuss your case without losing your train of thought or forgetting important details. An unsure presentation will make you an unconvincing witness on your own behalf and could cancel out even the most convincing of letters.

8. If you’ve already accumulated letters in your file and are terminated as a result of receiving a third letter, don’t hesitate to argue the fairness of the other letters in your file at this time! Remember that it took all three letters to result in your termination, so every letter has now become fair game in preparing arguments to preserve your job. Make management understand that because you never envisioned yourself on the receiving end of three letters, you didn’t pursue GFTs for the older letters when you felt they presented no real threat to your career. If you’ve read the February update on this web site, you already know that FedEx management is capable of issuing disciplinary letters for incredibly asinine reasons! If such letters aren’t GFTed at the time they are issued, upper management has no idea that front line management under their jurisdiction is issuing ridiculous disciplinary letters. Such letters only come into upper management’s hands when an employee having one in their file is terminated and has reached their level in the GFT process. Thus, bringing such unfair letters to the attention of upper management when one is facing termination is essential.

Of course, it shouldn’t be this way! Since a copy of all disciplinary letters placed in an employee’s file is forwarded to the district personnel representative, an unfair letter should be automatically questioned by the personnel representative and referred to upper management for review without any solicitation on the part of the employee. Of course, this is the stuff dreams are made of! It is how a company that really cared about fairness would handle disciplinary letters......

I’ve done my best here to try and point out everything I can think of that might assist you in preparing a GFT that has a decent chance at being successful. If anyone can think of anything I’ve overlooked that could make this article more helpful and complete, please send me e-mail containing your suggestions! This should be an evolving document which we can all add to and make as comprehensive as humanly possible.