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If you punch a clock when you start your day at FedEx, you do! Couriers, cargo handlers, service agents, call center customer service reps, etc. all can benefit greatly from unionization! It also doesn't matter if you're part-time or full-time because everyone stands to benefit from the protection afforded to employees by a union.

Just the other day, I got some e-mail from a call center employee who told me of the miserable conditions she faces in her position. Though she couldn't give me exact figures, she stated that if she stays on the phone with a customer for any time longer than 129 seconds (that was the figure she thought was the established limit) she was penalized performance points by her manager. Worse yet, she told me that every time an employee left their station to get a drink of water (remember these folks are talking all day long!) or to go to the rest room, they had to unplug their headsets. This action causes a clock to begin counting what the call center rep called her "occupancy" rate. Apparently a call center employee is also penalized performance wise for getting a drink of water or heeding nature's call!

If you're a part-time employee, chances are that *you* need a union most of all! I don't know if anyone has told you this yet, but once upon a time at FedEx, the rule was that if a part-time employee worked full-time hours for so many consecutive days (I think it was 90) he had the right to demand full-time status! Furthermore, it took me and my courier school classmates less than 2 years to get full-time status and we were upgraded en-masse according to seniority. Nowadays, it's become commonplace for part-time employees to remain at that status for 6, 7 or 8 years! Doesn't that strike you as being pretty ridiculous!? Last, but not least, if GYY is any indication of the national trend at FedEx, instead of the 60/40 full-time to part-time ratio the company once said was their goal, their new goal has to be somewhere close to 30/70! In other words, full time employees at FedEx will soon be qualified for national wildlife protection because we are nearing the endangered species list!

We all need a union to protect us from things many of us don't even realize are threatening us. Even if you are a model employee who is utterly beloved by your manager, all it takes is a few twists of fate at FedEx for you to find your head on the chopping block! Become seriously ill, have your kids get sick, the car falls apart, someone cuts you off in traffic when you're in your FedEx vehicle, you say the wrong thing to a fellow employee when he or she is having a bad day, choke up on a test because you're nervous, tired or preoccupied with a serious personal problem, an irate customer files a complaint about you and the next thing you know, you've got three letters in your file and are on your way to the unemployment lines! Take into consideration that just a few of these things can happen over an 18 month span and you'll still find yourself looking for a new job!

What about the future? As FedEx matures as a company, so also will its workforce. Where do older couriers go when they can no longer jump in and out of their trucks 100+ times a day or get those 20 stops/hr off before 10:30? Assuming we'll be able to afford to step down into service agent or cargo handler positions, will there be enough positions for all of us to step into? With ever increasing advances in technology, a lot of the jobs formerly held by call-center reps and service agents have been pared down by automated phone systems and tracking software for personal computers. At least if FedEx weren't subcontracting our ground freight out to non-union truckers, many of us would have the option of finding strictly driving positions in the company from which to retire from. That's what a whole lot of UPS package car drivers do once they become too old to sling boxes.

These are but a few things we all need to stop and think about. Those of us who are working to bring a union to FedEx workers aren't just thinking about a single target issue or group of employees. Our efforts encompass the best interests of all hourly employees who work for FedEx. We also believe that by making FedEx a more equitable and humane company for all its workers, we will, in the process, make FedEx a healthier and more prosperous company in the long run. Remember....

Join us! Contact the local union officials in your area and volunteer to be an employee organizer at your FedEx location. We need your involvement! We can't do this alone! If you need any help or advice, please feel free to e-mail me with your questions.