Friday, July 13, 2012

I'll Give You A Burrito If You Don't Side With The Teamsters

Today at our terminal in Orange our TM said "come on guys I'm being nice to you... Don't chose the wrong route of going union".

Next thing we knew it, he bought us breakfast burritos and promised us some Angel tickets!

I'll remember this day when I'm voting "YES" for Teamster Representation!

P. S. Thanks for the burritos Frank.

16 comments:

Riley Martin said...

At YRC they have burritos every weaks. Lets organize and get burritoes.

Anonymous said...

No wonder they are trying to buy is with food.hahahah forget that I want union. I want a secure job. I want a pension plan. I want good benefits and I want fair treatment. No more preference or harassment. Say yes to union. U have nothing to lose brothers. UNION ALL THE WAY!

Anonymous said...

Today at Whittier terminal [WHT] they had Gatorade and a ice cream maker. Haha now they are trying to care for us. They see it coming.they see the union coming. They know we want a change. Union is what's best for us. If you font know much get informed and you will see why we want union at FedEx freight. Union all the way!!!!! We taking over this.

OD driver said...

at old dominion we get 1 large pizza and 1 liter coke for 5 employees to shared it.there must be something on the coke because we're all afraid to talk about forming a union.we're are given the cool it!
go for it fedex freight get organize,vote yes,vote teamsters

Anonymous said...

Good news, at are ONG hub. Are TM is looking for Angel tickiets for are drivers ..... Mr Frank V .... Thank you will take it and still vote teamsters!!!!

slick_teamster said...

im a driver at fedex freight. well I'm starting to spread the word at my terminal. wish me luck and may God protect me. will keep you guys updated.

the only smart one said...

Organized Labor versus Corporate America
Labor union propaganda against corporate America includes criticism about executive pay, and conversely, what organized labor perceives as low wages for front-line employees. The fact of the matter is that higher wages require concessions in other areas of business, such as quality assurance, productivity and increased costs for products and services. A typical health care scenario involves labor unions that identify registered nurses for aggressive corporate campaigns. Labor unions formulate corporate campaigns, using neutrality agreements to stall management's union avoidance strategy. This amounts to an effort to tarnish the reputation of large conglomerates by using political pressure and allegations of poor corporate citizenship. Labor organizers who structure a corporate campaign based on wages fail to realize that drastic changes to wages -- upward or downward -- impact the cost and quality of health care.

Desperation for Union Dues
Declining membership among employees in the private sector affects the stability of union locals. In "The New York Times" article about the see-saw effect of private sector and public sector union membership, reporter Steven Greenhouse states: "According to the labor bureau, 7.2 percent of private-sector workers were union members last year [2009], down from 7.6 percent the previous year. That, labor historians said, was the lowest percentage of private-sector workers in unions since 1900." This represents a dramatic decline, and the decline has a direct impact on union workers' salaries. The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor Management Standards requires annual financial reports from union locals, divisions and international unions. Close inspection of these reports shows high salaries for union leaders and staff. It's possible to speculate that major declines in membership causes a drop in dues collected, which in turn, results in lower salaries and limited perks for union leaders.

In addition, desperation in organizing reluctant workers may have been the cause of offensive behavior on the part of unions. In a statement released by Fisher & Phillips, LLP, a law firm that represents management, data concerning the flawed premises of the Employee Free Choice Act also states: "EFCA ignores organized labor's 75-year track record of coercion in the context of organizing campaigns. Indeed, studies show that union officials were charged with approximately 3,700 separate allegations of coercion, threats, harassment, and violence in the 1990's alone."

Third-Party Representation Hurts Employee and Employer
One important argument about labor unions is the affect third-party representation has on the employer-employee relationship. Within union shops, a steward -- who can be called a middleman -- has to intervene on behalf of the employee union member. The purpose of employee relations and industrial relations staff is to address employee concerns; however, union membership denies employees the right to communicate directly with their supervisors and managers. Prohibiting direct communication burdens the employer when a resolution to an employee concern would be easy to facilitate between two parties instead of three.

Unknown said...

Dear "The Only Smart One",
Of course Unions criticize executive pay. The median income of a FedEx Truck Driver is $47,477, whereas, the income of Fredrick W. Smith in 2010 was $7,419,362; to put that in perspective, it would take one driver 155 years to make the same amount of money that Mr. Smith does in one year. These wages are not perceived as "low", they actually are low. UPS, a unionized competitor of FedEx, pay their Truck Drivers a median income of $62,000. That is about $14,523 more a year. The fact of the matter is that higher wages do not always require concessions in quality assurance, productivity, or product costs because that money could easily be taken out of the ridiculous amount of profit that the company makes.
Your assertion that union campaigns are designed to "tarnish the reputation of large conglomerates by using political pressure and allegations of poor corporate citizenship" is completely false. Let's just think about your assertion from a purely logical standpoint. Why would the Teamsters want to ruin the reputation of the company they will soon be affiliated with? In fact, I have never attended an organizing meeting in which the reputation of FedEx was infringed upon. If the "allegations of poor corporate citizenship" you are referring to are the complaints about low wages, unsafe working conditions, the lack of job security, the lack of a pension plan and the lack of healthcare benefits during retirement, then I would have to say that those allegations are so much more than accusations, they are the reality that thousands of FedEx employees face every day. Why are you on the side of a company that doesn't take responsibility for its workers? Do you think that it is fair that a hard working Truck Driver, that actually provides the manpower for this company to exist, has to rely on welfare when they retire because they do not have a pension plan or any health benefits? When you say that an increase in wages impacts the cost and quality of healthcare, do you think that putting more people on welfare, a system that dramatically impacts the entire healthcare system, is really a better option?
Yes, the union membership has declined dramatically. But if you were actually "smart", you would know that scholars credit this decline to many factors. Unions used to be the pride of America and it was something to be proud of. Unfortunately, culture shifts that started in the 50's began to devalue the role of the hard working Union man and began to put the spotlight and pride on the white collar corporate man. Political trends of neoliberalism amalgamated with the devaluation of the American Blue Collar Worker and the attrition of the middle class were all components to dwindling numbers. You would know this, if, you know, you actually researched the topic rather than getting your "knowledge" from whatever the man in the nice suit on TV tells you.
And as for the problems with unions, every organization has its issues. However, I think I'd rather place my bet on an organization whose leader only makes $300,000 a year, who provides his members with pensions, healthcare benefits in retirement, and a voice, over a man who makes over 7 million dollars a year, whose greed compels him to constantly slash his hard-workers' meager wages and benefits. Finally, pertaining to your claim that employers would sit down with employees to work through these problems, I just have one question for you; if it would be so easy to facilitate such a meeting, why do these problems still exist?
One last thing, as Shakespeare would say, “the fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”. So cheers to you! Mr. Self Proclaimed "Smart One"
Sincerely,
Cathleen A. Hernandez

Anonymous said...

I don't think the smart one wants to play any more ..... " O smart one where are you" ...

the only smart one said...

the fact is the union is a business and the moderator on this blog edits the comments. The union was great in the 1970's but has no place in business in 2012.

Unknown said...

Well you can always go to FXFworkplace.com to get your voice out there....oh wait! They don't even let you comment on their website! The union is more important now than it ever has been. Perhaps, you should take a few classes on basic economics, politics and business before you try to shoot down a concept that is obviously too complex for you.

Andrew J said...

I'll take my bonus, but I am still siding with the Teamsters, word to the wise, always take what they give you, but don't sell yourselves, be wise and organize.

slick_teamster said...

Who really are u the only dumb one? Reveal urself and be a man about it. U coward! No matter what the truth will always come out! And the truth is that Union is the way to go! We will win! We will be teamsters! Vote yes for union representation! For better wages, better pension, better treatment at the workplace, equality, Job security, and much more! Go teamsters!

-SLG driver.

Unknown said...

Today at are ONG hub , Mr frank told us that he us talking to his boss on getting us Angel tickiet..bring it in frank ... We will still vote for a contract...

Anonymous said...

They are doing the same at our terminal. Dodger tickets! Haha also in the past they asked our operation manager Beto at SLG if there would be a BBQ and he said f*** NO! They don't deserve it! And now all of a sudden they told us we are. They see the union coming! :)

SLG driver. Slick teamster! Other SLG drivers reading this .....don't be scared to voice your opinions!

Unknown said...

@ FTA. Yes you do sir need a contract.... Teamsters all the way.....