FedEx loses another driver misclassification case, in Maine

FedEx loses another driver misclassification case, in Maine

Print Email to a Friend by: PAI march 27 2014 tags: workers, worker rights, labor, national, Maine

PORTLAND, Maine - FedEx, notorious for misclassifying its drivers as "independent contractors" - barring them from labor law protection and avoiding paying Social Security, Medicare and workers' comp taxes, lost another misclassification case, in Maine.

On Mar. 14, a federal judge in Portland approved a settlement saying FedEx Ground misclassified 141 drivers. The drivers will net $3.9 million in back pay and damages.

That follows previous FedEx losses and settlements of misclassification claims in Illinois, Massachusetts, California, Montana, and elsewhere. Another case is pending in Missouri.

If the case had gone to trial and the firm lost, it could have been hit with a $10 million-plus cost. "The proposed settlement...is clearly a compromise that discounts to some degree the drivers' total claims" but is a "fair trade-off for the uncertainties of trial and appeal and a prolonged delay in receiving any money," the court said.

The Teamsters have tried for years to organize FedEx drivers and also lead the anti-misclassification drive. Lawyers reporting the Maine case did not say if the union is involved.

Keck Hospital of USC agrees to pay $87,939 to employees as a result of unlawful unilateral changes

Keck Hospital of USC agrees to pay $87,939 to employees as a result of unlawful unilateral changes

March 26, 2014

On March 19, 2014, Keck Hospital of USC, formerly known as USC University Hospital (Employer), agreed to fully remedy the employees affected by its unilateral elimination of an extra shift bonus and a mandatory on-call schedule.

On September 17, 2012, the Board found that the Employer made unilateral changes without first bargaining with National Union of Healthcare Workers (Union), the employees’ bargaining representative. The Board ordered the Employer to remedy its unfair labor practices by rescinding its unilateral changes, bargaining in good faith with the Union, posting a notice to employees, and making employees whole for any monetary losses suffered as a result of the unilateral changes.

Although the Employer promptly complied with most of the Board’s Order, it did not make employees whole for their lost earnings. However, NLRB Region 16 Board Agents sought full compliance, and prevailed when the Employer agreed to pay all four employees for their lost earnings, which totaled $87,939.

The decision in 358 NLRB No. 132 can be found here.

THANK YOU

Change FedEx to Win and the drivers of FedEx  Freight in So. Cal would like to thank Gene Chavez for his Class Action Suit against FedEx Freight.
It takes a lot to go up against a big company like FedEx and to win.

So the next time you see Gene tell him Thanks, he deserves it.

Rudy

PALM SPRINGS: FedEx Ground center eyed for I-10 corridor A

DEBRA GRUSZECKI STAFF WRITER | March 17, 2014; 03:52 PMPalm Springs could become the home of a major FedEx Ground package sorting and distribution center, given its initial round of approvals by the city’s architectural advisory committee.

The building, measuring 150,560squarefeet, is proposed on a vacant plot totaling 22.6 acres along Interstate-10 at Indian Avenue.

The proposed project, 411 W. Garnet Ave., lies within the city’s Regional Business Center. The Kiernan Companies, based in Coronado, is the developer for the land parcel that city records say Robert W. Miner LLC has owned since 1986.

Documents provided to the city say FedEx Ground Package System picked the site close to the Indian Avenue interchange after scouting the Coachella Valley for a strategic spot for a sorting and delivery facility to serve Greater Palm Springs.

The FedEx building, with 36 loading spaces, will serve the travel needs of 17 daily semi-trucks, according to a FedEx Ground Package System justification letter by M. Design Fusion LLC, of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Truck dock doors will be positioned on the south side of the structure, facing utility corridors, railroad tracks and wind turbine farms. The city was told the site would be heavily landscaped and would handle parking for 312 off-street vehicles.

The building will also house an administrative office that would not be open to the public.

Kevin Kiernan, of the Kiernan Companies, on Monday, March 17, did not return a call to comment.

FedEx Ground spokeswoman Allison Houser said the company continuously evaluates opportunities that can enhance its ability to serve customers and does not comment on proposed projects. She declined answer questions on cost, the timetable for construction or whether the existing FedEx plant in Palm Springs would remain open or would be shut down if a new handling center opens along I-10 corridor.

Founded in 1985 as RPS, FedEx Ground employees handled 4 million packages on average a day in 2013, employed 75,000 people and maintained a fleet of 32,000 vehicles. It operated 33 ground hubs, more than 500 pickup/delivery stations and 25 FedEx SmartPost centers.

FedEx, in a recent annual report, said the company plans to improve annual profitability by $1.6 billion by 2017, in part, by the closing and realignment of regional and district facilities and by streamlined pickup and delivery operations. In 2013, for example, five Houston stations merged to two and a regional package sorting operation closed in Atlanta.

The city’s review committee forwarded the proposed FedEx plans on to the planning commission for its review with a note of approval, and one caveat: It wants to take another look at the chain-link fence along Garnet Avenue.

Contact Debra Gruszecki at 951-368-9423 or dgruszecki@pe.com

Your Right to Form a Union

Your Right to Form a Union

If a majority of workers wants to form a union, they can select a union in one of two ways: If at least 30% of workers sign cards or a petition saying they want a union, the NLRB will conduct an election. If a majority of those who vote choose the union, the NLRB will certify the union as your representative for collective bargaining. An election is not the only way a union can become your representative. Your employer may voluntarily recognize a union based on evidence - typically signed union-authorization cards - that a majority of employees want it to represent them. Once a union has been certified or recognized, the employer is required to bargain over your terms and conditions of employment with your union representative. Special rules apply in the construction industry