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The Fedex Case

Good, it'd be nice to see all the abuses of the "independent contractor" system corrected.
 
I'd like to know more details. My father is a long haul trucker. If you own your own truck it's not hard to make $100k a year after expenses. If you have a decent track record for a year or two employment is very easy. A company like Prime will hire just about anyone, train them for free, and pay about $40K. If you you have a few years of work for FedEx under your belt (as an independent contractor), why the hell stick around if you job sucks so much?
 
NobleSavage said:
I'd like to know more details. My father is a long haul trucker. If you own your own truck it's not hard to make $100k a year after expenses. If you have a decent track record for a year or two employment is very easy. A company like Prime will hire just about anyone, train them for free, and pay about $40K. If you you have a few years of work for FedEx under your belt (as an independent contractor), why the hell stick around if you job sucks so much?
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I somehow daoubt your father would say that making $100,000 driving long distance is "not hard." My Ex is a long distance trucker. He doesn't own his own truck, but he makes a decent living. And he and every trucker I know will tell you they describe their job a lot of ways, not "not hard" won't be one of them.

FedEx drivers aren't driving long haul, but local and on a set route. That alone makes a difference in pay between a trucker with his own truck and a FedEx driver.
 
AthenaAwakened said:
NobleSavage said:
I'd like to know more details. My father is a long haul trucker. If you own your own truck it's not hard to make $100k a year after expenses. If you have a decent track record for a year or two employment is very easy. A company like Prime will hire just about anyone, train them for free, and pay about $40K. If you you have a few years of work for FedEx under your belt (as an independent contractor), why the hell stick around if you job sucks so much?
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I somehow daoubt your father would say that making $100,000 driving long distance is "not hard." My Ex is a long distance trucker. He doesn't own his own truck, but he makes a decent living. And he and every trucker I know will tell you they describe their job a lot of ways, not "not hard" won't be one of them.

FedEx drivers aren't driving long haul, but local and on a set route. That alone makes a difference in pay between a trucker with his own truck and a FedEx driver.
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I wasn't implying that the job was easy. I couldn't do it. I completely understand how hard of a job it is. What I was trying to say is that if that if long haul trucking is your job it's not hard to make good money. My father is well educated and spent most of his life in white collar jobs. He retired and started driving long haul trucks. I've never seen him happier in my life.

Even if the FedEx drivers are local delivery, the transportation market is fairly fluid. You can install an app on your cell phone and work for Uber and make good money.
 
Hmm, interesting topic to me.

After I retired from the hospital this past year, I picked up a contract job with a delivery company that delivers primarily lost luggage for the airlines. We also do rush deliveries for FedEx, DHL and UPS. While the drivers don't have specific routes, we do have specified pickup times. We also use or own vehicles and pay our own expenses. Sometimes I make some decent cash and sometimes not so much.

The local FedEx depot is right by the airport and I see the line of trucks leaving in the mornings. I never realized that those were all independent contractors driving their own vehicles.

BTW, don't fly on weekends. The airlines seem to lose the most bags on weekends.

BTW2, remember to tip the driver that delivers your bag.
 
Drivers were required to pay out of pocket for everything from the FedEx Ground branded trucks they drove (painted with the FedEx Ground logo) to fuel, various forms of insurance, tires, oil changes, maintenance, etc. as well as their uniforms, scanners and even workers compensation coverage.

• In some cases workers were required to pay the wages of employees who FedEx Ground required them to hire to cover for them if they were sick or needed a vacation, to help out during the Christmas rush, and in some cases to drive other FedEx Ground trucks.

• After paying these expenses, a typical FedEx driver makes less than employee drivers at FedEx Ground’s competitors like UPS, and receives none of the employee benefits, like healthcare, workers compensation, paid sick leave and vacation, and retirement.

• In addition, their employment was subject to the whims of FedEx management and FedEx Ground’s decisions on staffing and routes left the employee drivers stuck with expensive long-term truck leases on FedEx branded trucks.
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http://www.alternet.org/labor/thous...ve-been-exploited-corporate-execs-court-rules
 
In about 15 years the entire transport industry will be automated. What are the drivers gonna do then?
 
EricK said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
You said $70k a year for 60 hrs a week for a good deal, relative to teachers at least.
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Are you saying a teacher's job is easy?
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A good teacher no. My mom was a teacher. They usually work more than fifty hours a week and get payed less than a truck driver. The reason I picked teacher as a comparison is that they commonly work long hours.
 
NobleSavage said:
EricK said:
Are you saying a teacher's job is easy?
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A good teacher no. They usually work more than fifty hours a week and get payed less than a truck driver. The reason I picked teacher as a comparison is that they commonly work long hours.
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as opposed to the millions of bad teachers out there

Oy vey
 
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