By Al J. Reese, Senior AMT, Indianapolis
I have noticed that when I talk to people about forming a union they often ask me the same question: “How can you guarantee that this effort will succeed?” I reply with the old saying, “Only death and taxes are guaranteed in this world.” What people often take for guarantees are in reality just probabilities.
The good news is that we can change the formula for most probabilities by our actions. This is why every one of us that want to form a union needs to take action now. The chances of success increase with every single person that is willing to be counted. Additionally, the higher percentage of employees willing to form a union increases the probability of us reaching the ultimate goal of a written contract with our employer.
Early on workers from all sectors changed the formula for our success immensely by standing together. First, they worked to put laws on the books guaranteeing our right to form a union. Without these laws in place it would be almost impossible for us to succeed. I’m sure FedEx doesn’t like this, but they have no choice except to obey the laws of the land. Our employer doesn’t have a say in our choice to form a union. It is up to only us. Second, these early workers fought many battles and won the court cases that firmly confirm our rights under the law.
Not only did these workers not have any guarantees, their probability of success started out much lower than ours. We also have no guarantees, but they have given us the formula for success. Now it is our turn to use that formula and to make a probability a reality; Mechanics and Related Craft and Class Teamsters at FedEx.
So ask yourself this: “What more do we need?” I believe that if we do our part, the probability of succeeding is so high that it begins to look like a guarantee. If you want a greater probability of getting most or all of your lost benefits back, then stand up and be counted. If you want a greater probability of having FedEx bound by law to your compensation package, then use your energy and your vote to ensure that this happens.
There are three types of people: those that wait and see what happens; those that wonder what happened; and those that make things happen.
Please, don’t sit back and wait for others, join us today! Let’s make this happen!
I want to say that I
I want to say that I agree with the previous comments and thank you for reading my article. I agree, our best plan is to talk this thing up all the time. I continually see how the “group think” mentality just melts away when we have open and honest conversations with our friends and coworkers. In this cause the truth is our ally! Thanks, Al J. Reese
It All Starts With UNITY
Without Unity - we have nothing , you guys are right on with something that is one of the most important things in this drive. U-N-I-T-Y.. Without it we will get nowhere and remember this no matter what how the company calls us or divides us - WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. WHCIH MEANS THAT WILL BE THE ONLY WAY WE WILL BE ABLE TO HELP EACH OTHER OUT AND ACCOMPLISH WHAT WE HAVE SET OUT TO DO - A TEAMSTER CONTRACT.. It is time to put our differences aside, NO MATTER WHAT CLASSIFICATION WE HOLD and unite to achieve that one common goal which we all believe is a protected and secured future> evidently the company has proven that they wont be lookng out for our best interest, so we must do this OURSELVES- if we want our share .. lets get in on paper - all of us united under a Teamster Contract.. We Dont KNow What The Future Holds But we KNow Who Holds The Future !!!
In with the movement
I have had a chance to talk to the organizers down in MEM regarding the orginization of all non-management ranks within FX. I do not buy for a moment that we can not be a profitable company if a union comes in. To me what it would do is bring harmony. I can't wrap my mind around the small wage I make to turn and burn flights. And the Purple Promise...$12...gimmie a break. I encourage MX to reach out to Material Handlers, and anyone else for that matter. The sooner we get EVERYONE on board the better we all will be. Spread the word, I am.
Guarantees
What the unity of forming a union will bring us is a voice in what is happening with our benefits, retirment, work rules, and incentives. Without this voice, we leave it up to the executives to decide what is best for us. They took our retirement while we were enjoying record earnings. What do you think they will do if we do meet hard times at fedex?
Fear Factor
I was just reading in one of the other blog's about "The Fear of Change" and it made me think about the fact that we have had a lot of visits recently from our regional VP. I have only been here a little while, but in that time visits from people above the Senior Manager are rare. Now here we are making an effort to do things to get better pay... I sense that the upper brass are in fear. Has anyone else had visits from their VP recently? I am going to get the 411 on what was said in the meeting from a friend who was chosen to be in the meeting...I think people were chosen to be token audiance...they don't want people who are going to ask any questions. It is comical, when fear hits the ivory towers the lower ranks are afforded a visit from the top. From what I remember from the last time our VP came and spoke, we were told "No union is coming in"...funny what they think they know. I'll post what I find out, if it is interesting.