Posts by Joshua Mitchell2

One of our readers—who has asked to remain anonymous—has reached out to us to blow the whistle on what she describes as "unfavorable working conditions at FedEx." According to her account, employees are forced to wrap themselves in plastic wrap and build makeshift shelters out of cardboard boxes just to survive the freezing temperatures inside the warehouse. On top of that, management has reportedly banned personal space heaters, while workers are pushed to lift crates that are far too heavy for safe handling—all of which has led to a staggering number of women being forced onto medical leave. We are publishing her letter in its entirety below:

Unfavorable working conditions at FedEx

"More and more heartbreaking stories are coming to light because the hardworking American people simply can't stay silent any longer. Up until now, everyone felt pressured to keep their heads down just to protect their livelihoods, accepting pennies because they were terrified they wouldn't find anything better. But is that actually true?

If you want to work, you will find a job. The reality is that there are employers out there desperate for staff—people who end up working 10 to 12-hour shifts while only getting paid for eight. And this isn't just a daytime issue; we're talking about grueling night and afternoon shifts. These workers are mothers, wives, and daughters. Perhaps the most urgent reason to speak up about this is that many of these women are future mothers themselves. These are young women who dream of starting families one day, but given the brutal conditions they are forced to endure, the chances of them being able to sustain a pregnancy or motherhood are incredibly slim."

ha, ha! Now there’s a twist—FedEx is out here tossing The Wall Street Journal around like it’s nothing. My neighbor in the apartment building has a subscription, and back in the day, you could actually set your watch by the delivery guy. Nowadays? These FedEx folks show up whenever they feel like it—on foot, on scooters, ringing the neighbors' bells just to get inside. You can’t even hold them to a schedule anymore because apparently, they’re operating on some different time zone every other day. I see the poor souls sorting the mail in the afternoons; I guess that’s what happens when you’re so dedicated to a capitalist who has this "visionary" idea of working from dawn until dusk.

Peter Reyes63 said:USPS needs to be privatized. I’m sick of these rude old women working the counters who won't get fired no matter how much of an attitude they have.

Look, an arrogant older woman isn't some private entrepreneur pretending to love her job while serving some polished gentleman—she’s an employee who has rights! She’s entitled to her thirty-minute break, her specific shift times, and she can go to the restroom whenever she needs to... It's not a crime. She isn't allowed to serve a customer any way she pleases; she has to follow the established company handbook and official procedures regarding the service being requested. On the flip side, those poor employees over at FedEx don't even know what a relaxed lunch break looks like—they're constantly being pushed to hit 180% productivity targets under absolutely impossible conditions.

rowdypuma10 said:Honestly, I’m pretty disappointed with how amateurish UPS feels lately. To me, FedEx just seems way more professional and reliable overall.
I was actually going to send something via FedEx yesterday, but I ended up changing my mind. Since the package value was so high ($2.00), they needed to wrap it in bubble wrap, which my local USPS branch didn't have on hand. Before sending it, I should have been able to flag it as a separate shipment, mark it fragile, list the value, specify the contents... all that stuff.
So, I head over to the UPS location right across the street, and the place is a ghost town. I can hear voices in the background, but there isn't a soul in the room except for about fifty packages just sitting there waiting to go out. I felt like I could've grabbed any one of them and just wandered off... A few minutes later, this lady shows up, tosses my package on the scale, writes down the weight, and takes my money. She didn't even ask what was inside or what the value was. Nothing. I specifically told her it was fragile and needed to be handled separately... she just gave me this "yeah, yeah" attitude. Then, looking at the receipt she handed me, I realized she didn't even select those options or note anything down. It just lists the sender, receiver, addresses, and my signature. How am I supposed to prove the package was worth $2.00 if something actually goes wrong????

Way to go, man! You just hit the nail on the head regarding the difference between Amazon and HP Inc. Their job isn't just dropping off boxes; it's about PROPERLY accepting shipments and following strict protocols during transit and final delivery. If you had actually raised your voice to that lady at UPS and cited their own shipping and delivery regulations—which they definitely have listed on their website—she probably would have called her "manager" because the poor thing wouldn't have known how to handle it. For them, every single package costs the same unless it's exceptionally heavy. Wrap it in whatever you want. Ship gasoline, urine, blood, or half a pig... it won't get special handling or premium shipping, and they certainly won't turn you away by saying they lack the facilities for proper storage and transport. You saw it yourself—they don't even have a dedicated backroom for parcels; everything is just sitting out in front of customers. Meanwhile, they push their employees to hit higher delivery percentages because that's their only metric for "quality." As for HP Inc., even if you're home, they usually just leave a notice on your front door—and even then, they barely follow the rules.

The bottom line is this: HP Inc. has all the infrastructure and tools to do things right, but the staff just doesn't put in the effort; meanwhile, private companies like UPS mislead people about their actual processes under the guise of "adapting to the market."

The current landscape favors the big players, so unfortunately, the SENDER and the RECIPIENT are going to stay a very, very long time in the backseat.

Sri, 06/10/2010 - 11:37

The Swiss Parliament has decided to back away from a total liberalization of the postal services market. It turns out the arguments repeatedly hammered home by the Communications Union actually paid off—the National Council has officially abandoned the plan for full market deregulation.

They essentially acknowledged a crucial reality: maintaining a monopoly on letters weighing up to 50 grams is the only viable way to preserve a high-quality universal service that remains affordable and accessible to everyone in the country. Thanks to their massive initiative—which gathered 100,000 signatures and was presented last month under the banner "for strong position"—the Communications Union provided a much-needed course correction to the flaws in the proposed new legislation.

"This is a massive win for the Communications Union, and more importantly, for every single customer who wants to ensure a reliable public postal service stays available to all," noted Alain Carrupt, the head of the Union.

By rejecting complete market liberalization, the National Council has chosen to serve the public interest—prioritizing the needs of citizens, small businesses, rural areas, and outlying municipalities.

The National Council recognized that the right and obligation to deliver mail items up to 50 grams represents the simplest, most effective model for funding universal service. However, I have to say, the Council's decisions regarding other aspects of the postal legislation overhaul are... less than stellar. By siding with agency-based postal offices, the Lower House has essentially paved the way for dismantling the existing postal network in favor of widespread agency replacements. The Communications Union will continue its fight to halt this ongoing privatization of the postal infrastructure. (PS/JK)

The solution here is actually quite straightforward. If the USPS Unions stepped up to protect the FedEx workers, they could leverage occupational safety standards, working hours, and general labor conditions to effectively shine a light on the entire operation. Let’s be honest—USPS needs people, and these workers have been conditioned to grind through anything, even when they're being treated poorly.