Saturday, November 21, 2009

Unity Speech May 3,2009

Rudy:

Good afternoon Brothers and Sisters of the Teamsters,
My name is Rudy Hernandez. Three years ago, Joe Nuno and I, along with a group of fellow employees started the Change FedEx to Win campaign.
Since we have started our campaign, we have witnessed firsthand how FedEx has harassed and intimidated pro-union employees. Between wrongful terminations and illegal anti-union meetings, it has become apparent that the FedEx management will stop at nothing to keep the union out of FedEx Freight.

This earnest attempt to keep the union out of FedEx Freight raises the question, why does this multi-billion dollar company so strongly oppose the Union.

The answer: corporate greed

FedEx has unfortunately fallen into the ever-so-popular corporate trend of the greed and carelessness which has brought the middle class to its current turmoil.
Just last month an office employee with 23 years of service lost her job. She was not offered another position with the company and with no real seniority in place she was out the door.

We are not seeking to hurt the rather deep pockets of Mr. Smith and we are not demanding ridiculous hikes in wages and healthcare benefits. We are faced with tough times and we realize that when the time comes for our union rep. to sit down with this company, it will be a bit of give and take on both sides.

All we are asking for is an opportunity to sit down and negotiate a fair and just contract in exchange for the years of dedication to this company.
Just as the employees of this company have come together to help a fellow uninsured part time dockworker pay for his medical bills, I ask, on behalf of the unrepresented FedEx employees, for your full support to help organize FedEx Freight.

Thank you for your time tonight, I hope you all have a great night.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tito Ayala was the first ANH union supporter/union organizer to get harass intimidated and wrongfully terminated at fdx freight also Jesse Lopez WHT got fired for same reasons and their sueing for being wrongfully terminated and paul R ex dock worker was harass descriminated by Andy Lessin for being union supporter/ union organizer in WHT he got forced to quit but now Paul R is proud to be a union worker/member hey paul if i were you i will sue Andy Lessing and fedex for what they did to you for the last 10 years while working as a dock worker just remember that you used to be a dispatcher helper and after Andy Lessin found out that you were union supporter Andy told Mike Caseres to kick you out from dispatching and that my friend is"DISCRIMINATION AND IT IS AGAINST THE LABOR LAW" Paul R we thank you for coming to help us at the whittier march and for being part fdx union organizing drive god bless you BRO wht driver.

Paul Reibson said...

It was my pleasure to stick up for WHT Fedex Freight workers who want to get their full time benefits and full time pay back. It is people like yourself who are committed to stopping unnecessary cuts and stopping harassment of pro Union employees. You WHT Driver are the backbone of this company and it is you who help make Fedex Freight grow into what it is today. A vastly successful company. WHT Driver you should understand one thing and that is: You don't need Fedex, Fedex needs YOU.

Anonymous said...

Hey Paul R there are lots of lawyers unemployed loking for a job maybe you should hire one of them that way you help the us economy by putting a lawyer back to work another WHT driver thanks for still being a union organizer at fdx fght.

Anonymous said...

in Anaheim vacations are denied on regular bases,becouse there are some drivers out on medical leaves year round there are always some drivers out on medical,therefore the remaining drivers must suffer.This is an example of the ilogical thinking management suffers in Anaheim team effort is not a part of their agenda every communication with management is contentious no matter the subject. This is one more reason to organize. And for a company to base its business future on the failure of YRC.Shows the short-sightedness of Fedex.Anaheim driver.

Anonymous said...

Hey Hugo what's going on with the PT petition that we sign im tired to see those PT drivers taking our freight while we are f...d working the dock also seeing jr p&d doing our line work Hugo let us know when is the next meeting in ocy i got more drivers ready to go to sign those union cards if Fedex Ground workers are sueing for being abused we should do the same at fedex freight.WHT driver

Anonymous said...

Dear Paul Reibson
I knew you at WHT and you were a good worker who was going to get screwed from Andy and his management buddies. Andy harassed you pulled you out of your breakout and gave you a hard time about the Union. I even remember supervisors following you in the bathroom. All because you wanted to keep your full time status and benefits. This company is a joke now and the Viking days are dead and gone. The Teamsters are our only hope now and I wished I had listened to you about the Union years ago. Oh well, I am on board now. Take care Paul hope your family is doing well God Bless brutha.....WHT Dockworker

Paul Reibson said...

The management at Fedex knows that harassing employees is wrong, but they continue to do it anyways.I never understood why a member of management would want to follow you around trying to intimidate you at the terminal where you work just because of the fact that you wanted a Union to represent you in the workplace. It is not about getting even or getting rid of managers, but it is simply establishing a good hourly wage, respecting seniority, and establishing a decent pension plan. It is wrong to have your full time status and benefits taken away from you just because of so called cutbacks. WHT is hiring part time dockworkers, but you as dockworkers do not see a rush to have full time benefits restored do you? Why do you ask? Because the management does not and will not care for you. They just care about stuffing as much money into their pockets as they can well you struggle to make ends meet for you and your families. It is appalling the nerve of these management and to have them openly lie to the faces of the Fedex Freight employees that no more cutbacks will happen. I would rather see it in writing from these company management strokes if I was a Fedex employee. Wow, and thats what the Teamsters do. They put the workers' contract in writing. Negotiaiting benefits and hourly wages is the absolute biggest advantage of working for a Union. And a Union like the Teamsters has a lot of power and could secure a nice contract for the Fedex employees. WHT Dockworker those are truthful words you have wrote, and it is poeple like you who motivate me to help Fedex Freight Employees. One of the happiest days of my life was when I quit that company. All of the negative harassment and bullying was too much, but as people move on so do I. It means more than you know when you tell me I have made a difference and I thank you for that. I wish more Fedex Freight workers could've kept their full time status as Andy told me it would only be a handful of dockworkers who would be cut at WHT. Thank God I did not listen to him and sought other employment. I feel very badly for people who have lost their full time benefits. And this is going to be a very rough time of the year for them being Christmas and all. I can only pray they find comfort in their families. Take care my friend.
Yours in Solidarity,
Paul Reibson

irudedog said...

Thanks Paul, for your very important input.

Paul Reibson said...

Merry Christmas Rudy. I hope Fedex gets organized real soon. You are slmost at the finish line.
Go for it.