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NEWS & LETTERS,
January-February 2002
FedEx deadlines at workers' expense
Memphis, Tenn.—I work at
FedEx loading trucks and it is really dangerous work. There are tugs that are
used for pulling the big carts full of packages. The tug drivers are constantly
moving back and forth. They're much faster than forklifts and have a lot of
pulling power. A lot of times the tug drivers are told to just drop stuff off,
wherever. They're told to get there and get it done on time. It's so easy to get your tug
driver's license there, and people who can barely drive a car are driving tugs
and smacking into the carts. I've almost gotten hit numerous times. I got
knocked into a cart. Luckily I fell into the cart itself instead of getting
smashed up into the wall. There's a lot of stuff to look out for. The tugs run off of gas or
diesel, depending on what kind of tug it is. You can smell the fumes in the air
when you walk through the hub. Every time I come home, I still feel horrible. It is worse in the summertime,
when it's 20 degrees hotter in the trucks than it is outside. In Memphis that
means it can get up to 120 degrees. I still have scars on my back from a rash
where my back belt rubbed. A lot of times it's probably
best if you don't report an accident because they'll try to find some way to
blame it on you. They'll say, "You should've been watching out for this.
You should've been watching out for that." For example, a young woman got
her hand caught in the conveyor belt. They told her to put on her gloves because
she hadn't been wearing them. She was keeping them off for a reason—sometimes
the gloves have a tendency to get caught. They give us gloves, and tell us to
wear them, but they're not always the right size. Hers obviously didn't fit very
well and got caught underneath the conveyor belt and pulled her hand under
there. She fractured her wrist pretty badly. They docked her pay for that. —Young FedEx worker |
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