and negotiate semi-decent working conditions with actual unions (which I don't believe FedEx has, although I believe UPS is unionized).

None of their drivers are.

Almost all of UPS drivers are Teamsters. All of the guys driving the brown "Package Cars" are, as well as all of the drivers of the brown road trucks - the tractor trailers.

The UPS Freight drivers are not necessarily union though. If the cab is not brown but says UPS on the door, the driver is likely not a Teamster.

They don't deliver it or pick it up; Postal Office workers do that; but they use their airplanes and routes that are already in service. It doesn't make sense for the USPS to own its own fleet of planes and pilots. There's going to be contracting out for those services. And if they didn't offer those services, fewer people would use the USPS. So I kind of get it, though I'm sure FedEx is probably being overpaid.

Today seems to be a day for faux Post Office Outrage.

The USPS...the same thing happens with UPS..almost ALL Saturday deliveries that is not a giant delivery is delivered by the Post Office...seems THEY should be paying the Post Office?

nor UPS could exist.

pay little or no corporate income taxes.

so without going too deep into it, I would suspect FedEx is getting a better deal than UPS is

restrained from competing with them. FedEx is however, much more favored than UPS. UPS didn't buy nearly as much legislative influence as FedEx.

What you are citing is regulatory, as opposed to them receiving money from the government.

I'm not trying to be argumentative here, but you made a statement and I am just trying to find out what exactly you are talking about.


Keep in mind that UPS is primarily regulated by the DOT as an LTL (Less Than a Load, or Less Than A Truckload) trucking company while Federal Express operates primarily as an airline, if I am not mistaken.

When Lockheed is paid a billion dollars to develop some platform that isn't needed and won't work in any case, that is in effect welfare, but we don't call it that.

When a company is granted exclusion from laws that it's competition has to abide by, that is another form of welfare, but we don't call it that.

When a company receives tax breaks or grants or a dozen other privileges not extended to others it is effectively welfare.

Pick the largest company/corporation in virtually any field these days and you can find that it became the largest through some governmental intervention or favoritism.

I watched a documentary that tracked 3 packages from shipper to shipee and it was extraordinary.

them for efficiency, scale, and performance. UPS developed their system by emulating what the post office did and without the Congressional restraints imposed on USPS, they implemented what USPS could not.

and one that ended up getting lost/stolen.

There are good people who work at UPS, and I understand they deal with heavy volumes, and that mistakes can happen. But their package delivery is no way an art and a science. I fault their hideous management, which spends more time trying to screw over and suffocate the rank-and-file employees than trying to run the business.

Is rude crude and clueless.

I do everything I can to see our stuff gets shipped to us via USPS, and/or Fed Ex. The UPS guy once left eight pieces of furniture at our house (Wrong address!) and refused to apologize. It was a July day with a rare July rainstorm, and I had the privilege of clearing out one side of my garage to keep my neighbors' stuff from being ruined. And this is just one example of the hassles he has caused us.

Do you have a link that shows proof of this?

Link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022390328