Elisa Winsa sent a message to Frederick Smith that said:
Dear Mr, Smith,
I have no way of knowing if this email will reach you, but I sincerely hope it does because I have a story you need to hear.
I worked for FedEx Ground Ltd for 4 years and 9 months as an Ops manager in Calgary. I loved my job and I was good at it. I hit all my numbers, I reduced package handler turnover dramatically, I designed the International processing station that we used until we became a Gateway. I created a team on my OB sort and made them love FedEx as much as I did. Over the course of my employment I saw three of my package handlers become Ops managers and one an Admin.
For over a year I ran both the OB and the OTP sorts. I got the OTP off the ground when it was first started and with the help a coordinator (also formerly one of my package handlers) I made it work. My average work day was 12 hours and some were much longer. When Calgary added a second OB sort I knew I could not run all three and after discussions with the sort manager and senior manager they agreed to take the OTP off my plate.
For all of that time I had been told that we didnât have enough Ops managers, but when we started getting extra staff and I was watching them go to other sorts I started to get upset. At one point they had a full time ops manager on the OTP, a full time Ops manager, a part time Ops Manager and a Coordinator running the preload while I ran the two OB sorts alone. To further complicate things the linehaul coordinator, the sort manager and the P&D manager also worked those shifts and every Friday night except 3 in my entire term with FedEx I closed the building alone.
Let me back up a bit though. In 2006, I applied as a package handler and was never contacted. I had been learning about you and FedEx and I badly wanted to work there. At the time I was an Ops manager at DHL.
I moved on for a few years but in 2012 a linehaul Manager position came up. I applied right away and I was thrilled when I was called for an interview. I was crushed when after three interviews I was not selected. But I had a job so I moved on again. In January of 2013 I saw a posting for an Ops manager position and at first I wasnât going to apply but I did and finally FedEx hired me. To say I was thrilled was an understatement.
In the summer of 2016 our senior manager unexpectedly passed away. I was devastated but pushed on and as we all did, I did my job. I had some issues with it, I liked him. When our new senior manager came I was hopeful, but things went downhill. Our new HR person hated me and went out of her way to try and mess with me. I tried, I really did. But when I asked for a week off in October 2017, I knew I was done. I had never taken a vacation and apparently it had never occurred to anyone that I might. It was a mess.
I received word shortly before I left that my mother had suffered a stroke and didnât tell me because she knew FedEx wouldnât let me take time off and didnât want to upset me. My family is all in Ontario and Nova Scotia. I had tried to find a position closer but had not been successful.
Immediately when I returned from vacation I noticed a change, the work load was crazy and they kept adding more but wanted me out in the warehouse for 8 hours a day, remember I ran two sorts.
On October 31st, 2017 I was injured when my arm got caught between two boxes on the belt.
By November 1st I had been forced out of the building after 4 hours of relentless bullying and in spite of my attempts to work with HR on November 24th, 2017 I was advised that FedEx had no further use for me and would accept my resignation immediately. I never resigned. I was essentially fired. For nothing.
I believed in FedEx. I thought I would be there until I retired. I wanted to make every FedEx experience outstanding. FedEx proved that people first did not apply to me, and that makes me sad.
Thank you for reading my story.
Sincerely,
Elisa Winsa
