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FedEx Hub Fast Facts?:

Fact? "Job growth in the area isn't keeping pace with the rest of the state, and median wages are falling, according to researchers studying the Triad's economy. Steady declines in traditional industries such as tobacco, textiles and apparel are not being offset by gains in other value producing sectors."- quoted from www.hubfacts.com

While jobs are currently at a low point, the fact is that at one point during the Clinton administration jobs were lower. Already economists are seeing a rebound of jobs and the economy in the Triad area. In fact, based upon our ever-growing population, job growth in the area has exceeded many parts of the state, and more jobs have indeed been created than lost. Fact: Unemployment in cities with hubs such as Memphis and Louisville, exceeds our level without a hub. Fact: While the number of unemployment claims have gone up for our area, employment has also gone up with the increase in our population (i.e: more people now live here than ever before, and the total number of jobs has also increased.)  From 1978-97 Triad had 49.9% employment growth (national average - 45.5 for comparable regions)
Source: MDC, Inc, Chapel Hill, as reported in News & Record, Section B, p. 1, Sept. 4, 2000 See the facts here.

Fact? "FedEx has experienced tremendous growth since its inception, and has never had a layoff of employees."- quoted from www.hubfacts.com

FedEx announced a lay off of 120 workers according to an article in the High Point Enterprise, Page B1, Saturday, May 12, 2001.

"FedEx management consciously embarked upon a carefully crafted formula of policies a few years ago which was specifically designed to purge its most senior rank and file employees from its midst." Read the report here.

"FedEx Ground will move 150 jobs out of Greensboro next year when it opens a new package distribution center in Winston-Salem." - Greensboro News & Record, 12-15-00. Not many of the part-time workers at the Greensboro facility will be willing to travel all the way to Winston Salem for work, choosing instead to find other jobs. Many full time workers will likely look for work elsewhere also. While this doesn't exactly count as a layoff, having your place of business move to a different city does make it diffacult for most workers to continue their jobs, especially those making in the $8 to $9 (or less) range part time. It should be also noted that the types of jobs being offered by FedEx has a high turnover rate. UPS in our area has a standing order for twenty-five new employees a day to fill the same type jobs that FedEx will offer. At that rate, the entire 1,600 proposed FedEx workforce could turn over every sixty-four days. With that kind of attrition, who needs layoffs?

Fact? "The Piedmont Triad International Airport currently hosts an average of 90 to 100 flights per day. The addition of FedEx's planned 63 daily flights is less than the 165 flights hosted per day when Continental Airlines left the airport four years ago."- quoted from www.hubfacts.com

The existing flights currently opperate mostly between 6:00 AM and 11:00 PM. Very few flights take place between the hours of midnight and 5:00 AM. This is the almost exclusive range that FedEx flights will take place. Flights during the day do not adversely affect people because the other noise (T.V., lawn mowers, cars, phones, etc.) causes the sounds of planes to mix in with the background. At night when people are trying to sleep, the sound of planes do not compete with other background sounds, and therefore tend to be much more disturbing. The existing runways are currently operating at less than 27% of capacity. Using their own figures, if all the proposed FedEx flights were to use the existing runways, capacity would still not reach 60%.

Fact? "The airport has carefully planned for future expansion, and the proposed parallel runway has been part of the public record for more than 30 years."- quoted from www.hubfacts.com

The "proposed runway" that was on the books 30 years ago was planned to only be 4,000 feet long and was to be used only by small (private) aircraft. The runway was never built because it was deemed unnecessary as the low usage of the existing runways (never over 42% of capacity in it's history and currently at less than 27%) allowed plenty of time and space for these small aircraft.

Fact? "Over the objections of the airport authority who cited future plans of adding a third runway, County Commissioners approved zoning for the Cardinal housing development some 25 years ago."- quoted from www.hubfacts.com

No documentation has been presented to support this claim, and even so, twenty-five years ago the small 4,000 foot private aircraft only proposed runway would have not caused a problem for the residents. The 4,000 foot runway could still be built today as origonally planned, and it still would not cause much of a problem for existing residents. The runway was never planned to be bigger (9,000+ft.) until FedEx approached the airport with the hub proposal.

Fact? "90% of FedEx's planes will approach and take off over land that is primarily agricultural and industrial."- quoted from www.hubfacts.com

Weather and wind conditions dictate the approach and take off. This is why the two existing runways are at right angles to each other. Historical weather data shows that as much as 72% of these late-night approaches and take offs could occur over heavly populated areas. The rest can and will take off over modertly populated areas and virtually all will pass over one or more of our water sources. If these take-offs and approaches won't be a problem as the proponents would have you believe, then why have areas like the Cardnal already been targeted for buy-out by PTIA even though the project hasn't been approved yet? Our question is: how many people is it ok for FedEx's night-time flights to approach and take off over before their limit is reached?

Fact? "As of January 1, 2000, all commercial aircraft, including cargo aircraft, have been required to be Stage III aircraft, the quietest of all federal classifications."- quoted from www.hubfacts.com

If a Stage III aircraft is so much quiter, then why are homes still being bought out in Louisville, KY due to excessive airplane noise, more than a dozen years after their hub was built?
The difference in noise between a ;Stage II and a Stage III aircraft can be less than 2%. For aircraft of 600,000 lbs or greater, Stage II is 108 EPNdB. Stage III is 106 EPNdB, according to FAR (Federal Aviation Regulation) Part 36. - Note that the smaller the aircraft and the fewer engines, the acceptible noise levels go down. FedEx aircraft are primarirly larger, noiser aircraft, and they have announced plans to add the Airbus 300 to their fleet. The Airbus 300 is the largest, heaviest cargo plane in existance. It requires a longer, lower approach and takeoff than the current planes, and the possible effects of this plane flying into our airport was not considered as a factor in the FAA's noise analysis.

Fact? "The majority of the country's commerce occurs in the eastern third of the U.S. With its east/west routes covered, FedEx set out to find a more efficient way to handle the north/south flow of goods and packages, and Greensboro lies at the perfect mid-point of this route. Plus, Greensboro's infrastructure was appealing to FedEx because of the area's proximity to I-40, I-85, and the future I-73, and the company also appreciated the fact there are 37,000 local college students."- quoted from www.hubfacts.com

This statement shows their intent to use college students for most of their labor force. Working late hours (midnight to 5:00 am) will grossly affect these students ability to preform in the classroom. This will, in effect, cause them to receive a poorer quality education. One of these students could end up being your surgeon. Is it worth the risk?
Further, the increased traffic as hundreds, or up to a thousand additional trucks daily move in and out of the airport in an area that already is over-burdoned with near-gridlock conditions, will only make early morning travel worse.

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