East Hampton Community Unites to Reinstate FEDEX Delivery Driver

EAST HAMPTON: An outpouring of support has come from the East Hampton community for beloved former FedEx deliveryman Barry Gillam. Gillam was an independent contractor for FedEx whose route covered East Hampton Village, Springs and Wainscott. He was recently terminated because, as locals understand it, Gillam’s corporation was filed as a C corporation reportedly at the advice of a new accountant; He was unaware that FedEx requires their contractors to be filed as S Corporations.

Gillam was told that there was a problem, but, as Greg M. Simmons, the manager of The UPS Store in East Hampton, passionately states, “(Gillam) put people first, not paperwork.” He was under the impression that he had ample time to get through his busy summer season first and correct the issue during the slower fall months.

Outraged East Hamptonites took to Facebook and Twitter, alerting fellow community members as to the corporate phone numbers for FedEx and igniting a wave of complaints to the company about the misguided decision.

Gillam is hailed as a huge asset to the East Hampton community, as he was always focused on customer service. “Barry is the standard by while we should all measure ourselves,” says Simmons. Though a competitor, Simmons lauded Barry for his exemplary customer service and pleasant, positive demeanor.

In the wake of the termination, there has been a movement to boycott FedEx. Simmons doesn’t want to be the recipient of Gilliam’s misfortune and, in response, he will give anyone who brings their packages to UPS a discount and put a sticker on them that indicates that the package was meant to be shipped via FedEx, but because of their actions the customer brought it to UPS instead.

To join the fight for Barry, call FedEx at 1-800-GO-FEDEX (463-3339), and continue to check in at danshamptons.com for continuing developments on this story.