What does air safety and modernization of the air traffic control system have to do with FedEx’s profitability? Apparently a lot, considering they just blocked the $53.3 billion FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act in Congress.
FedEx
To be precise, the Memphis, TN based FedEx got their home state Senators (Bob Corker & Lamar Alexander) to place a hold on the FAA bill (S.1451), blocking it from moving forward in the Senate. Why are they doing this?
FedEx has 290,000 employees and contractors, out of which only the pilots are the major unionized bloc. FedEx has been able to prevent unionization because it operates under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), while it’s main shipping competitor UPS falls under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
The difference is that the FedEx workers can’t vote locally to decide whether to join a union. It has to be done on a national basis, which has so far prevented the unionization. The 240,000 UPS employees are members of the Teamsters Union, and if FedEx ended up in the same boat, that would give UPS an even playing field.
FedEx currently gets away by classifying many of its employees as contractors, which allows them huge flexibility in terms of benefits and long-term commitments.
To even the playing field, the US House included a measure to bring FedEx under NLRA, in its version of the FAA bill (H.R. 915) which it approved last year. Ever since, FedEx has been busy lobbying to make sure the Senate doesn’t follow suit. They’re calling it a ‘bailout’ for UPS.
The FAA reauthorization bill includes essential funding for FAA operations for FY2010 and FY2011, air safety measures, aviation research funding, and implementation of Nextgen – the modernization of the air traffic control system from a land-based system to a satellite based one.
Unless the Senate promises the Tennessee Senators and FedEx that it won’t bring FedEx under NLRA, the FAA reauthorization bill won’t move forward, putting air safety and aviation infrastructure at risk. If they do make this promise, there are 290,000 FedEx workers who will have to bear the consequences for a long time to come.
Photo by Sir Mildred Pierce
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2 Responses
What a slanted, one-sided story. Don’t blame FedEx for delaying this bill. UPS and the Teamsters are the ones who had the language inserted that caused the problem in the first place. Claiming that the RLA has prevented FedEx employees from unionizing is the biggest bunch of hogwash ever written. If the RLA prevents employees from unionizing, then how is it that 87% of RLA employees are unionized while only 7% of NLRA private-sector employees belong to a union? Level playing field? Are you kidding me!? Have you taken a look at UPS’s revenue as compared to FedEx? That’s like saying David should get on his knees so Golith will have a level playing field! The House language in this bill would require all non-FAA certified employees of FedEx to be reclassified under the NRLA. FedEx Express is, by all government regulations, an airline. If you are going to say that FedEx Express Service Agents, who are employees of the airline, are not to be covered under the RLA, then American Airlines Service Agents must be removed from the RLA as well. They all do the same job, right? And neither has actual contact with the aircraft. The point is, the RLA has nothing to do with the job one does. The RLA was not designed to protect or limit employee rights. The RLA covers Railroads and Airlines and ALL the employees who work for same. The RLA was designed to keep one location from shutting down commerce. Maybe we should be talking about UPS being put under the RLA. UPS tried to do that once before, maybe they should give it another go. After all, wouldn’t that “level the playing field”?
ups is going to take over. y should fedex keep stealing from its emplyees, ups drivers make almost $10.00 more an hour with full medical. on the other hand fedex pays alot less and pay almost nothing to its emplyees while the company make major profit on the back of its emplyees who cant join a union and if they try they get caned.