Yes, as I wrote in my post, FDX ALPA started negotiations in May 2021:
https://www.alpa.org/news-and-events/news-room/2024-05-30-fedex-pilots-informational-picket-memphis

May 2021 is later than September 2020, and pretty close to "mid-2021". We would not have started negotiating in September 2020 regardless due to the pandemic.

Yes, our 2020 extension did not exceed Delta until Sept 2022, but our rates achieved in the 2022 extension were industry leading at that time...they were eclipsed by pattern bargaining starting in early 2023. That's a good thing for everybody, right? FDX ALPA wasn't able to pattern off of Delta rates ratified months earlier, and as I showed in a post during your TA vote that showed if your TA'd payrates were weighted 82%WB/18%NB they were almost identical to UPS extension payrates.

Nope.

I'm saying 1. without the 2020 Extension, negotiations would have had a delayed start due to the pandemic, and 2. it is possible the NMB would have in some capacity paused mediated negotiation sessions while the Company was dealing with NLRB-governed Teamsters negotiations, a factor that no other airline including FDX has to deal with. The first is a fact borne out of "Act of God", the second is a personal gut feeling but hey, I've been wrong before.

Recapping:

• IPA/UPS negotiations would not have started in September 2020 per our contract due to pandemic, they would have been delayed until mid-2021 (let's call it May 2021 to align with FDX negotiations)
• The 2020 extension was to allow pattern bargaining in the passenger world to help move the bar, which we could pattern off of - rates we could then use as part of our negotiations after Teamsters Master was settled
• The 2020 extension was announced on 10Feb20, as Asian factories were starting to shut down due to COVID and segments were being canceled left and right. During the ratification period, NOBODY knew what COVID would look like. The extension was generally regarded as a no-brainer here on APC by non-UPS pilots, when hundreds of passenger jets were parked with thousands of pilot jobs at risk
• The 2020 extension was ratified by 98.86%
• 2022 Extension came about because Company said they would not have the people controlling purse strings available for our negotiations until Q2'24 at the earliest due to Teamsters negotiations in 2023.
• When the 2022 Extension came about, the only payrates to pattern off of were....UPS/IPA 2020 Extension payrates as FDX and the Big Four pax carriers were still negotiating.
• 2022 Extension was ratified by 90.72%
• We start formal Section 6 negotiations next week on 11 June

If you want to blame UPS/IPA contract extensions for FDX ALPA's failure to pattern off payrates Delta AIP'd in December 2022, well, knock yourself out if that gives you a boogeyman.