FedEx dealt blow on unionizing
07-01-2007, 09:11 AM
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FedEx dealt blow on unionizing
The Commercial Appeal June 29, 2007
FedEx dealt blow on unionizing
By Jane Roberts
Contact
June 29, 2007
A last-minute amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill would make it much easier for nonairline employees at FedEx Express to unionize, striking a deep wound in a company that says it has worked from Day One to grow "customer by customer."
The amendment, supported by rival UPS, would allow FedEx Express workers to organize under the National Labor Relations Act instead of the Railway Labor Act. Currently, only FedEx pilots are unionized.
The amendment passed 51-18 late Thursday afternoon in the House Transportation Committee.
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., was the lone Democrat voting against.
"The fact is, on this issue, Federal Express is right," he told committee members, reminding them that the purpose of the RLA is to protect the nation from shutdowns. "Federal Express is the railway express of the 21st century."
Allowing a small group of workers within the company to disrupt its service would disrupt commerce in this country and the world, Cohen said.
FedEx, which started as an airline company, adheres to collective bargaining rules in the railway law. The act covers workers in aviation and railroading, setting in place strict guidelines about who may strike and when as a way to safeguard interstate commerce.
In FedEx's case, a union would have to organize the workers on a national basis instead of by terminals or ramps.
UPS, which started primarily as a trucking company, is governed by the National Labor Relations Act. It is easier for unions to organize under the NLRA because members can enroll at individual work sites.
FedEx has been peppered with lawsuits and union elections among its independent FedEx Ground workers, who say they are treated like employees with none of the benefits.
They are awaiting a ruling later this summer in an Indiana federal court that will determine whether their 35 cases from across the nation may go forward as a class-action suit.
FedEx spokesman Maury Lane expressed disappointment with Thursday's committee vote.
"FedEx believes in its great history of growing the company customer by customer, unlike our competition who wants to grow its business by a legislative bailout," Lane said. "We hope the House will remove the amendment so the U.S. consumers rather than the Congress will decide who the marketplace winner will be."
UPS, the Teamsters' strongest hold, said it did not sponsor the legislation but strongly supports it.
"Workers performing the same tasks in the express delivery industry should fall under the same labor laws," said Malcolm Berkley, UPS spokesman. "We're talking about drivers for express delivery companies who perform nonairline-related functions. These people pass each other in courier vans every day. They make deliveries on the same streets, often to same addresses. They do the same job."
The amendment was offered by James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the Transportation Committee.
The issue was part of the agenda for the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department for the FAA bill. It isn't new. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, introduced it in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
--Jane Roberts: 529-2512
FedEx dealt blow on unionizing
By Jane Roberts
Contact
June 29, 2007
A last-minute amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill would make it much easier for nonairline employees at FedEx Express to unionize, striking a deep wound in a company that says it has worked from Day One to grow "customer by customer."
The amendment, supported by rival UPS, would allow FedEx Express workers to organize under the National Labor Relations Act instead of the Railway Labor Act. Currently, only FedEx pilots are unionized.
The amendment passed 51-18 late Thursday afternoon in the House Transportation Committee.
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., was the lone Democrat voting against.
"The fact is, on this issue, Federal Express is right," he told committee members, reminding them that the purpose of the RLA is to protect the nation from shutdowns. "Federal Express is the railway express of the 21st century."
Allowing a small group of workers within the company to disrupt its service would disrupt commerce in this country and the world, Cohen said.
FedEx, which started as an airline company, adheres to collective bargaining rules in the railway law. The act covers workers in aviation and railroading, setting in place strict guidelines about who may strike and when as a way to safeguard interstate commerce.
In FedEx's case, a union would have to organize the workers on a national basis instead of by terminals or ramps.
UPS, which started primarily as a trucking company, is governed by the National Labor Relations Act. It is easier for unions to organize under the NLRA because members can enroll at individual work sites.
FedEx has been peppered with lawsuits and union elections among its independent FedEx Ground workers, who say they are treated like employees with none of the benefits.
They are awaiting a ruling later this summer in an Indiana federal court that will determine whether their 35 cases from across the nation may go forward as a class-action suit.
FedEx spokesman Maury Lane expressed disappointment with Thursday's committee vote.
"FedEx believes in its great history of growing the company customer by customer, unlike our competition who wants to grow its business by a legislative bailout," Lane said. "We hope the House will remove the amendment so the U.S. consumers rather than the Congress will decide who the marketplace winner will be."
UPS, the Teamsters' strongest hold, said it did not sponsor the legislation but strongly supports it.
"Workers performing the same tasks in the express delivery industry should fall under the same labor laws," said Malcolm Berkley, UPS spokesman. "We're talking about drivers for express delivery companies who perform nonairline-related functions. These people pass each other in courier vans every day. They make deliveries on the same streets, often to same addresses. They do the same job."
The amendment was offered by James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the Transportation Committee.
The issue was part of the agenda for the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department for the FAA bill. It isn't new. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, introduced it in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
--Jane Roberts: 529-2512
07-01-2007, 10:31 AM
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Old news ... someone pointed this out several days ago. 
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/sh...ad.php?t=14027
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/sh...ad.php?t=14027
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