FedEx Drivers Aren't Pilots

Today the Teamsters are launching a campaign to remind the American public that people who drive trucks are not airline pilots.

You'd think we wouldn't need to explain the difference - that truck drivers' cruising level is about four feet off the ground, and pilots don't have to stop the plane to use the bathroom.

But FedEx Express is telling Congress that it's an airline. That's quite a pronouncement for a company that employs more than 90,000 truck drivers, sorters, loaders and unloaders (not pilots) who don't even touch an airplane.

We poke fun at FedEx on our new website FedExDriversAren'tPilots.com, for making this ridiculous claim. It will make you laugh.

But the Teamsters aren't laughing at FedEx's crude hostility toward union workers. FedEx Express pretends to be an airline because it wants to preserve the special favor it received from Congress 14 years ago.

In 1996, FedEx CEO Fred Smith lobbied for, and received, an exemption from the labor law that governs every other package delivery company in the United States.

As a result, FedEx Express is covered by a labor law that applies only to airlines and railroads. So even though FedEx Express drivers pick up and drop off packages exactly the same way as every other delivery driver in the United States, when it comes to labor relations, they are treated like airline pilots. Because of this, they face legal barriers to joining a local union.

The Teamsters don't think UPS or other package delivery companies should have to compete on an uneven playing field. We want FedEx to follow the same labor laws that every other package delivery company has to follow.

The House of Representatives has voted for a bill that would put FedEx Express under the proper labor laws. Its pilots and airplane mechanics would remain under Railway Labor Act, but the truck drivers, sorters, loaders and unloaders would properly be governed by the National Labor Relations Act.

FedEx has already spent $21 million lobbying Congress to keep its special privilege. It's also claiming that UPS is looking for a "Brown Bailout." Only in the "up is down" world of Washington could that even be considered plausible.

The House and Senate still have to resolve their differences over the bill, which would also provide essential funding for the aviation system. I am confident that members of both chambers understand that the person who hands them a package is not an airline pilot.

 

Follow James P. Hoffa on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TeamsterPower

Comments

[whoznext]

01:08 AM on 05/07/2010

James thanks for your concern about us FedEX drivers and lobby work for UPS.FYI we have health benefits, living wage,pension and no layoff policy.You would think UPS would have lawyers,lobbyists and sense to run a logistics company.Ride with your drivers and check out how the workers of America are doing to see if maybe there is a better cause to work on.Be careful when you ride the elevator down from UPS Towers.One can get dizzy looking down especially if your not a pilot.
Are you doing sustainability consulting for UPS too?Maybe you can bring the horses back.Tons of jobs and green.Like the beer prophet said"Someday only little girls will ride horses".But she could tell you the blinders go on the horse.
Dan
26 yrs FedEx

[bob5566]

01:09 AM on 05/13/2010

Maybe you had a good experience with FedEx but i know alot of people got screwed from them.One of my friends Vince work for FedEx National on an outdoor dock unheated for 6 to 8 hours a day loading skids of trailers sweating his ass off and catching a cold from these work condtions.He than put in his vacation bid well in advance only to to get screwed again because his boss at the last minute said he couldn't go. The Unions were designed solely for this purpose of a company like FedEx screwing there employee when it matters most.Thats why I work only in a union shop.

[ToddMcCann]

09:33 AM on 04/30/2010

Perhaps I'm missing something. Okay. So FedEx drivers are classified as pilots. What's the big deal? I haven't seen any comments on how being classified as a pilot actually benefits a truck driver. Does it mean higher pay, better benefits, or what? Why should we care? Just for the sake of fairness? Oh wait. This is an Obama world that we're living in.

[bchofscher]

06:24 PM on 04/29/2010

I’ve read many different things written by Mr. Hoffa, or by the people he pays to write them, but never have I seen anything as disrespectful towards his own readers as this. He, or his ghostwriters, must think that you’re lazy…That you won’t look at ALL of the facts, that you’ll only look at the “facts” he states, and that you won’t look at all of the relevant information, think for yourself, and make your own decision.

He tells you what to think.

Distortion: “FedEx Express pretends to be an airline.”

Fact: FedEx Express IS an airline. It’s the largest cargo airline in the world outside of the military. The RLA was expanded in the 1930’s to cover cargo and passenger airlines as well as the railroads.

Fact: FedEx Express is properly classified under the RLA – Read the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court: “Federal Express is exactly the kind of an expedited all-cargo service that Congress specified and the kind of integrated transportation system that was federally desired. Because it is an integrated system, it is a hybrid, an air carrier employing trucks. Those trucks do not destroy its status as an air carrier. They are an essential part of the all-cargo air service that Federal Express innovatively developed to meet the demands of an increasingly interlinked nation.”

Federal Express Corporation vs. California Public Utilities Commission (936 F.2d 1075, 1078 9th Cir. 1991

Don't let him tell you what to think.

[randyjet]

12:54 AM on 04/29/2010

The interetsing FACT is that the MOST UNIONIZED company in the airline industry is Southwest Airlines. They are also the most successful one too. They recognize that its workers are the ones who make the airline work well. Thus they treat their employees well.

[rmoltaban]

05:31 PM on 04/28/2010

this is just another target for the teamsters. their pensions are so underfunded that this would be a huge shot in the arm for them. also, they can't wait to get their hands on all these union dues they would collect. this is about dollars and not about helping drivers. UPS has been pushing this for years because they are tired of having the unions run their business. They should have had the balls to kick them out when they had the chance.

[tpondering]

05:18 PM on 04/28/2010

I love the responses so far. I didn't know that the UAW was solely responsible for the downfall of the auto industry. I operated under the misconception that poor management, bad products and lousey labor relations that all contributed. It never occurred to me that it was a nefarious plot by the union to ruin the business and get all the union members on unemployment. Guess these informed readers know the Death Star when they see it.

[rmoltaban]

05:37 PM on 04/28/2010

the responses so far reflect and every growing population who has gotten wise to the fact that unions are a corrupt business pretending to be a non-profit organization working on behalf of the sick, lame, and lazy. The meda and internet websites like youtube and myspace has become the unions downfall. they actually show what union thugs are capable of doing. people are watching and can see that unions have destroyed to basic fabric of this country with their heavy handed approach. They are to root cause of NAFTA, and companies moving overseas.

Do you actually believe that I would not prefer to keep my company in the USA and my US workers employed? Yes, I would but unions make it impossible to operate. their goal is to increase membership at any cost.

[tpondering]

06:44 PM on 04/28/2010

That's a good theory sent to you by people who don't want you to know that the jobs would have left anyway. I work in engineering where there are almost no unions at all and the jobs have been pushed to less experienced resources overseas in droves. Union or not, the labor overseas is just cheaper. The CEO's want to blame it on the unions but it those greedy bastards themselves who can't pass up the cheap labor for the "good of the investors". The good news is that the job market in China and India has gotten competitive so they aren't so cheap anymore and the turnover is so high that there is little benefit in training anyone because they will take the skill and leave. So now they look for an even cheaper labor market to exploit and wonder why their product quality goes in the dumper. Oh but the evil unions caused that. Maybe everyone's to blame. I sure didn't make any noise while they pushed my colleagues jobs away. I wanted to keep mine. If we had a union, we could have made it hard to dump so many of us. They says its "necessary" but companies like Apple survive with mostly domestic engineering so that's just BS. Guess good products and management count for something too.

[winterpenny]

04:52 PM on 04/28/2010

Why would we change anything with Fed Ex? They are a well run company that has high employee satisfaction. They make money, they employee hundreds of thousand of people, they pay taxes, etc. etc. etc. The real motive here is that Mr. Hoffa and his thugs are looking for fresh meat. As their membership continues to decline, they are pressuring their paid hacks in Congress to open up new avenues for membership growth. So for the sake of paying back his debt for union support, Obama and the dems in Congress are going to destroy yet another company. Why is Congress wasting any time fixing something that isn't broken? The fact that UPS and american auto companies can't compete should scare people off of unions, not push for their expansion. If we are ever going to escape the abyss that Obama has put us in, we need profitable companies, like FedEx, to keep making money, employing people, and paying taxes.

[bchofscher]

03:35 PM on 04/28/2010

Mr. Hoffa's article is disingenuous at best. FedEx Express ( which is the only operating company under scrutiny in this legislation - Ground, Freight, etc. are already governed by the NLRA) is properly classified under the RLA, as demonstrated by the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court, wherein they said:

"Federal Express is exactly the kind of an expedited all-cargo service that Congress specified and the kind of integrated transportation system that was federally desired. Because it is an integrated system, it is a hybrid, an air carrier employing trucks. Those trucks do not destroy its status as an air carrier. They are an essential part of the all-cargo air service that Federal Express innovatively developed to meet the demands of an increasingly interlinked nation."

"Like UPS, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight are covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The FedEx Express integrated air and ground network differentiates it from FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight. The fact that FedEx Express is a separate and distinct network for air shipments is what separates FedEx Express from UPS."

Federal Express Corporation vs. California Public Utilities Commission (936 F.2d 1075, 1078 9th Cir. 1991)

When the decision was appealed to the Supreme Court, they declined to even hear the case, thus agreeing that FedEx Express was properly classified under the RLA.

[randyjet]

03:07 PM on 04/28/2010

I am a forcibly retired airline captain who was a member of the Teamsters Union Local 747. I have nothing but great things to say about the Teamsters in representing our members. The Teamsters has acted as a union for ALL its members and in the age 60 to 65 fight, Mr, Hoffa was of great support, as opposed to ALPA, the other so called union.

It is only fair that the ground handling people be allowed to join the Teamsters, and in any fair election, I am certain that they would and should win. I heartily recommend them to all the drivers.

[aaronburr]

03:05 PM on 04/28/2010

Can't wait to see the Teamsters help out FedEx like the UAW helped the automobile industry and the teachers unions have helped out our education system. How's that working out for the country? Our FedEx driver said he and a number of his co-workers would quit before they'd join the Teamsters. The majority of FedEx employees love the company and in a fair election the union would not have a chance - of course, that's never stopped the Teamsters before. FedEx is a great American success story. Let's not screw it up now.

[jscam87]

02:06 PM on 04/28/2010

With all the hand-outs and special deals the unions are getting from this administration, I can't believe FEDEX can hold out... but for a company that is doing so well, and is so popular with employees, you gotta wonder what sot of arm twisting is on the way.
Obama gets his votes the old fasioned way, he buys them.
If HOFFA is against it, there is pretty good history to say that America could benefit by being for it...

Name and Address withheld (out of fear)

[drumz]

02:47 PM on 04/28/2010

Huh? Why shouldn't FedEx pay a decent wage?

I will no longer use FedEx because of this.

[aaronburr]

03:13 PM on 04/28/2010

FedEx employees get a lot more than a "decent wage". They are well paid and have some of the best benefits plans in existence. They are among the most satisfied and most loyal employees out there and prospective job hunters line up for hours for the chance to apply for a job there. The Teamsters have nothing to offer.

[bchofscher]

03:38 PM on 04/28/2010

FedEx pays a very decent wage - a fair, market value wage. Recently, they reinstated some peripheral benefits that had been temporarily suspended during the worst of the recession. They did so knowing that their stock price would suffer for it, and that "Wall Street" wouldn't approve.

UPS recently laid off several hundred pilots, which is only their most recent round of layoffs.

Which company seems "ant worker" now?

[LisaLisa1234]

05:35 PM on 04/28/2010

That crack about Obama was unnecessary.

[jscam87]

07:05 PM on 04/28/2010

Probably true, but the point about FEDEX lobbying Congress seemed one sided.

[Eric4969]

01:50 PM on 04/28/2010

Corporate America their GREED never ends so SAD.....