FedEx Corp. (FDX) is launching what it describes as multi-million-dollar campaign to derail proposed federal legislation that would make it easier for the company's workers to unionize.

The effort targets chief rival United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) in particular, reiterating FedEx's recent criticism of the bill as a federal bailout for UPS.

Among other things, FedEx refers to the legislation as "a Brown bailout" in its new campaign, a play on UPS's high-profile "Brown" marketing slogan.

A UPS representative wasn't immediately available for comment Monday, although UPS previously has applauded the proposed bill, which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives last month.

FedEx spokesman Maury Lane characterized his company's effort as a full-court press to defeat the legislation, saying the effort will include a Web site, scheduled to go live Tuesday, as well as television and radio spots.

Lane said the campaign is aimed at anyone who ships or receives packages, as well as the general public. FedEx contends approval of the legislation would increase customer costs by as much as 30%.

"If [people] have a concern about reliability, [and] if they think that profit-laden UPS shouldn't get a legislative bailout, they should call their congressman or senator and talk about it," he said.

If it becomes law, the legislation would remove FedEx Express drivers from the jurisdiction of the Railway Labor Act and put them under jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act. The change would allow FedEx drivers to organize on a location-by-location basis, rather than be required to hold a national election.

UPS already is governed by the National Labor Relations Act and is heavily unionized, and the company has said the change would simply level the playing field with FedEx in terms of labor costs.

But Lane said the difference in regulatory oversight is appropriate because FedEx originally formed as an airline, rather than a trucking company.

"We're an airline that delivers 85% of our packages using aircraft, [and] they're a trucking company that delivers 85% of their parcels using trucks," Lane said. "You can't shoehorn an airline into [a] trucking company's rules and still expect critical packages to arrive within hours on the other side of the country," he said.

-By Bob Sechler, Dow Jones Newswires; 512-394-0285; bob.sechler@dowjones.com