FedEx To Mount Campaign Against Bill Viewed As Pro-Union
09 Juin 2009 - 9:09AM
Dow Jones News
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