We have all seen the competition heat up between FedEx and UPS over the past year or so especially with DHL out of the domestic market. Well, FedEx is taking on Big Brown in a very aggressive new campaign against legislation that would make FedEx a target for unionization. FedEx termed recent legislation a “bailout” of UPS and FedEx is trying to tie UPS to the federal bailout of the auto and banking industry. They even set up a new website to bolster their case, BrownBailout.com.

In the campaign FedEx calls itself the “creator of the overnight delivery”. It portrays UPS as the company that faced a strike by the Teamsters Union back in 1997 that crippled businesses and commerce. FedEx claims this new legislation is attempting to expose FedEx to those same risks.

The Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill which recently passed the House would shift FedEx’s labor status from the Railway Labor Act and place it under The National Labor Relations Act. Under the RLA, express workers MUST be organized under a national union drive, whereas the NLRA provisions allow unions to organize one terminal at a time. This is a huge difference and would certainly place a greater financial burden on FedEx. Stay tuned folks as this fight will go on for some time.

Tony Nuzio