E!!

This is a tough one…I actually worked for Fed Ex Home Delivery for a couple years…we were all contractors which means basically we were employees with no benefits. However, it was work and I did get paid, so as a true capitalist I cannot complain.

UPS on the other hand is controlled by the Teamster’s Union, which by principle, I am against because of that reason.

Fed Ex should not be forced to be unionized, which appears to be the objective of this bill if I am reading it correctly.

Govt. should take a hands off approach to private industry. Let Fed Ex do their thing, and UPS do theirs. There is room for both.

Sorry, you have this entirely wrong. UPS and the TEAMSTERS union desperately wants the FEDEX money — FEDEX is not union and most employees do NOT want to become unionized.

If FEDEX is put under the NLRB then the teamsters can unionize one or two single stations and f-up the entire nationwide package delivery system.

Maybe YOU think this is a good thing, but not many people look at the unions organizing FEDEX as a good thing.

And to double down on what I already posted, destroy FEDEX as an air carrier, and you can kiss the American economy good-bye.

Christmas presents? Expect them by Easter.

And the next time the US Military needs a whole s***load of ordinance moved halfway around the world overnight for free? Good luck!

While I don’t really disagree with your logic, why in God’s name would you want to make it easier to unionize any company’s employees? What did FedEx ever do to you? How about allowing UPS to be reclassified under the Railway Act? Better yet, why not adopt national Right To Work law? And then repeal the Wagner Act altogether! While we debate the term “socialist” to describe our current president, he has taken Chrysler and General Motors away from the proper capitalist bondholders and given them to the UAW, meaning the workers. That’s not socialism, that’s outright communism, and not once have I seen that even mentioned in the mainstream media. It seems to me that the unions are being amply rewarded for their support already. UPS should look at the big picture and team up with FedEx to fight the administration, not facilitate even more power for the unions!

Thanks for taking the time to talk about this important issue. FedEx CEO Fred Smith discussed this topic in a blog post http://blog.fedex.com/RLA

Here are some key facts for you and your readers:
1. Do not confuse all FedEx couriers, drivers, etc., The FedEx Corp. operating company in question is FedEx Express. FedEx Express was Federal Express and was founded under the RLA classification.
2. The Railway Labor Act was originally passed by Congress in 1926 to limit economically crippling strikes. The law was a direct response to damaging local strikes that had bottle-necked railroads, the national transportation system of that period, and hobbled the economy.
3. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided in 1991 that FedEx is the kind of integrated system covered by the Railway Labor Act. The Supreme Court declined to even hear the case because of the soundness of the ruling.
4. In 1996, Congress also reaffirmed that FedEx Express employees were classified properly under the RLA.
5. UPS has been under the NLRA since that law was passed in 1935 because they have always been a ground company. However, UPS does not handle their air shipments in a separate and distinct network that ties directly into their air operation, as FedEx Express does. That’s why their pickup and delivery employees have remained covered by the NLRA.
6. The RLA does not prevent employees from unionizing—after all, more than 70 percent of employees covered by the RLA are represented by unions.

Regards,
Matt Ceniceros
@mattceni

Elizabeth – You missed the boat. The whole issue is not how to classify one company versus another, how many employee drive trucks, how many planes they have, what airlines do, what other trucking companies do, etc.

Why should the Federal government even care? Oh, right, $$$. When will someone read the 10th amendment.

OK – maybe I’m applying my personal libertarian leaning views to corporations that do interstate commerce.

While we are at it – lets abolish the dog license.

My business delivers 10-30 packages per month. I use the most efficient low priced service for this task. Fed-Ex by far over the years has been the most consistent with the best price for what they deliver. I DONT CARE

I DONT CARE if they ship to Tehran, use disabled workers, or make there employess deliver packages on mopeds. it does not matter to me where they invest their corporate profit, if they pay their taxes, or if sexual harrasment is part of their corporate culture. I only care about how good is their service and how much I have to pay.

KEEP WASHINGTON OUT OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND LET THE CONSUMER CHOOSE FREELY

Hold on now. ALL the employees in three out of four FedEx divisision — Freight, Services, and Ground — have been covered by the NLRB sice they were established, but not ONE of those employees has joined a union. I don’t buy the idea that the company would suddenly unionize just because FedEx Express divers were classified the same way their fellow employees in Freight, Services and Ground divisions have been classified all along.

Thanks for this E. I work for UPS, and am heartened this info is getting out there. Both businesses are the same and should work under the same laws. We have the ninth largest airline in the world with a fleet of 266 aircraft, and we fly more than 1,900 flights a day into 800 airports in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. Same kind of deal for FedEx, for whom I have a lot of respect. Same law for both though.

Mark Moran wrote: “Fed Ex should not be forced to be unionized, which appears to be the objective of this bill if I am reading it correctly. Govt. should take a hands off approach to private industry. Let Fed Ex do their thing, and UPS do theirs. There is room for both.”

But the bill does not force FedEx to “unionize.” It simply puts FedEx and UPS under the same law when it comes to any/all unionization issues and makes sure all the players are playing under the same rules. I’d love for government to keep its hands out of this altogether, but since the law as it exists gives one company an unfair advantage over its competitors, that law should be changed.

David Hinz wrote: “UPS and the TEAMSTERS union desperately wants the FEDEX money — FEDEX is not union and most employees do NOT want to become unionized.”

If this is true, and it probably is, then FedEx Express drivers would not be unionized by the Teamsters even if they ARE put under the same law as every other express delivery company.

In fact, none of FedEx’s other drivers who are currently/already under the same law as UPS drivers have unionized.

Givemeliberty wrote: “How about allowing UPS to be reclassified under the Railway Act? Better yet, why not adopt national Right To Work law? And then repeal the Wagner Act altogether!”

I agree, wholeheartedly, but it’s been tried. As even FedEx notes on its anti-UPS website, “When UPS began to compete with Federal Express with airline-based services, ‘Big Brown’ too sought to operate under RLA status” but the change was blocked.

As for the other suggestions made here….fine. Put those those bills forward and I’ll support them. The reality, however, is that NONE of those changes were made even when Republicans were in charge.

The only field-leveling proposal on the table which has a chance to pass is HR 915.

Blast from the past! I haven’t heard about this for a couple of years, ever since UPS pulled its budget to secretly hire bloggers to make its case.

This is a clear case of Government attemting by force to extract extra dollars where it sees prey. Fed and UPS both perform outstanding services and both are reliable at twhat they do. One happens to be under more control of Gov. than the other. My take is for UPS to take notes and fight the fight to preserve what Fed/ex is trying to hold on to. Then I want UPS to fight the same fight to take back their dignity, why should the government want a piece of them? GREED.

Now that makes me FED/UP

I see no reason to impose change on a system that seems fair and functional without government intrusion. The two companies do have different designs even if they perform the same services overall. And twice the government has ruled FedEx is correctly classified. If a change should be made I would give UPS the option of removing said restriction on them, reduce Federal regulation so it can compete in the market with FedEx. When given the choice, ALWAYS choose LESS Federal government intervention!

the solution to government interfering causing an imbalance, is not more government interference.

ups is going about this all wrong.

[...] Not Good, OMG, Scandals, Washington D.C., labor unions Since writing about the Fed Ex/UPS dust-up here and here - and taking a fair amount of heat for it (see the Comments) – [...]

[...] Business, Congress, capitalism, labor unions I’ve blogged on the UPS / FedEx thing before.  Here and [...]