FedEx released a statement -- through spokesman Maury Lane -- about the proposed legislation that would make it easier for unions like the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to organize FedEx employees:
We are deeply disappointed that the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted to approve anti-competitive legislation that unfairly benefits one company – the much larger UPS. We strongly urge the House to reject this legislation before the inherent economic damage threatened by today's vote becomes a reality.
UPS and FedEx Corp., the holding company for FedEx Express, both operate under the same labor laws—partially governed by the RLA, partially by the National Labor Relations Act. FedEx Express has operated under the RLA since its inception in 1974. UPS chose to structure its business, by having its airline contract with its pickup and delivery company. FedEx Express was formed and remains a single combined operation.
This vote was never about a "level playing field," as UPS argued in its relentless lobbying for anti-competitive "earmark" treatment by Congressional committees. The real issue is that UPS is working in concert with the Teamsters Union to have Congress unfairly manipulate labor laws for their own benefit—even if it brings about disruption to the nation's economy.
Today's earmark for UPS in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 would alter the Railway Labor Act (RLA) which for decades has covered railroad, airline and express company employees. The Act was the result of congressional efforts to craft labor law for those unique industries—which include companies and transportation networks like FedEx Express – that are vital to the nation's economy. The RLA is meant to keep the country running smoothly, so that our national economy that depends on rapid delivery of parcels cannot be brought to its knees by local labor disputes.
Today, UPS and the Teamsters succeeded in persuading this Congressional committee to rewrite the RLA in a way that would affect just one company—UPS's main competitor, FedEx Express. The reason is that both UPS and the union would benefit if the union's disruptive organizing tactics were allowed to disrupt FedEx's vital airline express delivery system. Although FedEx Express is less than half the size of UPS, FedEx Express handles time-sensitive packages, most of them transported by air and vital to today's fast-paced economy.
We call on Congress to uphold the American tradition of competition and fair play and reject this deeply flawed act of favoritism. The last thing our country needs now is needless economic disruption.
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