MEMPHIS, Tenn. — FedEx Express pilots hit the picket line Thursday in Memphis as the global shipping giant released its fiscal third-quarter earnings.
FedEx reported higher-than-expected earnings for the third quarter of 2024. (See more HERE).
“FedEx delivered another quarter of improved profitability in what remains a difficult demand environment, reflecting outstanding service and continued benefits from DRIVE,” said Raj Subramaniam, FedEx Corp. president and chief executive officer in a news release. “We are making meaningful progress on our transformation, while strengthening our value proposition and improving the customer experience. I've never been more confident in our path ahead as we build a more flexible, efficient, and intelligent network.”
The pilots are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which said they are frustrated over a lack of a contract. The pilots picketed along Shady Grove outside the Memphis company’s executive headquarters.
“This quarter’s earnings announcement begs the question: Can FedEx afford not to invest in its employees?” said F/O Connor Wilm, acting chair of the FedEx ALPA Master Executive Council. “Continuing to spend billions in stock buybacks while our pilots work under an outdated contract clearly demonstrates that FedEx’s priority is profits over its loyal employees.”
Negotiations between the pilot’s union and the global shipping giant began in May 2021 and went into federal mediation in October 2022. A tentative agreement was rejected in July 2023 and negotiations resumed in November 2023.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said the pilots filed a request with the National Mediation Board (NMB) Friday, March 8, 2024, asking to be released from mediation. The step is the first towards a legal strike as they continue contract negotiations.
Before a strike can happen, the National Mediation Board will have to determine if additional mediation efforts would be unproductive, and then offer both sides the chance to arbitrate the dispute. If either sides declines arbitration, they enter a 30-day ‘cooling off’ period, then either a strike or a lockout by management can occur.
“Management continues to insist that any new agreement must be cost-neutral with respect to the rejected tentative agreement,” said Wilm. “This approach will not be accepted by FedEx pilots and will not lead to an agreement that will be ratified by our pilots.”
ALPA said the pilots will picket more frequently if FedEx leaders keep using ‘delaying’ tactics.
FedEx sent this statement to ABC24 on March 8:
"We strongly disagree that a release from mediation is appropriate. This is a common union tactic that does not impact our outstanding service to customers around the world.
We have already reached one tentative agreement with our pilots that ALPA leadership supported and hailed as “the highest value achieved among major carriers in the last twenty years.” Despite active support by its leadership, FedEx pilots narrowly voted it down last summer, and since that time we have seen continuous changes in union direction and leadership that have hindered progress toward a new deal. FedEx remains steadfastly committed to bargaining in good faith and reaching an agreement that is fair to all stakeholders. We believe the mediation process under the supervision of the National Mediation Board - which ALPA requested - remains the best way to achieve that goal. "