MEMPHIS—On Thursday, FedEx Corporation reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the third quarter of 2024, but not without committing once again to buy back millions in stock in the current quarter. As FedEx continues to help its margin by measures including parking aircraft and reducing flight hours, the FedEx Express pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), continue to deliver exceptional and reliable service to customers around the world.
For more than 50 years, FedEx pilots helped build FedEx into the logistics powerhouse and global brand it is today. More recently, during the pandemic, FedEx pilots helped keep the world economy intact and delivered vaccines and lifesaving supplies around the world while being exposed to risks that many were able to avoid—all while FedEx became historically profitable.
“On the same day FedEx executives boasted about the success of their cost-cutting measures and another profitable quarter, they failed to mention the simultaneous layoffs,” said F/O Connor Wilm, acting chair of the FedEx ALPA Master Executive Council. “What they also failed to mention was the stalled bargaining with its pilots, whose sacrifices have helped build FedEx into the successful company it is today. Investing in employees lays the foundation for sustainable, long-term growth, and investing in the pilots’ contract retains talent already on the property and positions management to recruit the next generation of FedEx pilots.”
FedEx pilots are very concerned about management’s attempt to drift away from providing a competitive contract. Record numbers of FedEx pilots are being driven to airlines that prioritize their employees in their contract agreements, like Southwest, United, American, and Delta.
“This quarter’s earnings announcement begs the question: Can FedEx afford not to invest in its employees?” Wilm added. “Continuing to spend billions in stock buybacks while our pilots work under an outdated contract clearly demonstrates that FedEx’s priority is profits over its loyal employees.”
Pilot contracts and bargaining are governed by the Railway Labor Act, which permits a strike or other lawful self-help measures only if mandatory government mediation fails to produce a ratified agreement. When a negotiations impasse is reached, the government offers binding arbitration to the parties. If that offer is rejected by either party, a final 30-day cooling-off period ensues, at the conclusion of which legal self-help can begin. Despite FedEx pilots’ best efforts and repeated warnings to FedEx management, on March 8, 2024, ALPA president Capt. Jason Ambrosi formally requested that the National Mediation Board issue a proffer of arbitration and a consequent release for self-help.
“‘People, Service, Profit’ is the philosophy that built our brand, and it is still the way forward today,” said Wilm. “Now is the time for FedEx to stop playing shortsighted, value-destroying games and complete an agreement that truly positions it to compete.”
For more information regarding the FedEx pilots’ negotiations, visit FDXPilots.com.
Featured image: Fedex Express fleet at O'Hare Airport in Chicago
Credit: Tupungato – stock.adobe.com
