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FedEx readies campaign against UPS
NEW YORK (AP) - FedEx Corp. is set to launch a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign on Tuesday against chief rival UPS Inc., arguing the world's largest shipping carrier is the driving force behind a bill that would make it easier for FedEx workers to unionize.
The bill currently before Congress would switch FedEx to the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act from the National Railway Labor Act.
If FedEx Express workers were to be reclassified under the National Labor Relations Act, they could organize one terminal at a time rather than having to vote nationwide.
FedEx's nearly 5,000 pilots are the company's only employees that currently have a union. The company has a total work force of 290,000. UPS has about 425,000 workers; more than half are union members. Most of UPS' unionized workers are members of the Teamsters.
Norman Black, a spokesman for UPS, which has its main hub in Louisville, Ky., says it seems like FedEx is trying to convince Congress that a FedEx driver is different from a UPS driver.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
FedEx readies campaign against UPS
NEW YORK (AP) - FedEx Corp. is set to launch a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign on Tuesday against chief rival UPS Inc., arguing the world's largest shipping carrier is the driving force behind a bill that would make it easier for FedEx workers to unionize.
The bill currently before Congress would switch FedEx to the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act from the National Railway Labor Act.
If FedEx Express workers were to be reclassified under the National Labor Relations Act, they could organize one terminal at a time rather than having to vote nationwide.
FedEx's nearly 5,000 pilots are the company's only employees that currently have a union. The company has a total work force of 290,000. UPS has about 425,000 workers; more than half are union members. Most of UPS' unionized workers are members of the Teamsters.
Norman Black, a spokesman for UPS, which has its main hub in Louisville, Ky., says it seems like FedEx is trying to convince Congress that a FedEx driver is different from a UPS driver.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
