FedEx pilots reject labor deal, sending both sides back to talks

FedEx Corp.’s unionized pilots rejected a tentative agreement to renew a labor contract on which talks have dragged on for more than two years.  

The courier’s pilots voted 57% against the deal while 43% were in favor, the Air Line Pilots Association, or ALPA, said in a statement. There are about 5,000 FedEx pilots, according to the company, and 98% participated in the vote, an ALPA representative said.   

“Our members have spoken and we will now regroup and prepare for the next steps,” Capt. Chris Norman, the FedEx chair for ALPA in the statement. “FedEx pilots remain unified, and that will drive a new path that will help produce an agreement that all FedEx pilots will be proud to support.”

The rejection adds to a labor conflagration this summer in which Hollywood screenwriters, United Parcel Service Inc. delivery drivers and auto workers are all on strike or threatening to do so. The pandemic unleashed a worker movement fueled by anger at inflation undercutting their wages and the realization of their importance after they kept businesses going during at the height of Covid-19 chaos. 

Still, FedEx pilots have little choice but to continue flying while negotiators return to the bargaining table. They fall under the Railway Labor Act, which governs only the airline and rail industries and makes it difficult to strike. Although FedEx’s labor contract became amendable in November of 2021, the union cannot take any action until the National Mediation Board gives up on working out a mediated solution and declares the talks at an impasse. 

FedEx said in a statement that the no-vote doesn’t impact its service. 

“While we are disappointed in these voting results, FedEx will continue to bargain in good faith with our pilots to achieve an agreement that is fair for all FedEx stakeholders,” the company said. 

The National Mediation Board is expected to hold a conference with both sides on the status of the talks, but there is no deadline for doing so, ALPA said in its statement. If the board were to declare an impasse, it would set off a series of deadlines that could pull the White House into the dispute — similar to a labor deal that was imposed on the railroad industry last year. This time, such a decision by the board would impact the run-up to 2024 presidential elections.