FedEx’s 5,800 unionized pilots may be getting closer to a strike after nearly three years of plodding contract negotiations with their employers.
On Friday, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) formally requested that the National Mediation Board release the union from the mediation process with the delivery giant. This is the first step in pursuing a legal strike, according to the union.
“FedEx pilots have been delivering the world on time for years,” said Captain Billy Wilson, chair of the FedEx ALPA Master Executive Council, in a statement. “We have already earned a new agreement, and this step is an intentional demonstration of our unwavering determination to achieve the recognition we deserve.”
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ALPA and FedEx management have been in negotiations since May 2021, with the union seeking to meet three major priorities for the FedEx Express pilots: enhanced pay rates, retirement benefits and targeted quality-of-life improvements.
After more than a year of negotiations, the parties first entered federal mediation in October 2022. At the time, neither party had agreed on pay rates and signing bonuses, per diem rates, some terms of the pension plan and agreement’s duration.
While a tentative agreement was announced back in May 2023, 57 percent of the union pilots shot down the deal in a vote two months later. That $3.8 billion deal included a 30 percent pay rise over four and a half years and a 30 percent increase to their legacy pensions, according to ALPA.
The mediated negotiations again resumed in November, with the parties since hosting seven mediated sessions, totaling 20 days of mediation. The last session took place Feb. 29 in Charlotte, N.C.
But these sessions have appeared to hit a brick wall, with ALPA saying FedEx pilot leaders have become “increasingly frustrated” with management’s lack of movement on key contract sections.
“While the early sessions after resumption of mediation produced agreements on various issues (medical freedom and miscellaneous working condition items) scant progress has been achieved on scope (a major issue of concern during the failed ratification) and there has been no progress on the core economic items—retirement and pay rates,” according to a letter to the National Mediation Board sent by ALPA president Jason Ambrosi.
Ambrosi said FedEx will not agree to any added cost over the rejected agreement, which as such, has stalled negotiations.
“There is no misunderstanding, this approach of ‘rearranging the deck chairs’ simply will not be accepted by FedEx pilots and will not lead to a ratified agreement,” said Ambrosi.
FedEx brass didn’t take kindly to ALPA’s request, saying the mediation process remains the best way to reaching an agreement.
“We strongly disagree that a release from mediation is appropriate,” a FedEx spokeperson said. “This is a common union tactic that does not impact our outstanding service to customers around the world.”
The courier called out the divergent points-of-view between the pilots and the ALPA leadership, with the former having shot down the tentative deal initially agreed on by the latter.
“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,” the FedEx spokesperson said.
FedEx said it remains committed to bargaining in good faith and reaching an agreement that is “fair to all stakeholders.”
In his letter, Ambrosi said the industry standard for pilot pay has changed since the start of the contract negotiations, citing agreements at four separate carriers over the past year at Delta, American, United and Southwest.
In one of those finalized deals, American Airlines pilots represented by the Allied Pilots Association (APA) ratified a deal in August that raises their compensation by more than 46 percent over the four-year duration of their contract.
“This development cannot be ignored or finessed,” Ambrosi said. “FedEx pilots will not accept less in pay than what has clearly become the industry standard, nor have they ever accepted less than that in any negotiation since ALPA came on to the property,”
Before a strike can take place, the National Mediation Board must first decide whether additional mediation efforts would be productive. From there, the board can offer the parties an opportunity to arbitrate the contract dispute.
If either side declines the arbitration, both parties enter a 30-day “cooling off” period, after which the union can call for a strike or management can lock out the pilots.
