Fed Ex, Con-way battling inroads by Teamsters union

FedEx Freight and Con-way Freight, two of the largest non-union LTL carriers in the nation, are battling organizing efforts by the Teamsters union in a closely watched unionization effort.
 
Workers at FedEx Freight’s Philadelphia facility recently voted 28-16 in favor of representation by the Teamsters union. That follows a rejection of union organization weeks earlier by FedEx Freight workers in Cinnaminson, N.J., a suburb of Philadelphia.
  
“FedEx Freight respects each employee’s right to make his or her own decision, but we prefer to work directly with employees without involving a union,” FedEx Freight said in a statement. “We believe our drivers in Cinnaminson made the right decision.”
 
If able to win a contract with the union, FedEx Freight’s Philadelphia workers would be the first organized labor union at that company. FedEx Freight is ranked No. 1 in LM’s list of LTL carriers with approximately $5.2 billion revenue last year.
 
The union said the Philadelphia organizing effort is one of “numerous campaigns” under way at FedEx Freight.
 
“The drivers are fed up with FedEx Freight,” Teamsters General President James P. “Jim” Hoffa said in a statement. “These workers are tired of management talking down to them at every chance, and they want decent benefits, including more affordable health insurance. They also want consistent and fair working conditions and a more hopeful future.”
  
Hoffa claimed “thousands” of freight workers at FedEx Freight and Con-way are turning to the Teamsters Union, which may be a bit of an exaggeration considering the relatively small size of the Philadelphia unit.
 
But any victory for the Teamsters has ramifications. The union has lost in excess of 500,000 jobs in its freight division since the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 economically deregulated the trucking industry. The Teamsters have 1.4 million members. Its largest unit is UPS, with more than 260,000 Teamsters at that company.
  
Teamsters’ campaigns have already paid off. At FedEx Freight, the company announced an 80-cent-per-hour raise a few days after Local 107 filed for the election at Cinnaminson. The Teamsters claim the company got rid of its overly punitive driver scorecard, which gives drivers infraction points for errors.
  
Also, after organizing got under way at Con-way, the company announced it would increase truck driver pay by $60 million in 2015, and other improvements.
    
Con-way Freight, ranked No. 2 on LM’s list with $3.6 billion in LTL revenue, recently had workers at its Laredo, Texas, facility narrowly voted in favor of the Teamsters. Union representation voting is scheduled for three Con-way facilities in California in the coming months.
 
The Laredo facility is the exception to Con-way’s operation. It has in excess of 425 terminals – by far the most of any LTL carrier in this country – and all are non-union, except for Laredo.
 
Con-way recently negotiated roughly a 6 percent pay raise for drivers at all its units, LTL and truckload. But company officials say that raise is unrelated to union organizing activity. Instead, they say, it is a reaction to the tight market for truck drivers these days.
  
“It seems more than mere coincidence that these two companies have announced significant pay increases just as hundreds of workers across the U.S. are approaching our local unions seeking representation,” Tyson Johnson, director of the Teamsters National Freight Division, said in a statement.