Supply Chain / Logistics / Transportation

Teamsters launch organizing effort at FedEx Freight – DC Velocity

The Teamsters union has begun a campaign to organize workers at FedEx Freight, the less-than-truckload division of transport giant FedEx Corp., a move that will pit the venerable union against FedEx Chairman and CEO Frederick W. Smith, one of the most formidable anti-union executives in America.

The announcement came July 1 at the union's annual convention in Las Vegas, and was made by Ken Hall, head of the Teamsters' small-parcel division. According to a transcript of Hall's comments, the organizing effort will begin in the West, and the union has three full-time organizers working to solicit interest among FedEx Freight employees. FedEx Freight, the nation's biggest less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier, employs about 30,000 people. It is unclear how many workers would be eligible to be organized.

Teamster spokesman Galen Munroe confirmed today that the union has allocated resources to the effort. A resolution posted July 1 on the Teamster web site states that it "will assist our FedEx Freight brothers and sisters in organizing and achieving their goal of a union contract."

At the convention in Las Vegas, Teamster Vice President Randy Cammack, who is involved in the organizing effort, had harsh words for Smith, saying he runs the "Wal-Mart of the trucking business," and that he's already started a "serious anti-union campaign" to discredit the Teamsters. A FedEx spokesperson did not return an e-mail requesting comment.

The organizing move comes at a critical juncture for both FedEx Freight and the Teamsters. On Jan. 31, FedEx Freight merged its national and regional units into a single operation in what has been its biggest system revamp to date. Late last month, it reported its first profitable quarter after six consecutive quarters of operating losses.

The Teamsters, meanwhile, last week completed the nominating process to determine the union's next general president. General President James P. Hoffa, vying for a third-term, captured 84 percent of the 1,800 delegate votes. His opponents, Alexandra (Sandy) Pope and Fred Gegare, each captured 9 percent of the vote.

The Hoffa campaign said the results give their candidate positive momentum heading into the campaign. His opponents argue that the outcome of the balloting at the convention often has no bearing on the actual election. Ballots will be distributed in October and counted in November.

In trying to organize workers at FedEx Freight, the union will try to go where no union has gone before. For decades, different labor groups have tried to organize ground workers at FedEx, with no success. Efforts to organize workers at FedEx Ground, the company's ground parcel unit, have been thwarted in part by various court rulings upholding the company's argument that drivers at the unit should be classified as independent contractors and not company employees. Such distinctions make it virtually impossible for any union to gain traction at FedEx Ground.

Currently, only pilots at FedEx's FedEx Express unit are union members. Those workers represent a very small fraction of the company's overall labor force.

FedEx's Smith has long believed that third-party bargaining units like the Teamsters are irrelevant at an organization where wages and benefits are considered fair, and where employees have adequate mechanisms at their disposal to address grievances.

Several months ago, Smith won a major battle on Capitol Hill when Congress agreed to drop a provision in the House of Repres

via www.dcvelocity.com

Landmark US-Mexico trucking agreement resolves 15-year conflict - CSMonitor.com

The United States and Mexico on Wednesday signed an agreement aimed at resolving a cross-border trucking dispute. The longstanding disagreement had come to symbolize growing resistance, especially in the US Congress, to free-trade provisions with America’s southern neighbor.

The accord, signed in Mexico City by US and Mexican transportation officials, would end a 15-year-old controversy that on the US side featured fears of unsafe Mexican trucks barreling along US highways, driven by unprofessional Mexican truckers.

On the Mexican side, outrage over the American disregard for a NAFTA provision led to retaliatory tariffs on US goods ranging from pork to consumer care products – which cost the US as much as $2 billion in exports.

The accord was greeted warmly by US trade, farm, and business organizations – but condemned by US trucking organizations, a sign the agreement could face trouble in Congress.

IN PHOTOS: US-Mexico State Dinner

Under the agreement, the US will reinstate a pilot program for Mexican truck certification that was introduced under the Bush administration – and defunded by an angry Congress in 2009. Mexico, in turn, will immediately drop half of the tariffs on about 100 US products, with the rest to be removed when Mexican trucks actually start rolling across the border.

“The agreements signed today are a win for roadway safety and they are a win for trade,” said US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood after signing the documents.

The accord requires all Mexican trucks operating in the US to comply with

 

via www.csmonitor.com