Teamsters Say FedEx Filibuster of FAA Reauthorization Bill Must End

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International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Jul 30, 2010, 05:21 ET

Final Bill Must Include Important Provision to Stop Special Deal for FedEx

WASHINGTON, July 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- FedEx must stop blocking passage of the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Bill so that key airline safety provisions and an important measure that would close the loophole that gives FedEx Express (NYSE: FDX) a special status are enacted, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said today.

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"The Teamsters firmly believe that the final FAA Reauthorization bill must address the issue of fairness when it comes to FedEx's special treatment that allows it to treat its truck drivers as airline workers," Hoffa said.

Before adjourning for the August recess, Congress approved another extension of the FAA Reauthorization bill, this time through Sept. 30. The two senators from Tennessee, at the behest of FedEx, have been threatening a filibuster to block the provision in the bill closing the FedEx loophole.

"We are disappointed that FAA Reauthorization is once again delayed," said Teamsters Package Division Director and International Vice President Ken Hall. "As vital as the safety provisions are that were included in the extension, there are other important measures in the bill, including ending the unfair advantage that FedEx has in the package delivery industry. It's time for FedEx to stop blocking the bill. It's time for Congress to level the playing field and close the FedEx loophole."

The Express Carrier Employee Protection Act will end the special treatment that FedEx lobbyists won in 1996. The measure would establish one set of rules for all package delivery companies. The provision is in the House-passed version of the FAA Reauthorization Bill, which also includes important safety measures for the traveling public and the industry, and would create more than 125,000 new jobs each year.

The website www.FedExDriversArentPilots.com points out that FedEx Express is the only freight and package delivery company in the United States allowed to classify truck drivers, sorters, loaders and unloaders as airline workers. More than 90,000 FedEx Express employees who never even touch an airplane are treated as airline workers under the Railway Labor Act. Truck drivers, sorters, loaders and unloaders at small businesses, UPS and every other freight and package delivery company in the United States are under the National Labor Relations Act.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, including 250,000 workers at UPS.

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters