The Mail Center ETC — The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee made it easier for unions like the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to organize FedEx employees.
By changing the jurisdiction of how some employees can be organized — from national to local bargaining units — the FAA Re-authorization Act that now goes to the House floor takes away provisions that made it difficult for FedEx drivers to join local unions.
The same language passed the House in 2007 but was never taken up by the Senate. Some industry observers say the provision stands a better chance of surviving with Democrats in control of Congress and the White House.
FedEx spokesman Maury Lane said the company is “deeply disappointed” that the committee “voted to approve anti-competitive legislation that unfairly benefits one company — the much-larger UPS. We strongly urge the House to reject this legislation before the inherent economic damage threatened by (Thursday’s) vote becomes a reality.”
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., a member of the committee, again objected to the language, saying that “to subject the No. 1 commercial carrier in this country to a strike which the Railway Labor Act is designed to protect against” would be a mistake.
Cohen did not offer an amendment stripping the bill of the labor language as has been expected. Teamsters president James P. Hoffa circulated a letter earlier in the week seeking to kill any provision Cohen might introduce, saying the bill as written “corrects an injustice.”
The Teamsters have unsuccessfully attempted to organize FedEx for many years. UPS, whose drivers are largely represented by the Teamsters, supports the language because it would increase FedEx expenses and make it less competitive. Click here to read about Courier’s Need to Stand Together to Make the right changes for Our Future.
Thousands of FedEx’s 290,000 employees would be affected and some analysts say the company’s expenses would increase 30 percent as a result of unionization.
Since FedEx was founded as an airline, it has been protected by the Railway Labor Act, which covers railways and airlines. UPS was founded as a ground-based courier and does not enjoy the exemption.
The language in Thursday’s bill, pushed by the committee chairman, Rep.James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., would clarify that employees of an “express carrier” would be under the jurisdiction of the Railway Labor Act only if they are eligible for certification under Federal Aviation Administration rules, such as those for pilots and mechanics, and are performing that type of work. The Railway Labor Act allows unions to organize employees under a national contract, not in local bargaining units.
All other carrier employees, such as truck drivers, would be under the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act and, by inference, could organize into local bargaining units, under the Oberstar language.
Cohen noted that fellow Democrat Oberstar had a reputation for remembering “everything since Orville Wright went to North Carolina.” He then thanked Oberstar for not sending “any brown shirts after me,” a reference to the uniforms of UPS.
“The No. 1 industry in my town has problems with this bill,” Cohen said. “I believe the law is clear and has been enunciated by courts throughout this land … that Federal Express belongs under the Railway Labor Act.”
eBay Shipping
When it came time to sell a few of my postcards I did a little packing supplies research. Those plastic sleeves that work so well can be bought in lots of 50 or 100 for about twenty cents each. Envelopes that exactly match the sleeves are about a nickel each in lots of 500. In the end, I had a shipping package that would hold up to three cards with perfect safety which would ship with a single first-class stamp. Because I took the time to research my shipping supplies needs I could advertise a shipping charge that was lower than most, which got compliments in my feedback about the quality of my packaging, on which I made an extra fifty cents on each order. In retail that’s the kind of thing that makes a significant difference.
EBay is a great place to buy your shipping and packing supplies. It is also a great place to learn about what is available if you are new to the business. If you look through the auctions and study the listing descriptions you can learn a lot about the shipping and packing products that are available. Once you figure out the best and cheapest packing material you can use you can shop locally and see if a vendor in your community can give you a better price.
All that may seem like a lot of work, and it probably isn’t worth it if you are only selling an item or two. If you do any sort of volume though it is one more place where you can save some money.
To get you started, below is a list of packing supplies auctions currently active on eBay. Clicking any of those links will take you directly to that auction on eBay. Thanks for visiting and may your profits improve!