newsworthy
Rockefeller won’t back change to
FedEx labor laws
The chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Jay
Rockefeller ( D-W.Va.), has said he will not support legislation that
contains language reclassifying the air unit of FedEx Corp. under a
different set of labor laws, comments that dealt a blow to organized
labor, FedEx’s chief rival, and Rockefeller’s counterpart in the House
of Representatives—all of whom have been pushing aggressively for
the change.
Rockefeller told Dow Jones Newswires that there isn’t enough
Senate support to assure passage of the controversial provision and
make it part of legislation to fund operations of the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA). The language, which would require most
employees at FedEx Express to be governed by the National Labor
Relations Act (NLRA) rather than the current Railway Labor Act
(RLA), is contained in the version of the FAA funding bill passed last
year by the House of Representatives. It is not included in the version
that subsequently passed in the Senate.
“”I know perfectly well if I put that in the bill ... it’s not going to
pass,” Rockefeller was quoted by Dow Jones as saying. Rockefeller told
the news service that he personally supports the provision.
Rockefeller’s views are significant in that he chairs the Senate committee where the FAA funding bill originated. He is also a member of
the political party considered to be more sympathetic to the agenda
of organized labor. The Teamsters union has been a vocal proponent
of the reclassification.
The controversial language, originally proposed in the House by
Rep. James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, would require all
FedEx employees except for pilots and aircraft mechanics to be covered under the NLRA, a law that governs labor-management relations in virtually every U.S. industry, including trucking. FedEx has
been treated as an airline since its inception, and its express operations are governed by the RLA, which covers workers in the airline
and railroad industries.
The reclassification would enable FedEx Express workers to organize
at the local level instead of nationally as one bargaining unit. The
change would make it easier to unionize portions of FedEx Express’s
workforce, which is a key factor in the Teamsters’ support of the provision. Teamster officials did not return an e-mail request for comment.
Despite Rockefeller’s announcement, there are no indications
Oberstar is backing off from the fight. The two versions of the FAA
funding bill are currently being reconciled by House-Senate conferees. Jim Berard, the chief spokesman for the House committee, said
that Oberstar will try to get the provision included in the reconciled
version, and that his hand will not be forced by the possibility of a filibuster—a procedural tactic to block a vote—by Republican Senators
Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, both from FedEx’s home state of
Tennessee.
“Oberstar is not going to be deterred by threats from the Senate,”
Berard said.
accolades
; Loads of accomplishments. NASSTRAC
has honored Doug Duncan, founding
president and CEO of FedEx Freight, with a
lifetime achievement award. During
Duncan’s tenure at FedEx Freight, he
launched many customer solutions,
including a no-fee money-back guarantee
for LTL shipments, FedEx Freight A.M. service, and next-day service between the
United States and Canada.
; Dollar wise. Averitt Express has received
two different awards from Dollar General,
which selected Averitt as both its LTL
Carrier of the Year and its Carrier Partner of
the Year. Averitt provides Dollar General
with less-than-truckload, truckload, and
dedicated transportation services.
; Lucky number 13. Akro-Mils has
received its 13th Partners in Performance
Award from W.W. Grainger Inc. Grainger
presents the award annually to a select
group of suppliers for outstanding performance throughout the past year.
; A diamond is forever. DSC Logistics was
recognized as a “Diamond Club” supplier by
Kellogg Co. at the cereal company’s annual
Diversity Recognition Event. The newly created Diamond Club recognizes diverse supplier companies with which Kellogg spends
$25 million or more annually.
; Supply side. Toyota Industrial Equipment
Mfg. Inc., the lift-truck manufacturing arm of
Toyota, has honored 17 suppliers with its
annual Quality Cost Delivery awards. This
year’s recipients are Advance Wheel, Aisan,
Apex, Arvin Sango, Atlas Hydraulic, Avril,
Cascade Fork, Commercial Fluid, Indiana
Hydraulic, Julian Electric, Mac Machine,
Rexnord, Spencer Forge, Toyoshima,
Toyotomi, US Tsubaki, and Wayne Metals.
; Safe and sound. The Truckload Carriers
Association (TCA) honored Roehl
Transport Inc. as the safest large carrier at
its 34th National Fleet Safety Awards. This
is the second consecutive year that Roehl
has received this award.
