Disingenuous Nonsense Report: 5.31.06 Edition - May 31, 2006

The New York Times did a good job in speaking to all sides of the driver insurgency at FedEx Ground & Home Delivery.  However, some critical facts need to be clarified.

Most importantly, there is no "Teamsters said, FedEx said" argument.  The drivers and the Teamsters have repeatedly taken their case that the drivers are employees and not "contractors" to numerous courts, agencies or government bodies. And a string of recent decisions - whether in the courts in the Estrada ruling or in the Tumulty ruling or at the NLRB in the Northboro ruling or the Barrington ruling or the Fairfield ruling - have all ruled in favor of the drivers and against the company.  The reality is the drivers are fighting and winning while the company is losing and whining.

Second, FedEx flak Perry Colosimo must have been an awful student - because he gets both his math and his history wrong.  When the Northboro drivers petitioned for the election, the Teamsters had secured 21 out of 23 eligible voters in support of unionization.  If the election were held promptly and if the company had not tampered with a fair election by firing union supporters, then the Teamsters would have won the election easily.  FedEx fired the union supporters to intimidate the workforce because FedEx KNEW THEY WOULD LOSE THE ELECTION.  The Teamsters only moved later to block the election in light of the FedEx tampering.  That double talk is just more FedEx disingenuous nonsense.

In Northboro, the men and women deliberately joined with the Teamsters to try to form a union and take control of their work conditions.  No one in Northboro was "lured" into anything.  FedEx employees are working with the Teamsters because we are committed to banding together with all FedEx employees who are sick of the broken Purple Promises and want to secure the respect and the just earnings they deserve.