Fred Smith Whines and Dines in Washington - July 20, 2007

The legislative battle for FedEx Express to keep its 'express courier' sweetheart clause under the Railway Labor Act is heating up like the Washington summer weather.  Fred Smith came before the Senate Finance Committe to talk about Federal Aviation Administration funding. But he didn't just stop there.

The media doesn't report who he dined with, but this Bloomsberg piece makes it clear who he whined to:

FedEx Corp. Chief Executive Officer Fred Smith told U.S. senators it would be ``terrible public policy'' to approve legislation that makes joining unions easier for the delivery company's truck drivers.

``It's a bad thing directed at one company to disadvantage us,'' Smith told a Senate panel today in Washington. ``It's certainly inappropriate, in our opinion, to do this without any public hearing, without any consideration in a public manner.''

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on June 28 approved budget legislation that includes a provision to let drivers for FedEx's Express unit vote locally to join unions rather than having to hold a national election. Smith wants senators to reject the plan in their version of the bill.

The legislation, backed by larger rival United Parcel Service Inc., would let FedEx Express drivers organize under the National Labor Relations Act. Now, because FedEx was founded as an airline, the drivers are under the Railway Labor Act, which also covers aviation workers.

All express drivers should be under the railway-labor act because it lets the U.S. government decide whether companies can lock out workers or employees can strike, Smith told the Senate Finance Committee's finance, energy and infrastructure panel.

FedEx and Fred Smith will pull out all the stops to keep the RLA clause in the pending FAA language.  There's going to be a lot of spin and bamboozlement coming from Memphis over the next few months.