Union makes inroads at FedEx
Drivers at 2 sites vote for Teamsters
FedEx home delivery drivers at two Wilmington sites have voted to join Teamsters Local 25 in Boston, in a move labor leaders think could tip a 20-year effort to unionize the package delivery giant in their favor.
Drivers voted 14 to 6 in one location and 10 to 2 in another, to affiliate with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, according to a National Labor Relations Board tally yesterday. The election was held Oct. 20, but votes couldn't be counted until the board upheld an NLRB staff ruling that the drivers were employees of the company's FedEx Ground unit, not independent contractors. FedEx appealed the ruling.
Local 25 president Sean O'Brien said the Massachusetts vote, and the Nov. 8 board decision to deny the FedEx appeal, were "historic" milestones for the union. If the NLRB certifies the vote and Local 25 negotiates a contract for the Wilmington workers, it would be the first union representation for any of the 15,000 drivers that deliver FedEx packages from more than 500 sites across the country.
"We've finally infiltrated FedEx with a solid victory," O'Brien said. "Now it's a matter of getting a strong contract that these employees deserve. We think this will inspire other locations around the country."
FedEx, however, said it would lodge an objection to the certification and, if the vote is certified, would file a suit. Maury Lane , a company spokesman in Memphis, said union organizers in Wilmington used unfair tactics, though he declined to specify what they were.
"The company will immediately begin the legal process of challenging the elections because of the Teamsters' objectionable conduct, which made a fair election impossible," Lane said.
O'Brien denied unfair tactics were used. "Our organizers did everything by the book," he said, adding that FedEx officials "should look themselves in the mirror. They insulted and degraded people, and they lost."
Past organizing attempts by home delivery drivers hinged on the issue of whether they are FedEx Ground employees or contractors. The company notes that they own their own trucks, but union officials counter that they are told what trucks to buy and what uniforms to wear.
Unions have lost 44 out of 46 votes by FedEx drivers over the years, and in the two cases where they won, the locals were unable to negotiate contracts, Lane said. Petitions for the Wilmington elections were filed in July. And on Sept. 20, the NLRB staff in Boston issued an opinion that the drivers are employees, enabling the vote to go forward. FedEx filed a challenge to that decision with the labor board.
"What basically was decided here is that FedEx exercises very substantial control over the employees and the way they perform their jobs," said Bob Redbord , deputy regional attorney at the Boston NLRB office. Redbord said the drivers work to FedEx schedules and follow FedEx driving and delivery guidelines.
Robert Weisman can be reached at weisman@globe.com. 