July 3, 2007
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently voted 51-18 to approve the “Express Carrier Employee Protection” amendment, a measure that would dramatically increase organizing opportunities for employees in the parcel delivery industry.
The amendment, which now becomes part of the FAA Reauthorization bill, would properly place tens of thousands of FedEx delivery workers under the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act (NRLA), rather than the Railway Labor Act (RLA).
The distinction is critical. Under the NLRA, employees can organize and bargain locally. However, under the RLA, workers must organize nationally, an enormous challenge in the environment workers find themselves in today.
Earlier legislation, passed in 1996 following an intense corporate lobbying campaign, placed FedEx ground workers under RLA jurisdiction and snuffed out several small but vigorous organizing efforts at individual FedEx locations. The 1996 change allowed an entire company’s workforce to fall under RLA jurisdiction regardless of the employee’s relationship to air or rail transportation.
“The amendment modifying the ‘express carrier’ language in the RLA is long overdue,” said IP Tom Buffenbarger. “Workers who are directly involved with the aircraft operation portion of those companies would continue to be under the jurisdiction of those RLA, while the remaining and likely larger portion of the workforce would then fall under the NLRA like their peers in the rest of the industry.”
“Today’s vote is the result of a 10-year effort to restore bargaining rights for thousands of workers, including those employees at FedEx who were specifically targeted by the legislation in 1996,” said IAM Legislative Director Tom Trotter following the vote on Jun. 28. “ The amendment also eliminates any unfair competitive advantage a company may enjoy by excluding their employees from the benefits of collective bargaining.”
The amendment now becomes part of the massive four-year FAA Reauthorization bill, which would authorize $50.2 billion for FAA operations, facilities and equipment and $15.8 billion to modernize the nation's air traffic control system. The bill faces well-funded opposition in both the House and Senate in addition to a veto threat from President Bush.
