FedEx requests mediator’s help with pilots negotiations

FedEx requests mediator’s help with pilots negotiations    FedEx Express Thursday requested the assistance of the National Mediation Board in its ongoing negotiations with its pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).
   FedEx Express and ALPA have been engaged in contract talks since March 2004.
   FedEx said it has made two contract proposals this year. The latest offer last week, “would have cemented FedEx crewmembers’ position as the best compensated pilots in the aviation industry.”
   “FedEx sought to resolve the contract negotiations without the assistance of the government agency. The union leadership, however, refused to present the company’s first comprehensive contract proposal to its membership for a vote, and since then has failed to moderate its demands sufficiently to justify continuing with the current process,” FedEx said in a statement.
   “We are disappointed, but not surprised, by FedEx management’s actions in requesting the assistance of the National Mediation Board and admitting the failure of FedEx Labor Relations to reach an agreement with the pilots,” said Capt. David Webb, chairman of the FedEx unit of the ALPA.
   “The company’s final comprehensive proposal contained significant concessions, reflective of opportunistic greed in a time of industry turmoil. Management presented this proposal while corporate officers repeatedly make public statements that FedEx profits continue to rise and will be even greater in the future,” Webb added.
   “FedEx has worked very hard to move these negotiations forward so both the company and the pilots have economic certainty in today’s ever-changing aviation industry,” said David F. Rebholz, executive vice president, U.S. operations for FedEx Express. “We are confident that with the assistance of the National Mediation Board, we will be able to bring these talks to a successful conclusion for all concerned.”