MEMPHIS, Tenn.—FedEx ran a massive campaign to ward off attempts by drivers to organize with the Teamsters over the past five years, spending at least $837,000 on union-avoidance between 2014 and 2018. According to recordings and videos obtained by the U.K. Guardian, workers at captive-audience meetings were told that union supporters were “very ungrateful,” and that the Teamsters “want your money” and were trying to undermine the company. One manager claimed that a 58-year-old union supporter who desired a better pension plan had “changed his whole attitude” after being told, “You can’t hold FedEx Freight accountable for your own inability and failure to prepare for your retirement.” A Texas driver who asked to remain anonymous said FedEx’s monthly pension benefits are about 1/10th of what retirees get at UPS, a Teamster shop. Workers hired after this year will get only a 401(k). FedEx Freight’s only unionized employees are its pilots and workers at a warehouse in Stockton, California, who in April 2019voted against decertifying the Teamsters. Workers at some other facilities either decertified their unions or gave up organizing after years of litigation. “The law does not require us to remain neutral,” a company spokesperson told the Guardian. Read more
