DATE TITLE
June 25 Teamsters Applaud Eight States Calling on FedEx Ground to Properly Classify WorkersAttorneys General Concerned FedEx May Be Dodging State Taxes, Worker Protections
June 09 FEDEX LAUNCHES DECEPTIVE CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT SPECIAL DEAL IN CONGRESSFedEx is launching a deceptive public relations campaign to preserve the legal loophole it has exploited for decades.
June 05 FedEx Threatens to “Destroy” Members of CongressFedEx CEO Fred Smith’s arrogant campaign of threats and intimidation continued this week when his top spokesman threatened to take down members of Congress who oppose FedEx’s position on a key piece of legislation.
May 21 Teamsters Praise House Passage of FAA Reauthorization Bill With Key Labor ProvisionThe Teamsters Union praised the U.S. House of Representatives today for passing the FAA Reauthorization Bill, 277-136. The bill includes a key provision closing a loophole allowing FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) to misclassify thousands of workers.
May 19 Teamsters Package Division Director Ken Hall Testifies On Express Carrier LegislationTeamsters Package Division Director Ken Hall testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on the importance of several measures currently in the FAA Reauthorization Bill. Hall spoke of the importance of passing the express carrier legislation, and of the need to monitor more vigorously the outsourcing of aircraft maintenance to foreign repair stations.
March 27 Teamsters Call On Fedex To Accept Blue Ribbon Commission Panel RecommendationsThe Teamsters on Thursday called on FedEx Corp. to accept the findings of a Blue Ribbon Commission panel that include Congress approving key legislation that would afford FedEx workers the same right to freely form a union as comparable workers in other companies.
December 23 FredEx Going on PR Offensive?Fred Smith is going on the offensive to publicly stake out positions in defense of his company.  He has been on WashingtonPost.com talking about “leadership” He writes in support of more corporate tax breaks in the Financial Times.  The “energy security” think tank where Smith is co-chairman is commending its former board member and his naming to an Obama Administration post.  And Fred Smith is adding his voice to some of the more contentious legislative debates - the FAA Reauthorization Bill and the Employee Free Choice Act.
December 18 FedEx Announces Salary and Retirement Contribution FreezeFedEx Corp. today announced drastic cuts in pay and deferred compensation for most of its U.S. workforce.  Most dramatic for hourly employees, bonus compensation and the company’s 401(k) matching contribution will cease for 2009. This unilateral decision to stop 401(k) matches closely follows the June 2008 capping of FedEx Express employees’ defined benefit pension. Teamsters Vice President At Large and Package Division Director Ken Hall commented, “Many FedEx workers already see Teamster representation as a way to secure their future and these drastic measures will convince more of the value of a Teamster contract.”
October 24 IRS Continues Audit at FedEx GroundFedEx garnered positive headlines for its slanted disclosure that the “IRS withdrew its tentative assessment for tax and penalties” at FedEx Ground for 2002.  Shareholders, FedEx Ground drivers, state tax authorities and other interested parties were not given any more information than what FedEx wanted to leak out. The facts remain: the IRS continues its audit for 2002 and 2004 and 2005 and 2006; the federal courts are still hearing the national ERISA and state claim lawsuits; more than 30 states continue administrative and tax reviews of the employee status of FedEx Ground drivers; the Court of Appeals will consider the employee determination of the NLRB.  If the only implication of the October 22 Form 8-K is that FedEx Ground ultimately writes a smaller check to the IRS, then FedEx won a news cycle but not more than that.  We’ve uploaded the 1991 RPS vs United States of America complaint from the last time the IRS audited the “contractor model” at RPS/FedEx Ground to put some historical perspective on one day’s headlines.
October 09 Purple Promise Now Officially Broken for FedEx EmployeesA group of FedEx Express aircraft mechanics had a chance to ask questions of Fred Smith at the FedEx Corp’s recent shareholder meeting.  After being asked about promises made to employees through the years now broken with the cap and ending of the pension plan at Express, Fred Smith said something shocking to these long loyal employees: “The Purple Promise applies to customers. I will make every FedEx customer experience outstanding. Unfortunately it’s not within my power to make every life experience for YOU outstanding.”  Read more at the IBT’s Fedxmx.com web site.
August 25 MDL Judge Orders FedEx Turn Over IRS Audit DocumentsAnother delay attempted, another defeat for FedEx’s lawyers.  The Indiana magistrate judge ordered FedEx to turn over the 2007 IRS “Notice of Proposed Assessment.”  The magistrate judge wrote, “The Court finds that the relevancy of the NOPA document outweighs any harassment or embarrassment that FedEx will suffer if the NOPA is disclosed.  First, and most importantly, FedEx has placed at issue the IRS’s opinion of its driver model.  Plaintiff’s indicate, and FedEx does not deny, that they have frequently pointed to the IRS’s opinion from the mid 90’s to support its position in this litigation.  FedEx cannot credibly argue that the IRS documents were discoverable when it was favorable to FedEx’s position but now when it may not support FedEx’s position they are not discoverable.  FedEx also claims that the NOPA does not contradict the IRS documents from the mid 90’s.  If so, then there is no prejudice to FedEx.  And if there is a change, the new position and the factors that lead to the new position might lead to relevant evidence in this litigation.”  See the whole doc on our multi-district litigation resource page.
August 21 Bloomberg Tries to Quantify Misclassification SchemeThe most recent update article by Bloomberg on FedEx Ground’s misclassification scheme tries to put the analysis in terms that traders and shareholders: cold hard cash.  Specifically, the estimated amount of money around the potential liabilities and operations costs for properly classifying FedEx Ground drivers.  FedEx’s spokespodperson may dismiss this as ‘speculation’ but the FedEx lawyers in their legal disclosure forms tell the real story.
August 08 FedEx Express Mechanics Committee for Change Newsletter Iss 5 OnlineFedEx Express employees in the mechanics class and craft have launched a campaign to form a union with the Teamsters.  This newsletter is written by us and highlights issues we believe are important to all of us. - FedEx Express Mechanics Committee for Change
July 29 FedEx Corp Discloses More FedEx Ground Details in 2008 Annual ReportThe FedEx Corp disclosure on the FedEx Ground issue in its 2008 Annual Report speaks for itself.  “As described in Note 17 of the accompanying consolidated financial statements and the “Independent Contractor Matters” section of our FedEx Ground segment MD&A, we are involved in a number of litigation matters and other proceedings that challenge the status of FedEx Ground’s owner-operators as independent contractors. FedEx Ground anticipates continuing changes to its relationships with its contractors. The nature, timing and amount of any changes are dependent on the outcome of numerous future events. We cannot reasonably estimate the potential impact of any such changes or a meaningful range of potential outcomes, although they could be material. However, we do not believe that any such changes will impair our ability to operate and profitably grow our FedEx Ground business.”
July 11 FedEx Express Mechanics Nuts and Bolts Vol 3 OnlineFedEx Express employees in the mechanics class and craft have launched a campaign to form a union with the Teamsters.  This newsletter is written by us and highlights issues we believe are important to all of us. - FedEx Express Mechanics Committee for Change
June 25 MDL Class Notices Mailed; FedEx-IRS Talks OngoingThere were two major updates involving FedEx Ground’s legal challenges in the past week.  On the June 18 quarterly conference call, FedEx Corporation’s General Counsel Christine Richards answered a question about the company’s talks with the IRS: “We’ve started those conversations. At this point in time there’s a good chance they’ll continue on into the first quarter. We’re still at the audit level and depending upon the outcome at that level, we will then see how we go forward.”  In the multi-district litigation, the plaintiffs’ lawyers announced that class notices for “27,165 past and present FedEx Ground/Home Delivery drivers across the U.S.” were mailed on June 25.
June 23 FedEx Express Mechanics Committee for Change Newsletter Vol 2 OnlineFedEx Express employees in the mechanics class and craft have launched a campaign to form a union with the Teamsters.  This newsletter is written by us and highlights issues we believe are important to all of us - FedEx Express Mechanics Committee for Change
June 13 Expert Report in MDL Says Drivers are EmployeesA valuable plaintiffs’ expert report was submitted to the Northern Indiana courts and found its way onto the public docket.  Robert W. Wood is “author of Legal Guide to Independent Contractor Status originally published in 1992 now in its Fourth Edition” and “author or editor of 31 books and over 1,000 articles published in legal, accounting and business periodicals.”  Wood has often been “engaged to help clients establish bona fide independent contractor arrangements” and “drafted, edited or assisted in drafting dozens of independent contractor agreements over nearly three decades.”  Wood has “argued far more frequently for independent contractor (rather than employee status) of workers.  Woods’ conclusion in his report? “FXG’s drivers are the cornerstone of its enterprise.  To a truly extraordinary degree, drivers are integrated within FXG’s global system…In my opinion, plainly, unequivocally, and without qualification, the P&D drivers do not (and cannot) constitute bona fide independent contractors under any existing test for assessing worker status.”  Wood’s report is uploaded on our Resource page.
June 11 FedEx Express Mechanics Commitee for Change Newsletter Issue 1 OnlineWhat we are after is a contract - a written, legally binding agreement that addresses and protects our workplace issues, wages, benefits and retirement.  The latest downgrade in our pension benefits highlights our urgent need to protect ourselves and our families with a binding contract backed by a powerful union - the Teamsters. - FedEx Express Mechanics Committee for Change
June 06 FedEx Express Mechanic Talks About Pension GrabFor most of the 35 years at Federal Express, the hard work and dedication of the Express workforce delivered the profits that fueled the so-called “People-Service-Profit” slogan.  But something happened between 1998 and 2000 when Federal Express became “FedEx” and the company bought RPS/Caliber. Then, one day in early 2007, that “People-Service-Profit” promise was broken forever when the company took away the Express employees’ pension.  And as of June 1, the FedEx Express pension was gone overnight.
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