Strike Chances Slim, But Signal’s Sent Anyway

FedEx Express pilots have requested that the National Mediation Board release them from mediation, a move that presages a strike.

While the news is certainly dramatic and eye-catching, it's quite unlikely a strike would ever come to fruition. Even so, it sends a clear message to FedEx corporate that the pilot base is ready to rock and roll if they're let off the chain by the Mediation Board.

The company has been in negotiations since May of 2021, which quickly moved on to federal mediation in October of 2022. There was one tentative agreement put into place in July 2023, but that one was rejected. Mediation restarted in November of that year, and has evidently been making little headway since. The Air Line Pilots Association reps and FedEx Express pilots involved in the negotiations said that they have become "increasingly frustrated with management’s lack of movement on key contract sections."

“FedEx pilots have been delivering the world on time for years. We have already earned a new agreement, and this step is an intentional demonstration of our unwavering determination to achieve the recognition we deserve,” said Captain Billy Wilson, chair of the FedEx ALPA Master Executive Council.

The National Mediation Board must first decide that additional mediation efforts won't be productive, then offer the parties a chance to arbitrate the contract together. If either side declines the offer, then they move into a 30-day cool-off period. Only after all that rigamarole can FedEx pilots actually begin the strike process.

FMI: www.alpa.org