The question of whether or not FedEx Express drivers are essential to the operation of FedEx’s air operations or merely a part of FedEx’s overall delivery operations is at the heart of the debate over an amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill which would move the company’s drivers under the same labor law as every other driver in the nation.
FedEx Express would have Congress believe its van drivers are as critical and difficult to replace in the event of a labor strike as its pilots. They insist their drivers on the ground are part of an “integrated” system which is inseparable from their air operations. In short, FedEx Express claims it’s an airline which can’t operate without drivers picking up and delivering packages from the airport.
Now think about this in terms of what most people consider to be “real” airlines – our passenger airlines. People take a taxi to the airport. They then get on a plane. The pilot flies them to another city. They get off the plane. Then they take a taxi to their hotel.
Now let’s say American Airlines bought Yellow Cab and began driving people to and from the airport as part of an “integrated” passenger transportation system. Would Congress consider those taxi drivers to be “airline” employees who should be covered under the labor law specifically established for air transportation operations?
Of course not.
Flying passengers or packages from city to city requires a highly-trained, highly-skilled pilot. Delivering passengers or packages to and from an airport requires little more than a 16-year-old with a learner’s permit.
Drivers should not be misconstrued as airline employees. That FedEx Express has been allowed to do so for many years, affording them a government-approved unfair marketing advantage over its competitors, doesn’t mean this inequality under the law should continue. It’s time for Congress to eliminate the FedEx Loophole once and for all.