FedEx pilots could be taking a different route in their attempt to make a deal with company management.
The pilots, who are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), filed a request Friday with the National Mediation Board (NMB) to be officially released from mediation, according to a news release from the ALPA. Officials said this is the first step in pursuing a legal strike to achieve a new contract.
“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,” Captain Billy Wilson, chair of the FedEx ALPA Master Executive Council, said in the news release release.
FedEx told The Commercial Appeal in an emailed statement that the company strongly disagrees that a release from mediation is appropriate.
“This is a common union tactic that does not impact our outstanding service to customers around the world," the Memphis-based logistics giant said in the statement. "We have already reached one tentative agreement with our pilots that ALPA leadership supported and hailed as 'the highest value achieved among major carriers in the last 20 years.'
"Despite active support by its leadership, FedEx pilots narrowly voted it down last summer, and since that time we have seen continuous changes in union direction and leadership that have hindered progress toward a new deal. FedEx remains steadfastly committed to bargaining in good faith and reaching an agreement that is fair to all stakeholders. We believe the mediation process under the supervision of the National Mediation Board — which ALPA requested — remains the best way to achieve that goal."
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This is the latest development in the negotiations battle between FedEx pilots and company management. ALPA and FedEx management have been mired in negotiations since 2021 and in federal mediation since October 2022.
FedEx pilots rejected a new tentative agreement with company management in July 2023. The pilots rejected the tentative agreement by a vote of 57% to 43% with a little more than 5,000 members participating. Nonetheless, mediated negotiations resumed in November, but no new deal has been reached.
Before a strike can happen, the National Mediation Board must first decide if more mediation talks between the FedEx pilots and company management won’t be productive and offer the parties an opportunity to arbitrate the contract dispute. If either side declines the arbitration, both parties enter a 30-day "cooling off" period, after which the parties can engage in self-help — a strike by the union or a lockout by management.