FedEx Freight Workers Vote for Union in Pennsylvania

FedEx Freight drivers at a Philadelphia terminal voted in favor of Teamsters representation, becoming the first workers at the less-than-truckload carrier to become union members.

The vote by a reported 26-18 margin came four days after drivers at the Cinnaminson, New Jersey, terminal voted against becoming Teamsters. The New Jersey vote was the first-ever unionization balloting at the nation’s largest less-than-truckload company. No vote count was disclosed for the New Jersey vote.

“A smaller group of city and road drivers at our service center in Croydon, Pennsylvania, voted for union representation,” FedEx spokeswoman Michele Ehrhart said in a statement. “This vote impacts only city and road drivers at the Croydon facility. We believe our open and thriving work environment provides a more flexible, team-oriented and customer-focused work model than the union offers.”

“The drivers are fed up with FedEx Freight,” Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said in a statement. “These workers are tired of management talking down to them at every chance, and they want decent benefits, including more affordable health insurance. They also want consistent and fair working conditions and a more hopeful future.”

The Teamsters in recent months have collected enough signatures from workers at some FedEx Freight and Con-way Freight terminals to file for representation elections. In total, four more votes are scheduled at Con-way facilities after a Teamsters win at Laredo, Texas. At least five more elections have been requested at FedEx Freight terminals.

FedEx Corp. ranks No. 2 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.

Trucking union votes, conducted under National Labor Relations Board rules, are done one terminal at a time. The results at one facility don’t affect others.

Source: Transport Topics