DATE TITLE
May 07 Senate Republicans Keep FAA Bill from PassingThe Federal Aviation Administration re-authorization bill stalled in the Senate when Republicans voted “nearly unanimously” against ending debate and moving to an up-or-down vote on the proposed legislation.  There was a bill that funded the FAA before the Senate but Republicans prevented a full vote from happening.  So it seems as though the Senate Democratic leadership will offer a band-aid to fund FAA at previous levels until 2009.
May 02 Latest Senate Action on FedEx/RLA Language in FAA BillThe U.S. Senate this week brought the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill to the floor.  The Hill newspaper and UPI newswire had good overview stories on the bill and the House language that addresses the FedEx special interest clause on Railway Labor Act application. As of May 2, there are still tax provisions - unrelated to the FedEx issue or FAA - that were added as amendments that have clogged up consideration of the reauthorization bill.  Senate Majority Leader Reid will allow for the weekend to see if these tax provisions can be resolved.  Senator Reid scheduled a cloture vote for Tuesday.  But as with everything else in the Senate, that vote can be postponed.
April 30 NLRB Files Brief in DC Circuit CourtThe National Labor Relations Board filed its brief before the DC Circuit Court in defense of the Board ruling that the Wilmington, MA Home Delivery drivers are employees.  In its presentation of the facts, the NLRB brief said, “The drivers’ agreement, which the drivers did not negotiate, establish a full-time work arrangement and control their work...Except for the route assignment and for one aspect of compensation, the operating agreements are non-negotiable and presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.” The brief is uploaded to our Resource page for the Local 25 case.  FedEx now has the opportunity to file a response brief.
April 21 New York Times Reporter Writes About FedEx in New BookSteven Greenhouse, the labor beat reporter for the New York Times, released a book called The Big Squeeze which focuses on the hardships for today’s working men and women.  The New York Times is serializing parts of Greenhouse’s book.  The April 20 Sunday Times had an extensive excerpt that focused on former FedEx Ground driver Jean Capobianco. QUOTE: After she recovered (from cancer), Jean started looking for work. She spotted a help-wanted ad from Roadway Package Systems, which said it was looking for independent contractors to deliver packages.  “I needed a job,” said Jean. “They tell you, ‘You’ll make all this money working for yourself.’ ” She soon discovered that her new employer had embraced a controversial strategy to squeeze down costs by millions of dollars each year: it insisted that Jean and the other drivers were independent contractors, not employees.
April 10 Mass. Ground/HD Drivers to Hold Meeting on April 13Following the denial of the Massachusetts misclassification case as a class action lawsuit, all MA past and present FedEx Ground and Home Delivery drivers wishing to pursue a misclassification claim MUST file an individual complaint against FedEx to protect your rights.  The lawyers representing the existing named plaintiffs are holding an informational meeting at 11:00 am on Sunday April 13, 2008 at the Hilton Garden Inn Worcester at 35 Worcester Center Blvd. in Worcester, MA.  The law firm directs questions to their web site at www.prle.com (click on the class action page and then click on FedEx lawsuits.) Neither the International Brotherhood of Teamsters nor any affiliated local union is a party to this litigation; this announcement is for information purposes only.
March 26 FedEx Won't Say How Many Single-route or Multi-route ContractorsChristine Richards is the FedEx Corporation’s General Counsel and Secretary.  She primarily handled the questions from analysts on FedEx’s misclassification troubles on the March 20, 2008 quarterly conference call.  She did her best not to answer those questions.  Especially a question about exactly what the percentage of single work area versus multi work area contractors were in the past and are presently.  If FedEx wants to convince observers to believe that the future of the Ground division is in the hands of multi-route drivers, the company will need to show how this ‘transition’ is going in practice.  Although Counselor Richards didn’t offer any answers, other FedEx lawyers provided some historical data in the multi-district litigation.  And we are posting it as a public service.
March 19 FedEx Files Brief in U.S. Court of AppealsFedEx Home Delivery is defending its illegal contractor model in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.  FedEx Home Delivery is requesting a review of a National Labor Relations Board determination that drivers at two Massachusetts terminals are employees and not “contractors” as contended by FedEx. The drivers at the two facilities overwhelmingly voted in October 2006 to join Teamsters Local 25. The NLRB ordered FedEx to bargain with Local 25, but FedEx refused to do so and filed the request for review in the Court of Appeals instead. The D.C. Circuit is the highest court yet to hear a case on FedEx’s illegal contractor model. 
February 28 Teamsters Support Connecticut Misclassification LegislationThe Teamsters strongly support legislation before the Connecticut General Assembly that would create a task force to review whether employers are misclassifying workers as independent contractors.  The Connecticut bill would review and coordinate the investigation and civil and criminal prosecution of state and federal laws regarding misclassification. The Connecticut General Assembly Committee on Labor and Public Employees is considering this legislation.
February 01 Michigan Governor Signs Executive Order on MisclassificationMichigan Governor Jennifer Granholm on February 1 issued an Executive Order to stop employers from illegally classifying its workforce as independent contractors. Granholm’s action will increase oversight over employers to assure that properly classified employees rights and benefits are protected. The order also created a task force to improve enforcement actions.
January 25 IRS Information for Ground/Home Delivery DriversThe IRS has previously said that a priority for 2008 is to increase vigilance over employers that intentionally misclassify its workforce as “contractors.” The IRS sees this illegal behavior as contributing to the federal “tax gap.” There are several IRS resources for FedEx Ground and Home Delivery drivers that should be evaluated by anyone who seeks to prove they are employees or joint employees of FedEx.  FedExWatch offers these resources and links for informational purposes only and all drivers should seek professional tax advice for their own personal situation.
January 15 CA Judge Says RPS-IRS Agreement "Not Worth Paper it is Written On"FedEx managers regularly point to the RPS-IRS 1995 Agreement in defending its contractor model. RPS is the predecessor company to FedEx Ground.  With the IRS in 2007 preliminarily determining that FedEx Ground and Home Delivery drivers are employees and not contractors, FedEx still clings to the decade old agreement as critical to affirming the company’s position.  But in the Estrada class action lawsuit in California, the trial judge reviewed the probative value of including the RPS-IRS 1995 Agreement into evidence in 2004 and the judge concluded, “If one actually reads the letter, it is not terribly convincing…I quote, ‘This letter does not preclude any owner-operator from filing an SS-8 to request an employment status determination of the relationship with RPS.  The determination of employment status by the Service will be based upon an analysis of the facts as presented by the worker and RPS’…In effect, what you have here is an opinion based upon the representations and statements made by the lawyers for RPS…The fact the IRS believed such status was not static is based upon the next to last paragraph which I read into the record.  As such I believe the letter is relevant only to show that RPS received this letter and it therefore goes to the beliefs of the parties.  But as an opinion in and of itself, I think it is really not worth the paper it is written on.”
January 09 IRS is Correct (Yesterday), IRS is Wrong (Today)In the past, FedEx’s lawyers highlighted the 1994 RPS-IRS Agreement to support its defenses.  Like when they argued in 2004 in California, “The decisions of both the IRS and the EDD to respect the independent contractor treatment was correct when it was made.  Nothing has happened since that would justify a change.  The Company and the contractors relied on these decisions in structuring their business relationships over the past nine years and it would be manifestly unfair to upset those relationships now, particularly given the fact that there have been no changes to the contractual arrangement.” Now, the company seeks to dismiss the 2007 IRS audit determination as “tentative” and thus not worth noticing.  Something certainly changed that caught the IRS auditors attention.  FedExWatch will gather what is publicly available to provide the info as this story unfolds.  We’ve started with the IRS “Closing Agreement” here and will post more.
December 21 IRS Audits FedEx Ground, Penalties Assessed at $319 MILLION for 2002From FDX Corp’s 10-K of December 21, 2007: “On December 20, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service informed us that its audit team had concluded an audit for the 2002 calendar year regarding the classification of owner-operators at FedEx Ground. The IRS has tentatively concluded, subject to further discussion with us, that FedEx Ground’s pick-up-and-delivery owner-operators should be reclassified as employees for federal employment tax purposes. The IRS has indicated that it anticipates assessing tax and penalties of $319 million plus interest for 2002. Similar issues are under audit by the IRS for calendar years 2004 through 2006. We believe that we have strong defenses to the IRS’s tentative assessment and will vigorously defend our position, as we continue to believe that FedEx Ground’s owner-operators are independent contractors. Given the preliminary status of this matter, we cannot yet determine the amount or a reasonable range of potential loss. However, we do not believe that any loss is probable.”
December 21 FedEx Warns Investors and Ground/HD DriversFor the first time, FedEx Corporation publicly said regulatory and legal challenges to its employment classifications could result in costs detrimental to its stock price.  FedEx Corporation said that FedEx Ground “anticipates continuing changes to its relationships with its contractors, which are expected to increase the cost of operations, and it is reasonably possible that such cost increases could be material.” That one sentence speaks volumes to both investors and FedEx Ground and Home Delivery drivers. 
December 19 Mass AG Cites and Fines FedEx Ground $190,000Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa: “I applaud the just actions taken by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley in targeting the scofflaw FedEx Ground.  FedEx Ground has for too long passed unnoticed as it calls its drivers ‘independent’ but illegally controls them like employees.  But FedEx Ground is running out of places to hide.  This action in Massachusetts is another nail in the coffin of FedEx’s illegal business model.”
November 06 FedEx Pays $253,000 to 5 Northboro Drivers, Election RescheduledFedEx Home Delivery has agreed to pay five former and present drivers a total $253,000 to settle a series of unfair labor charges brought by the National Labor Relations Board against the company. The five drivers –four former and one present driver – all worked in the Northboro, Massachusetts Home Delivery terminal and were union supporters in a unionization drive in 2005 and 2006 by Teamsters Local 170. The NLRB also ordered an election in Northboro for February 2008.
October 12 Teamsters, FEDXMX Organizing Committee Announce OAK and LAX MeetingsThe Teamsters and the FedEx Aircraft Mechanics Organizing Committee announce two more open houses: Oct 15 in OAK and Oct 27 and 28 in LAX.  Teamster representatives, Organizing Committee and out-station representatives and Teamster mechanics from UPS, Airtran, Continental, United, ABX and others with be there.
October 04 FedEx Home Delivery versus National Labor Relations BoardOn Sept. 28, the National Labor Relations Board ordered FedEx to “cease and desist from failing and refusing to recognize and bargain with Teamsters Local Union 25 as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the employees” in the two Wilmington, MA Home Delivery units.  The company will ignore this order too. On Oct. 1, FedEx appealed the NLRB determination that the Home Delivery drivers are employees in the U.S. Court of Appeals D.C. Circuit.  FedEx wants to re-litigate the status of the Wilmington drivers.  FedEx must file its statement of issues - meaning repeat its losing argument - by Nov. 2; future filings will be uploaded to our Resource page.  The company and their lawyers are not satisfied with losing in the California Court of Appeal; they want a new, bitterer-tasting higher court ruling against them in the U.S. Court of Appeal.
September 26 FedEx Ground/HD Drivers Sue FedEx, Adecco and Kelly ServicesPulling back the curtain on the contractor scam at FedEx Ground is uncovering a whole lot of possible illegal activity. In the legal cyclone swirling around FedEx Ground in the multi-district litigation, federal claims are being filed on behalf of drivers to regain their rights and proper compensation. Three such cases alleging wage claims for present and former FedEx Ground and/or FedEx Home Delivery and/or Adecco USA and/or Kelly Services drivers could reveal another layer of the contractor scam.
September 21 FedEx Abandons Single Vehicle Contractor Model in California’This is the beginning of the end of the contractor scam at FedEx Ground,’ says Jim Hoffa.  FedEx could pay between $26 million to $33 million in severance costs alone for abandoning its illegal contractor model in California.  FedEx and Fred Smith calls this abandonment a ‘transformation.’ But this is a retreat from the company’s contractor model.  And a termination notice for about 1000 FedEx Ground and HD drivers in California who won’t take on additional routes.
Page 1 of 3 pages  1 2 3 >