Delivering compensation: FedEx drivers, Teamsters fight to unionize
The allure of six-figure salaries, managing your own workforce and growing from a start-up to a successful package delivery company makes for a compelling argument to join FedEx Ground as an independent contractor. However, drivers in Northboro and Wilmington are seeking union representation and charging that reality doesn’t match the hype.
Allegations stemming from investigations done by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are numerous, among them that FedEx overburdens contractors and spreads anti-union propaganda discouraging unionization. Several websites have sprung up, all pointing fingers at FedEx as an unwilling partner in the independent contractor agreement.
As independent contractors, FedEx Ground drivers must agree to purchase or lease their own truck, fuel and maintain the vehicles, buy uniforms and rent a package scanner through FedEx. Drivers must also agree to meet the needs of clients on the route, or routes, that they serve. In January, a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Boston ruled that 23 FedEx drivers at the Northboro FedEx Ground facility should be classified as employees and allowed to unionize. Since that time, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has been trying to arrange a union vote at the Northboro site allowing the drivers to seek union representation.
The decision, made by NLRB director Rosemary Pye, was followed later this year by a September 20 decision that drivers at a Wilmington FedEx Home Delivery facility were also incorrectly labeled independent contractors. Both decisions allege that despite signing contracts as independent agents of the company, FedEx imposes the company’s rules and regulations to such a point that the drivers should be entitled to the benefits of a full-time employee, such as vacation, healthcare and social security. FedEx has appealed for review of the decision, says Roy Schoenfeld, deputy regional attorney with the NLRB.
According to FedEx, independent contractors do not have the right to unionize. Says Perry Colosimo, FedEx spokesperson: "You can’t unionize, you’re a small business owner." He adds that contractors have the freedom to expand their business, adding routes and growing their team of employees, but the Teamsters feel the contractors are anything but independent.
"Every time they lose, it’s the reality not meeting the propaganda," says David Welker, Senior Research & Project Coordinator at the Parcel & Small Package Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. "Come be your own boss, build your business, when they’re really telling you everything except how to tie your shoes."
The Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General is currently conducting an open investigation into FedEx’s independent contractor system. FedEx’s Colosimo says the company is willing to work with the office, and assist whenever necessary.
FedEx has faced similar allegations in other states, including Minnesota, where a lawsuit filed in 2005 claims delivery drivers were incorrectly labeled independent contractors for similar reasons to the Massachusetts examples. In California, an independent contractor was declared eligible for unemployment compensation after ruling that FedEx abused the worker’s status as an independent contractor. In August, the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development ruled that a Berlin man was eligible for unemployment benefits for the same reasons as the California case. Despite this, FedEx’s Colosimo remains confident the company will prevail.
"We’ve had almost 50 examples of when the NLRB has made this decision," says Colosimo. "There are still no unionized facilities."
Jeffrey T. Lavery can be reached at jlavery@wbjournal.com
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