Release #: FDX 23.05
May 17, 2023

FedEx Pilots Vote Overwhelmingly to Authorize a Strike

After Two Years of Negotiations, FedEx Pilots Pledge to Walk if Talks Fail

MEMPHIS—FedEx Express pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), have voted overwhelmingly in support of a strike if necessary. With over 97 percent of members participating, 99 percent of FedEx pilots authorized union leaders to call a strike, if needed, to achieve a new contractual agreement with FedEx. The pilots’ contract became amendable in November 2021, with negotiations beginning in May 2021.

“Today, FedEx pilots spoke with one unified voice and sent a clear message to management that we are willing to go the distance to secure a new contract,” said Capt. Chris Norman, chair of the FedEx ALPA Master Executive Council. “Now is the time for FedEx to deliver a new contract that reflects the value we bring to FedEx as highly skilled professionals who deliver FedEx’s Purple Promise every day. Our goal is to reach an agreement, not to strike. The ball is in management’s court, and it’s time for the Company to get serious at the bargaining table and invest in our pilots.”

The FedEx pilots are working under contractual provisions and benefits negotiated in 2015. Negotiations for a new agreement began in May 2021, six months prior to the amendable date of November 2021. Talks entered mediation in October 2022.

Before a strike can take place, the National Mediation Board must first decide that additional mediation efforts would not 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.

For more information regarding the FedEx pilots’ negotiations, visit FDXPilots.com.

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents more than 69,000 pilots at 39 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Visit ALPA.org or follow us on Twitter @ALPAPilots.

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CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703-481-4440 or Media@alpa.org