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Non-Tech : FedEx (FDX) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Darryl Olson who wrote (227)	11/5/1998 5:26:00 PM
From: Darryl Olson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 524

FedEx pilots consider speeding up strike vote: Thursday November 5 2:44 PM ET FedEx Pilots Consider Speeding Up Strike Vote By Brad Dorfman CHICAGO (Reuters) - Pilots at Federal Express were meeting Thursday to consider ways to speed up balloting in a strike vote, a move that could ensure the pilots would be able to strike the world's largest air express package carrier during the peak holiday season. Ballots were being mailed Thursday to about 3,200 pilots represented by the FedEx Pilots Association, a union spokesman said. At this point, the return date for the ballots is set for the first week of December. But at a strategic planning session in Memphis, the union's leadership was considering the possibility of electronic balloting or other means of concluding the strike election sooner, union spokesman Bob Clement said. Approval from two-thirds of the pilots is necessary to call a strike at FedEx, a unit of Memphis, Tenn.-based FDX Corp. (NYSE:FDX - news). The two sides have been negotiating since July in an effort to reach the first-ever pilots contract at FedEx covering the issues of scheduling and wages. Talks broke down Friday, and an attempt to restart them in Washington earlier this week with the help of the National Mediation Board (NMB), failed, Clement said. Wednesday, the company said it had decided not to challenge the union's assertion that it did not need to get renewed permission from the NMB to strike. In 1995, the pilots, then represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), completed a 30-day cooling off period, which would have cleared them to strike. The company said it agreed that the steps taken in 1995 met the requirements under the Railway Labor Act that the union had to take before striking and that the steps did not have to be repeated now. There had been some questions over whether the current pilots' union would have had to go through those steps again, which could have pushed a strike into January, after the holiday season. As things currently stand, the pilots can strike as soon as they receive authorization from their members, Clement said. At the same time, the company could impose a new contract, or eventually even lock the pilots out. A FedEx spokesman declined to speculate on what steps the company might take, but said any possible lockout would not occur anytime soon. ''We definitely will do everything we can to meet the needs of our customers,'' FedEx spokesman Gregory Rossiter said. He added that customer shipping volume has remained steady, despite the threat of a strike or other disruptions. The pilots have also threatened to refuse to fly voluntary overtime, starting Monday. FedEx stock fell $1.69 to $52.56 on the New York Stock Exchange in afternoon trading on concern of a possible strike. ''I think it would be smart for both sides to take preemptive action right now,'' Steve Lewins, analyst at Gruntal & Co., said. ''Resolve the issues quickly, because if there is a strike, it's a lose-lose situation.'' Earlier Stories FedEx Customers Could Be Left Out If Pilots Strike (November 3)