FedEx, Pilots In Tentative Pact
Negotiators for Federal Express and its pilots union said Friday they have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, settling a bitter impasse that almost led to a strike.
Shares of FDX Corp., the parent of the air-freight delivery service, jumped 2 5/16, or 3 percent, to 78 9/16 as the news broke. FedEx is the world's largest cargo airline.
The union's board of directors unanimously approved the contract and will review it for seven days before sending it to pilots for a vote that is expected to take a month. Ballots are scheduled to be counted Feb. 4."This agreement places the FedEx pilots in the upper echelon of the airline industry and is a win for both FedEx" and the FedEx Pilots Association, said Theodore Weise, chief executive, in a statement.
"We are pleased to have been able to hammer out the final details," said Frank Fato, the FPA president.
The agreement calls for the company's 3,500 pilots to receive a 17 percent pay raise over five years. That was the same offer the company had on the table when negotiations broke off in October. The pilots had been seeking a 24 percent raise over four years.
FedEx and the pilots union have been negotiating since July. As talks dragged on, the increasingly frustrated union threatened to strike during the holiday season. Yet they decided to return to the bargaining table after the company took steps to prepare for a strike and warned that pilots could lose their jobs if they did walk out.
Written By Jeffry Bartash