NLRB Recognizes Teamsters Local at Federal Express

It was announced yesterday that The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certified Teamsters Local 25 of Charlestown, MA the exclusive bargaining representative for home delivery drivers of two Federal Express (FedEx) facilities in Wilmington MA on June 18. The vote was taken on October 20, 2006, but FedEx took advantage of their rights to dispute the election.

FedEx, for its part states the drivers are independent contractors, and are not employees. The drivers own their own trucks. According to a Teamsters run website, the NLRB has ruled six times over the last six years that the drivers are not independent contractors, and are employees, giving them the right to form a union.

For a group of workers to be considered "independent contractors," a multi-factor test would be applied, such that owning one's own tools - in this case, their truck - is but one criterion. As reported on boston.com in early 2006, the Regional Director of Region 1, Rosemary Pye, reasoned that ''FHD exercises substantial control over the contractors' performance of their functions."

According to David Mildenberg of Bloomberg News, the company will seek a court review by means of refusing to bargain. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) does not provide for judicial review of a NLRB decision and therefore an employer, such as FedEx, that wishes to contest the results of a certification can only reach that review through a "technical refusal to bargain." This is an "unfair labor practice" under Section 8(a)(5) of the NLRA, which requires employers to bargain in good faith with the employees chosen representative.

This would be the first bargaining unit in the home delivery business unit and pilots are the only other major group with union representation. Home delivery accounts for 17% of the companies business. These distribution centers only employ a total of about 30 drivers. FedEx employs approximately 15,000.

In January, a company spokesperson reiterated the position the drivers are independent contractors and they deliver "industry leading service" without a need for representation.