FedEx May Cancel Jet Orders

The Journal reported that a FedEx spokesman said the company may cancel plans to purchase the planes, valued at nearly $8 billion, if Congress passes a bill that would remove certain employees at FedEx from the jurisdiction of the federal Railway Labor Act of 1926, the law that today also governs labor organizations at airlines.

Congress is currently debating a bill that would move FedEx to the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board, an organization that generally covers trucking companies.

FedEx was formed as an airline and thus is able to enjoy the benefits of the RLA, which has provisions that complicate union organizing.  This is seen as a key advantage over rival UPS (UPS 47.24) which was formed as a trucking company and is governed by the National Labor Relations Act, which allows for easier union organization.