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FedEx, Pilots Set Tentative Contract After 5 Years of Talks
Air Line Pilots Association Says Pact Covers Pay Hikes, Back Pay and More Than 5,000 Aviators
FedEx Corp. pilots reached a tentative labor agreement with the parcel company, marking a significant step toward resolving nearly five years of negotiations.
The pact includes hourly pay increases of nearly 40% this year followed by 3% annual raises increases starting in 2028, according to the Air Line Pilots Association, the union representing FedEx pilots. Captains also will receive as much as $150,000 to cover raises missed during negotiations, while first officers will get up to $102,500.
If ratified, the deal would resolve long-running labor talks covering more than 5,000 pilots that are critical to FedEx’s sprawling airfreight business. Since negotiations began, FedEx began a sweeping plan to combine its ground and air-delivery networks in a bid to improve efficiency and cut costs. The initiative has drawn complaints from the union over disruptions to pilot scheduling, among and other issues.
RELATED: FedEx Freight Unit Projects 10% Profit Growth After Spinoff
The sides previously reached a tentative agreement in 2023 that was ultimately rejected by aviators, extending contract negotiations that began in May 2021.
ALPA’s Master Executive Council is now set to review the tentative agreement. If approved, the deal will go to FedEx pilots for a ratification vote.
FedEx pilots fall under the Railway Labor Act, which means that contracts don’t expire and the union is not allowed to unilaterally declare a strike. The National Mediation Board stepped in, as required by the law, in 2022. The union has been working under a contract reached in 2015.
FedEx ranks No. 2 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 3 on the TT Top 50 list of the largest global freight carriers. FedEx Logistics ranks No. 43 on the TT Top 100 logistics companies list.
