Source: ALPA
The FedEx Master Executive Council (MEC), the governing body of the FedEx unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), yesterday voted to approve a tentative contract agreement reached on May 30 with FedEx management. The next step is a membership ratification ballot, which will open on July 5 and close on July 24.
The new agreement would provide major pension improvements with alternative pension options, significant hourly pay rate increases, an amendable period recovery payment, and other improvements to pilots’ quality of life. The agreement includes a 30 percent pay increase, a 30 percent increase to the pilots’ legacy pension, and a fully developed and equally valuable company-funded Market Based Cash Balance Pension to provide a durable replacement for their legacy pension. To date, it is the largest investment in a pilot contract, on a per capita basis, and substantially raises the bar on pilot retirement.
“After careful consideration and thorough debate, our union leaders recognized the value this agreement will bring to our pilots and their families,” said MEC chair Capt. Chris Norman. “Now, we shift our focus to ensuring our pilots have the time and resources needed to make an informed decision.”
To educate the pilots on the agreement in advance of the vote, the MEC Negotiating Committee will share the full contract language, publish detailed information about the agreement online, and host a series of road shows that will begin June 20.
“We took a membership-driven approach to these negotiations, with polling and direct feedback throughout the process. We negotiated an industry-leading contract and achieved improvements contract-wide. We look forward to presenting the agreement to our pilots for consideration,” said Norman. “The improvements to our retirement stand out. Not only did we accomplish major improvements to the existing pension benefit—improvements that we sought and management bitterly resisted in past negotiations—but we also crafted a new pension plan that sheds the negative funding aspects of our current plan. The new plan is completely sustainable and ensures that the costs of the plan charged to the company match the value that goes to the pilots. It’s a tremendous accomplishment.”
ALPA President, Capt. Jason Ambrosi, after receiving a detailed briefing of the tentative agreement, applauded the work of the FedEx pilots for reaching a deal that now goes to the pilots for a ratification vote.
“The FedEx pilots successfully fought an intransigent management and secured this deal that, if ratified, will raise the bar on retirement for all pilots. This tentative agreement has the highest value achieved among major carriers in the last twenty years and we’ll strive to build on this pattern in future pilot contracts,” Ambrosi said.
Contract negotiations began in May 2021, the contract became amendable in November 2021, and the parties entered mediation with the National Mediation Board in November 2022. If ratified, the new contract will go into effect in August 2023 and would become amendable in 2028.