FedEx Express
A FedEx Express A300 taxiing at Memphis International Airport while a FedEx B-767 takes off above it. Photo: F/O Christopher DeAugustine (FedEx Express)
Pilots joined ALPA: June 1993–1996; rejoined ALPA in June 2002
Number of flightcrew members: 5,153
Pilot bases: Anchorage, Alaska; Indianapolis, Ind.; Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif.; and Memphis, Tenn.
Hubs/key markets: FedEx has 13 air network hub facilities, with Memphis, Tenn., representing the global hub and Indianapolis, Ind., serving as the North American hub.
Headquarters: Memphis, Tenn.
Operations: FedEx delivers to every U.S. street address and provides air-ground express service to 220-plus countries and territories. The carrier transports approximately 16 million packages and 20 million pounds of freight daily.
Fleet: B-757s, B-767s, B-777s, MD-11s, and A300s
FedEx Express pilots have been in contract negotiations for almost four years, working under an agreement negotiated nine years ago that became amendable in November 2021. Since the exchange of openers in May 2021, the bargaining environment across the airline industry and the strategic business outlook at FedEx Corporation have changed remarkably, rendering the contract out of date with FedEx’s overall business transformation and network realignment plans.
The pilots’ Master Executive Council (MEC) is collaborating closely with ALPA national while transforming alongside the company to pace strategic change with the expectation of achieving a contract that reflects anticipated working conditions. Fortunately, the MEC’s renewed focus in 2024 allowed the pilots’ Negotiating Committee to address many of the proposed contract changes in federal mediation.
Leveraging these challenges as a unique opportunity, the pilot group launched the solidarity campaign “One ALPA—I’m All In” last summer to serve as their compass while pacing FedEx’s transformation. The campaign aims to strengthen the pilots’ resolve under ALPA’s guidance, acknowledge the requirement for transformational efforts to better respond to FedEx’s air network realignment plans, and encourage unity in supporting the Negotiating Committee amid strategic changes. “We seek to reconnect with our pilots, emphasizing face-to-face interactions, highlighting our common responsibilities and interests,” said Capt. Jose Nieves, the pilot group’s MEC chair. “These interactions encourage healthy, honest, and respectful conversation regarding our current circumstance in protracted negotiations and the strategic transformation in financial discipline and air-ground network realignment occurring at FedEx.”
As FedEx pilots move forward into 2025, obtaining the contract they’ve earned and securing improved job protections are at the forefront of their goals. “We’ll continue to face challenges head-on as we work to represent the best interest of all FedEx pilots,” Nieves remarked.
