FedEx and its pilots have started negotiations over new work rules, but both sides hope to avoid a nasty fight like the slugout four years ago.
"Both sides right now understand that they have to live with each other. They realize also that a strike or a conflict will hurt them both," said Gary Chaison, a professor of labor-management relations at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Four years ago, under the threat of strikes and replacement workers, FedEx and the Air Line Pilots Association settled the cargo airline's first union contract for US employees. Now, that contract can be amended.
It should help that this time negotiators are working on an existing contract.
The current contract took effect in 1999 after years of haggling between the pilots and a company that has consistently been averse to organized labor.
The squabbling reached a peak in December 1998 when the pilots threatened to strike during the Christmas shipping season, raising worries around the country for FedEx customers.
The strike talk ended when FedEx founder Frederick Smith and other senior managers began preparing to lease planes and flight crews from other companies. Pilots agreed to keep working and contract negotiations resumed.
Labor negotiations at FedEx are governed by the national Railway Labor Act, meaning the current work agreement remains in effect until it is amended. Under federal law, the pilots' contract can be amended as of May 31 and the new negotiations got underway late last month.
"We're looking at basically a week of active negotiations every month through the end of the year," said David Webb, chairman of union's executive committee at FedEx.
While the company's 4,100 pilots want a pay hike, their first concern is "quality of life issues," Webb said, "and specifically the kinds of schedules they're being forced to fly."
FedEx offered only general comments on the negotiations.
"What we're looking for is a contract that's fair for everyone, the pilots, the other employees, our customers and the shareholders," spokeswoman Sandra Munoz said.
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