FedEx spends five times as much as UPS to lobby Congress in second quarter

By Bartholomew Sullivan

Memphis Commercial Appeal

WASHINGTON -- Memphis-based FedEx spent five times more than its larger rival UPS for lobbying in the second quarter, according to disclosure reports filed with the clerk of the House of Representatives.

FedEx is determined to make sure that this year's Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act does not contain a provision that would make it easier for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to organize some of its Express workers.

It spent $7.04 million on that issue and others in the three months ending June 30. UPS spent $1.28 million and the Teamsters spent $405,100.

The provision, which has passed the House but is not in a Senate version of the bill, would permit workers who are not required to be certified by the FAA -- like truck drivers -- to be subject to a labor law that governs collective bargaining at the local level. Right now, those Express employs are under a labor law that requires a companywide, national contract, and makes it more difficult to form a union.

Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics, which keeps track of money's influence in politics, said the FedEx and UPS spending is reminiscent of the "great battles" like the Northrop Grumman versus Boeing fight over Air Force aerial tanker planes last year.