FedEx Pilots Are Worried About Their Jobs

livemint.com:

FedEx’s highfliers have been grounded. A sharp drop in package volume and a move to combine FedEx’s Express and Ground delivery units created a glut of pilots, leaving what was long the company’s most revered class of workers in a state of angst. “There are many concerns about FedEx flying and what the future holds," Pat DiMento, the company’s vice president of flight operations, wrote in a July letter to Express crew members viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The Memphis-based delivery company has an excess of about 700 pilots, according to the letter. FedEx has a total of roughly 5,800 pilots after a pandemic-fueled hiring spree. FedEx union pilots last month voted against a new labor contract, protesting what they describe as insufficient wage increases and operational changes that could lead to declines in work hours.

The rejection comes as other transportation workers have had standoffs with their employers in recent months over wages and labor practices. Under the existing contract, FedEx pilots are paid between $69 and $336 an hour based on factors such as the type of plane they fly and their seniority. Pilots typically have a minimum guaranteed 68 hours of work a month.

The pilots said they are flying fewer hours in recent months, and some are concerned about furloughs. In previous economic downturns, FedEx held on to these high-skilled workers. The company hasn’t furloughed pilots during its 50-year history.

FedEx declined to comment on whether it would consider furloughs. It said the agreement rejected by the pilots provided substantial increases to compensation and retirement benefits and addressed some quality-of-life issues that the union had identified. FedEx said the agreement had increased protections for