As FedEx, UPS slug it out, rural service at stake - Google
At issue is whether FedEx Express, the company's delivery division, should be reclassified as a trucking company, like UPS, or retain its federally granted status as an airline.
If FedEx loses its special status under a measure now before Congress, its employees could more easily unionize. That in turn could drive up costs for the Memphis, Tenn.-based company, forcing it to trim services in rural areas where costs are highest and profit margins thinnest, said shipping industry expert Satish Jindel.
UPS, which says it merely wants a level playing field, dismisses warnings of potential service cuts as fearmongering meant to bolster FedEx's bid for special treatment.
At issue is whether FedEx Express, the company's delivery division, should be reclassified as a trucking company, like UPS, or retain its federally granted status as an airline.
If FedEx loses its special status under a measure now before Congress, its employees could more easily unionize. That in turn could drive up costs for the Memphis, Tenn.-based company, forcing it to trim services in rural areas where costs are highest and profit margins thinnest, said shipping industry expert Satish Jindel.
UPS, which says it merely wants a level playing field, dismisses warnings of potential service cuts as fearmongering meant to bolster FedEx's bid for special treatment.