FedEx, UPS send out fleet of lobbyists to shape labor law - Washington Post
For more than a year, FedEx and its bitter shipping rival, United Parcel Service, have been engaged in one of the fiercest lobbying battles in recent memory, with millions of dollars spent on advertising, Web sites, grass-roots organizing and other tactics more commonly seen in political campaigns.
The reason for all the excitement? An obscure, 230-word provision that would require FedEx Express to comply with the same labor laws as UPS, making it easier for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and other unions to organize.
The dispute also underscores the increasingly sophisticated, campaign-style tactics used by corporations and unions to press their positions in Washington, from drink makers condemning proposed soda taxes to the sweeping PR battles that swirled around the health-care debate. But unlike those cases -- where the policies in question would have broad impacts on consumers -- the FedEx-UPS fight centers on a policy that would directly affect only one company.
For more than a year, FedEx and its bitter shipping rival, United Parcel Service, have been engaged in one of the fiercest lobbying battles in recent memory, with millions of dollars spent on advertising, Web sites, grass-roots organizing and other tactics more commonly seen in political campaigns.
The reason for all the excitement? An obscure, 230-word provision that would require FedEx Express to comply with the same labor laws as UPS, making it easier for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and other unions to organize.
The dispute also underscores the increasingly sophisticated, campaign-style tactics used by corporations and unions to press their positions in Washington, from drink makers condemning proposed soda taxes to the sweeping PR battles that swirled around the health-care debate. But unlike those cases -- where the policies in question would have broad impacts on consumers -- the FedEx-UPS fight centers on a policy that would directly affect only one company.
