Dems Want to Screw Up Fed Ex

The House of Representatives has passed a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). A 230 word amendment directly at and only at Federal Express, would move Federal Express from working under the Railway Labor Act as all aviation-based businesses now do, to working under the requirements of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), as most other businesses do. The Teamsters Union and UPS want this change, because the Railway Labor Act provides impartial means to resolve labor disputes without strikes. Under the NLRA, however, any union local would be able to strike against Fed Ex and prevent overnight deliveries throughout the nation.

The provision's sponsor, Rep. James Oberstar, (D, Minnesota) was paid $164,000 by the Teamsters Union and UPS to insert this provision aimed at hurting Fed Ex into the FAA reauthorization bill.

Fed Ex delivers 8,000 kidney dialysis systems a day and more than 11,000 in vitro diagnostic materials a day. It delivers the critical failed component to get production lines back up and running as fast as possible in many industries, thereby saving many companies from huge losses, which also means saving many jobs. It insures that contracts can be signed and returned quickly to enable rapid starts on big contracts between companies.

It also sends the critical failure sample from a company to a laboratory such as mine, so that the cause of failure can be determined quickly. This failed part may be of very unique value, even though it is worthless, because it holds the clues to the cause of its failure and another such failure may be long in coming or come at more frightful expense. Nonetheless, it is important that it be determined if the failure was due to bad design, a failed manufacturing process, use of the part or device in an environment it could not handle, a vendor supplying different material than specified, or still some other cause. A rapid analysis to get the answer to the cause of failure might reassure a customer so he will continue buying the part, or it may allow directions to all customers that they not subject the part to some condition that will cause it to fail, or it may result in a change of vendors for a material used in the part or device. These actions may save lives in some cases and in others they may save jobs and great liability expenses. Thus, the failed part is actually much too valuable to put in the snail mail. What if the USPS lost the part?

The unique dependability and rapid delivery of Federal Express is much too valuable to lose in the interest of the Teamsters Union or to mollify UPS. This is a uniquely American institution with a rare history of success due to excellence. We cannot live without it, now that we have been shown the miracles it can deliver, but the USPS and even the pretty good UPS cannot. Perhaps a part of the reason for this attempt to single out Fed Ex for punishment is that its founder, Fred Smith, is a major supporter of the Cato Institute, which is a thorn in the foot of the pedestrian Teamsters Union and of the socialists in control of our government now generally.