by Tyler Durden
By Mark Solomon of FreightWaves,
There is no love lost between Jeff Bezos and Fred Smith, given the unpleasant break- up of their companies’ shipping marriage in 2019.
Yet in decisively thwarting efforts to organize 5,800 workers at Amazon.com's Bessemer, Alabama warehouse, Bezos took a page right from the FedEx founder’s anti-union playbook.
Other than about 5,000 unionized pilots that came over after FedEx acquired the old Flying Tiger Line cargo airline in 1988, and a smattering of workers at its FedEx Freight LTL unit, FedEx has remained non-union for its 50-year history. Smith and Co. have beaten back multiple organizing efforts by persuading FedEx workers that wages, benefits, working conditions and an open-door relationship makes third-party bargaining units irrelevant.