FDX, Pilots Meet with Mediators

Representatives from FDX Corp.’s Federal Express and its pilots union met with the National Mediation Board in Washington as the government sought to get the two sides talking. FedEx spokesman Greg Rossiter said the Washington meeting was called by the mediation board and did not lead to any new dates for formal negotiations. “This was strictly an informal discussion with the NMB, at least on our part. This was not a negotiation,” Rossiter said. FedEx said it had secured a second $1-billion line of credit to keep the company in business if the pilots strike during the busy holiday shipping season. Meanwhile, about 40 pilots staged an informational picket Monday in Atlanta and scheduled more picketing today for Los Angeles and New York. Contract talks broke off Oct. 30, leading the Fedex Pilots Assn. to seek strike authorization from its 3,500 members. Authorization ballots are to be counted the first week in December. The pilots began refusing to work overtime last week, but FedEx said the move has not affected its delivery schedules.