Outsourcing is happening at FedEx on a daily basis. Our mechanics are being replaced, our stations are being given to vendors, and our workgroup is shrinking. This is not just AMTs, GSEs or VTs. It affects everyone who works at FedEx Express. If you look around, outsourcing is becoming more evident everyday at FedEx Express. Ask our former coworkers from Nashville, Baton Rouge, Mobile, Billings, Casper, Erlanger, Fort Wayne, Little Rock, Tallahassee and Memphis, just to name a few.

The global third-party aircraft maintenance industry (MRO), is currently a $45 billion dollar industry as estimated by industry analysts. Some analysts project the MRO industry revenues to reach over $68 billion within the next 10 years.

This figure of outsourced labor doesn't even account for the number of Jiffy Lubes, diesel, automotive, welding, electrical, HVAC and body shops located across the nation that perform all the same duties that our GSE and VT mechanics do.

Our employer is already utilizing these vendors to do our work. Some are in China, some are down the street. In some cases 3^rd party vendors are working right next to us. What does that mean? It means that our employer's trend is to outsource or give our jobs to 3^rd party vendors. The question for today is not "if" it will happen - but "when"?

Our corporation has recently hired a master of outsourcing, Greg Hall. Mr. Hall used to work at United Airlines and we have carefully reviewed his record. While Mr. Hall was at UAL:

• More than 3,300 mechanic lost their jobs
• The percentage of outsourced maintenance expenses nearly doubled to over 40%
• UAL outsourced and signed a 5 year contract for maintenance with Ameco in Beijing, China
• UAL outsourced and signed a maintenance contract with a South Korean facility.

According to UAL employees, Greg Hall outsourced their work and cut jobs. Mr. Hall now works at FedEx and we have reason to be concerned!

We need to take action now to protect our jobs. The best way to gain job security from the outsourcing threat is through a Teamster contract. Teamster contracts, like the contract at UPS, offer specific language to protect jobs from outsourcing.