FedEx pilots ratified a new contract on June 9 with a roughly 40% pay increase, ending more than five years of negotiations.
The deal completes the wage reset that has run through every major US air and parcel labor group since 2023.
The terms: The deal passed with 83% in favor on 98.5% turnout among the roughly 5,000-pilot group. Beyond the immediate raise, pilots get 3% annual increases beginning in 2028 and back pay of up to $150,000 for captains and $102,500 for first officers.
The contract takes effect June 29 and becomes amendable in December 2030. The pilots' focus "now turns toward implementation and enforcement," said Capt. Jose Nieves, who chairs the union's FedEx council.
How it got here: Talks opened in May 2021. Pilots voted 57-43 in July 2023 to reject a tentative deal offering raises of up to 30% over five years, then ousted their union leadership and petitioned the National Mediation Board to declare an impasse.
FedEx's pilot ranks fell from about 5,800 to 5,000 over two years as resignations ran at historic levels under scheduling strain.
Across the sector: FedEx's pilots are the last of the major US air and parcel labor groups to reprice. The terms match the 2023 wave, plus six figures of back pay for the wait:
Delta pilots won 34% over four years in March 2023, valued at more than $7 billion.
American pilots approved 46% in cumulative pay and retirement gains, roughly $9.6 billion.
United pilots approved a contract that September that ALPA valued at more than $10 billion.
UPS Teamsters won about $30 billion in new money over five years.
What it means for shippers: Salaries and benefits were already FedEx's largest expense line, about $31 billion against $87.9 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue. The new pay scale lands as FedEx shrinks and retools its air network.
It also arrives in a third straight year of 5.9% headline GRIs at both major parcel carriers, while one parcel-audit firm puts shippers' effective increases at 8% to 12% once surcharges are counted.
The deal "increases fixed costs in the air network" but may reduce disruption risk and help retention, a Simply Wall St analysis noted. Shippers do get certainty in return: FedEx's air network is now contractually covered through December 2030, while UPS's Teamsters agreement runs through July 2028.
