UPS Says No ‘Pay to Play’

UPS said Friday it did not pay for support from a conservative group that was reported to have solicited donations from FedEx in the package carriers’ legislative battle over labor law.

“We’ve paid no one,” UPS spokesman Malcolm Berkley said after the Washington-based publication Politico reported that the chairman of the American Conservative Union sent a letter soliciting more than $3 million from FedEx in exchange for support on the issue.

“We’ve not paid or contracted with any signer of that letter for their support on this issue,” Berkley said.

A FedEx spokesman, meanwhile, said that company provided Politico the letter from ACU Chairman David Keene after that group and others issued a statement supporting UPS and a legislative measure that would make it easier for labor unions to organize FedEx Express workers.

“We provided them a copy after the conservative groups attacked us and we felt compelled to respond,” said FedEx spokesman Maury Lane.

According to Politico, the letter detailed a series of actions the ACU would take on FedEx’s behalf, including editorial pieces and an e-mail and direct mail campaign.

“We have been operating very transparently to educate people about the legislative bailout that UPS is lobbying for,” Lane said. “The group’s tactics did not meet our style, so it was the wrong fit.”

Disclosure of the letter has prompted a furor in Washington, where critics of political donations say they suggest companies must “pay to play.” Berkley said the disclosure distracts from the issue of “the equal application of labor law.”

UPS is backing a provision in the House-passed version of the Federal Aviation Administration’s reauthorization that would shift labor law coverage for non-union FedEx air express workers to the National Labor Relations Act, the same law that covers unionized UPS workers.

The UPS spokesman would not discuss whether the company provides financial support for the ACU, Americans for Tax Reform and other groups that earlier this week attacked FedEx in its fight with UPS.

“We certainly educate a number of organizations about issues of importance to our company,” Berkley said. “We believe in fostering that dialogue with organizations of all political persuasions.” But, he said, “We have not paid anyone with regard to support on this issue.”