Teamsters Call for Independent Board Leadership at FedEx; Urge Investor Support

Teamsters Cite FedEx's Poor Performance, Oversight Failures

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Brotherhood
of Teamsters today asked shareholders of FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) to
support the union's proposal for an independent board chairman at FedEx's
annual meeting being held later this month.

In a letter to shareholders, Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer, C. Thomas
Keegel, said that Frederick W. Smith's dual role as chairman and chief
executive of FedEx has resulted in a CEO-dominated Board incapable of
providing the rigorous, independent oversight of management that investors
require. FedEx's annual meeting is being held Sept. 29 in Memphis, Tenn.

"With Smith at the helm, FedEx's Board has presided over poor corporate
performance, excessive CEO pay, and an unlawful and unsustainable business
model that could cost FedEx billions," Keegel said.

In fiscal year 2008 despite the company's disappointing returns, Smith accrued
more than $42 million in total actual compensation according to data from The
Corporate Library (TCL), a leading provider of independent corporate
governance research and analysis. TCL data reveals that FedEx has
significantly underperformed the Trucking and Shipping industry and the S&P
500 Index on a one-year, three-year, and five-year total shareholder returns
basis.

The letter also raised concerns that Smith's controlling influence on a Board
rife with conflicts of interest has led to the Board's rubber-stamping of an
unlawful and unsustainable business model at the company's second-highest
revenue generating business segment, FedEx Ground, which has exposed the
company to staggering legal and financial risks.

The FedEx Ground business model, which relies on the misclassification of
employee drivers as "independent contractors," has allowed FedEx to evade
expenses like payroll taxes, overtime pay, and benefits. Numerous state courts
and government agencies are now finding that FedEx Ground's contractor model
is a sham and are looking to collect the money workers and states have been
denied. According to recent news reports, the pre-tax liability from unpaid
payroll taxes alone could reach as high as $2.5 billion.

"With no independent Board leadership and management firmly entrenched, we
believe shareholders face a 'perfect storm' as FedEx undergoes heightened
legal, regulatory, and public scrutiny regarding FedEx Ground's driver
misclassifications," Keegel said. "Last year 27 percent of the vote by
investors supported our call for independent Board leadership ... now, more
than ever, an independent chairman is necessary to ensure that our Board
confronts these escalating challenges with rigorous, independent oversight of
management."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents over
1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto
Rico.

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Donna De La Cruz of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters,
+1-202-624-8721, ddelacruz@teamster.org