In the FedEx-UPS feud, a scandal is revealed
In recent days, we’ve talked about the disastrous attempt by the Washington Post to sell access to Washington decision-makers, as well as to its own editors and reporters, and about Ralph Reed’s betrayal of his religious-right followers in return for casino cash. This morning, the topic was the distorting, corrupting influence of money and politics in setting defense spending.
But in terms of audacity, this one, from Politico, may take the cake:
“The American Conservative Union asked FedEx for a check for $2 million to $3 million in return for the group’s endorsement in a bitter legislative dispute, then flipped and sided with UPS after FedEx refused to pay.
For the $2 million plus, ACU offered a range of services that included: “Producing op-eds and articles written by ACU’s Chairman David Keene and/or other members of the ACU’s board of directors. (Note that Mr. Keene writes a weekly column that appears in The Hill.)”
The conservative group’s remarkable demand — black-and-white proof of the longtime Washington practice known as “pay for play” — was contained in a private letter to FedEx, which was provided to POLITICO.
The letter exposes the practice by some political interest groups of taking stands not for reasons of pure principle, as their members and supporters might assume, but also in part because a sponsor is paying big money.
Maury Lane, FedEx’s director of corporate communications, said: “Clearly, the ACU shopped their beliefs and UPS bought.”
Actually, that’s not yet clear. After getting stiffed by FedEx, Keene did join seven other conservative leaders in a joint letter that took the side of its enemy, UPS. However, we don’t yet know for sure whether money bought that position.
(The feud between FedEx and UPS centers on a proposed rules change that would bring FedEx and UPS under the same labor-union regulations. At the moment, FedEx operates under a different set of rules that makes it easier to keep unions out. UPS and the labor unions would like to see that change.)
This kind of behavior — corporate purchasing of think-tank support and even op-ed columnist support — has been suspected for a good long time. And we’ve learned about it in this case only because two corporate giants are fighting an emotional, high-stakes battle in which one side decided to expose how the game is played.
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203 comments Add your comment
Gandalf, the White! (!)
July 17th, 2009
10:37 am
First!
Gandalf, the White! (!)
July 17th, 2009
10:39 am
Jay, we all know op-ed pages are for hire! Speaking of hire, how goes the job hunt?
Turd Ferguson
July 17th, 2009
10:39 am
This is no different than Jesse Jackson black mailing Budweiser into awarding certain distribution routes (very profitable routes I might add) to individuals of his choice.
This is no different than Jesse Jackson blackmailing Nascar with a boycott if they refused certain demands.
This is no different than the democratic party extorting billions from the tobacco industry via some frivilous lawsuit with patently false claims of second hand smoke and other nonsense.
And so on and so on and so on.
Its made with real beer but DONT DRINK IT!
Peadawg
July 17th, 2009
10:42 am
Turd, don’t you know? It’s ok for Democrats to do that. But if Republicans do it, it’s wrong. Where have you been lately?
Doggone/GA
July 17th, 2009
10:43 am
“This is no different than” …
How much do you get paid per lie?
ByteMe
July 17th, 2009
10:43 am
Turd’s sphincter muscle let loose with his third paragaph, so we now all know he’s full of …
Gandalf, the White! (!)
July 17th, 2009
10:43 am
When you say Bud, you’ve said beer that isn’t very tasty….
getalife
July 17th, 2009
10:44 am
I thought cons were against unions but guess they will sell their principles for a price.
Like the three cons busted for cheating on C-Street.
It’s like they are cashing in before the collapse of their party and country and not bothering to try to hide it anymore.
Weird.
ByteMe
July 17th, 2009
10:45 am
getalife: I think they’re up to 4 C-Streeters now.
FinnMcCool
July 17th, 2009
10:45 am
Krugman lays down the smack:
The huge bonuses Goldman will soon hand out show that financial-industry highfliers are still operating under a system of heads they win, tails other people lose. If you’re a banker, and you generate big short-term profits, you get lavishly rewarded — and you don’t have to give the money back if and when those profits turn out to have been a mirage. You have every reason, then, to steer investors into taking risks they don’t understand.
And the events of the past year have skewed those incentives even more, by putting taxpayers as well as investors on the hook if things go wrong.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/opinion/17krugman.html
TW
July 17th, 2009
10:47 am
Guess UPS agreed to wear a rubber.
Ah, the morals of the rightwing…
Kamchak
July 17th, 2009
10:48 am
The American Conservative Union wants to sell it’s opinion? I’m
getalife
July 17th, 2009
10:50 am
ByteMe,
I guess they should call it cheat house on cheat street.
No wonder the cons will not show up to vote gop.
Gandalf, the White! (!)
July 17th, 2009
10:50 am
Yes the 2nd hand smoke conspiracy! Smokers should be shot on sight! Murders I tell you! All them kids from the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s who died of 2nd hand smoke! We would be more powerful than Canada or Mexico if they hadn’t all died!
Turd Ferguson
July 17th, 2009
10:50 am
This is more frustrating then Christopher Reeves trying to do the “Hokey Pokey”.
keepemhonest
July 17th, 2009
10:53 am
Keep them all honest.. I stress ALL..
Trust me
July 17th, 2009
10:54 am
My jaw just dropped and hit the floor. Jay, tell me it ain’t so. And, to think that I write all my scathing comments for free.
Peadawg
July 17th, 2009
10:55 am
This is more frustrating than Ray Charles looking at a “Where’s Waldo” book.
Trust me
July 17th, 2009
10:58 am
Yes the 2nd hand smoke conspiracy! Smokers should be shot on sight! Murders I tell you! All them kids from the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s who died of 2nd hand smoke! We would be more powerful than Canada or Mexico if they hadn’t all died!
I think that there are some things even worse than death. For instance, gasping for enough oxygen intake to sustain you until you have the strength to gasp again. You don’t have a clue.
Mike
July 17th, 2009
10:58 am
UPS wants to drag FedEx down with them. UPS needs to compete fairly instead of trying to get the Federal Government to step in and make FedEx a higher cost operator.
That is payback for the unions support Obama.
FinnMcCool
July 17th, 2009
11:00 am
Thanks to FedEx for exposing this.
Now, about FedEx keeping the unions out….I can only hope UPS wins that.
Big Brown
July 17th, 2009
11:06 am
Mike, UPS is trying to get a level playing field…UPS wants FedEX to compete fairly. The way it is now, FedEX employees are under the same labor rights as UPS pilots! It is only fair that two companies that do the same business operate under the same rules…plain and simple. I do not agree that people should be paid off, but we all know that happens all the time now, even though it is not right.
steve
July 17th, 2009
11:07 am
I like UPS because the King of Queens guy is a UPS driver (even though they dont actually SAY “UPS” on the show, but the fat belly, jovial attitude and hottish wife all scream UPS! – What can Brown do for you? But seriously… why SHOULDNT FedEx be under the same rules *whatever they are* as UPS? they are in identical business? Besides, FedEX is STILL more expensive I still use the much maligned USPS
Turd Ferguson
July 17th, 2009
11:07 am
And BTW what ever happened to all that tobacco industry money extorted by the democrats?
Turd Ferguson (Democrat)
July 17th, 2009
11:09 am
UPS and FedEx should be forced into bankruptcy due to unfair business practices that make the USPS irrelevant and backward.
UNFAIR UNFAIR!!
getalife
July 17th, 2009
11:10 am
I have done some contract work for UPS and they treat their drivers and pilots very well. Management is not union but get stock options.
Overall, it is a well run company.
Joey
July 17th, 2009
11:19 am
One clarification about news media and Jay Bookman’s coverage of the Washington Post Salon:
I have not read or heard any report giving the names of the “top administration and congressional figures” who were to participate.
In my view this is Jounalistic malfeasants.
Doggone/GA
July 17th, 2009
11:24 am
“In my view this is Jounalistic malfeasants”
As long as we’re off topic: in my view Georgia needs to spend a LOT more on education
Joey
July 17th, 2009
11:26 am
In the next to last paragraph about the labor union issue, the implication is that UPS and Labor Unions are totally together on this.
It seems to me that UPS would prefer to have the same ability as FedEx to keep unions out, rather than what you imply, which is that UPS wants FedEx to lose is ability to have non-union shops.
Trust me
July 17th, 2009
11:27 am
And BTW what ever happened to all that tobacco industry money extorted by the democrats?
It went to pay off the hospital bills for all those sick Republicans that fell for their con. Let’s see if I can summarize the tobacco industry stance for you, “Of course it’s safe to stick your mouth on that exhaust pipe and breath deep and cigarettes are even safer because we put a filter on it.”
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
July 17th, 2009
11:28 am
There is more to this then bookman is letting on-
In January, FedEx exercised an option to buy 15 B777F planes, and has an option to buy an additional 15. FedEx negotiated language into its contract allowing the company to cancel the order should Congress pass the changes in labor law. FedEx also wouldn’t exercise the option for the second 15 planes if the law passed, a spokesman said.
The ACU can stick it to the Boeing Union workers if they side with UPS or they can stick it to the Unions by defending Fed Ex. They win either way.
Lobbying costs money, duh.
There are democrat Congressman to pay off, duh.
This is not any sort of scandal.
bookman is trying to distract you from the fact that the federal government is influencing a private business to favor their Kampaign Kontributors, the Unions, much like the Soviets and Red Chinese would do.
biscuit for the bookman?
Trust me
July 17th, 2009
11:34 am
Wow. There’s a revelation. I Report/You Whine giving the flip side of the story. Nah.
Normal
July 17th, 2009
11:35 am
Veterans, read my 11:38 downstairs, please…
————–
Now what I heard was UPS and FED EX was going to merger and re-name themselves, FED UP…Just sayin’…
Joey
July 17th, 2009
11:35 am
Doggone/GA;
Thank you. I should have checked the spelling of malfeasance. I know that I am a poor speller. That rush to post thing.
I submit that Jay did include this topic in his post. And that the AJC, Jay and the media in general have shown a lack of journalistic ethics as they neglect this issue.
Copyleft
July 17th, 2009
11:39 am
Hee hee! The wingnuts are pretty desperate to change the subject on this one, aren’t they?
“Democrats are worse, why don’tcha write about THEM?”
“Oh, it’s only wrong when Republicans do it, huh?”
“It’s all the unions’ fault… and Obama’s, of course!”
You can always tell when they’ve been caught red-handed.
Barry's Twin
July 17th, 2009
11:40 am
To listen to Jay and his sheep here, one would think that reprehensible behavior is solely a right wing trait. typical and as usual deceptive.
Doggone/GA
July 17th, 2009
11:42 am
“as they neglect this issue.”
And maybe there’s nothing to report. Just because the Washington Post tried to get people to pay for access…doesn’t necessarily mean they had ACTUAL access lined up at the time. Maybe they were just floating an idea to see if any suckers would bite.
Doggone/GA
July 17th, 2009
11:43 am
“To listen to Jay and his sheep here, one would think that reprehensible behavior is solely a right wing trait”
Nope…we just know that the playground excuse “Tommy did it first” isn’t a valid defense.
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
July 17th, 2009
11:43 am
Wow. There’s a revelation. I Report/You Whine giving the flip side of the story. Nah.
Trust Wee- You can be a repository for political propaganda bunk if you so choose but I don’t.
Doggone/GA
July 17th, 2009
11:46 am
“You can be a repository for political propaganda bunk if you so choose but I don’t”
SNORT!!
Gandalf, the White! (!)
July 17th, 2009
11:46 am
TRUST ME: You are clueless! Tobacco is not the cause of all the earth’s ills! Get a life and go outside and play!
jessye james
July 17th, 2009
11:46 am
hey bookman, how about an article on obama’s “green” czar.
would like to see how you spin his political beliefs..a
think you can handle it?
Barry's Twin
July 17th, 2009
11:48 am
Doggone/Ga – Valid, if it’s presented that way.Pointing fingers when both sides are evenly guilty is weak.
Trust me
July 17th, 2009
11:55 am
Now what I heard was UPS and FED EX was going to merger and re-name themselves, FED UP…Just sayin’…
And, if they get a divorce, one keeps the new name and the other is called “Fed Up with Ex”.
Gandalf, the White! (!)
July 17th, 2009
11:57 am
Barry smokes in the Oval Office.
Trust me
July 17th, 2009
11:57 am
Gandalf; Whiner. Whiner; Gandalf. You two should really hit it off…if you have not already.
Trust me
July 17th, 2009
11:58 am
Doggone/Ga,
SNORT
I know. But, it is better than spewing a drink all over my computer.
DebbieDoRight
July 17th, 2009
11:59 am
turd: This is no different than Jesse Jackson blackmailing Nascar with a boycott if they refused certain demands
Yeah, cause we all know how many black people attend Nascar events…………why the other day, I saw at least 10 of them in the stands!!!! Boycott baby Boycott!!!
Gandalf, the White! (!)
July 17th, 2009
11:59 am
No Green is new Religion. Mother Earth is thier god! Separation of Church and State should stop aLgOrE from speaking, well, anywhere!
Boots
July 17th, 2009
11:59 am
Republicans have been marginalized by the American voter and just can’t adjust to their new status— irrelevant!