On Sept. 6, Spencer Patton, president of the Trade Association for Logistics Professionals (TALP), announced a no-confidence vote by FedEx Ground contractors on FedEx Ground CEO John Smith. Patton plans to engage with an independent global advisory firm to review and confirm the data’s accuracy, according to the announcement.

This comes after an Aug. 26 FedEx Ground lawsuit against its largest contractor, Spencer Patton and Route Consultant. Patton responded a few days later and announce the formation of a new trade group. 

Small business owners operating FedEx Ground’s network have been affected by extreme inflation costs and burdensome contract changes, TALP's statement read. FedEx Ground additionally passed a fuel surcharge through to the U.S. consumer — expanding its profit margins by 30% — and did not pass that financial support to the small businesses who consume the fuel. These small business owners are struggling under the heavy weight of inflation: high gas prices, increased vehicle costs, and elevated driver wages.

TALP estimates that more than one-third of the small business contractor network has already, or will soon need to, walk away from their FedEx Ground contract, resulting in FedEx Ground being unable to deliver packages in a timely matter during the upcoming holiday season. 

“FedEx Ground will no longer be able to call this a fictional crisis or the story of one contractor,” Patton said in the statement. “This is the story of an entire delivery network powered by American small business owners. Fear grows in the darkness, so now, we are going to bring it all into the light.”

Patton also released a video further explaining his vote of no confidence:

Every FedEx Ground contractor will be able to anonymously respond to the vote of no confidence (and supplemental questions) without fear of retaliation, TALP's announcement said. The vote will run through September 9, 2022 at 5 p.m. CST.