So it turns out that the reason FedEx didn’t walk away from their discount for NRA members was the money they make from shipping guns. Surprise! From Thinkprogress.
EXCLUSIVE: FedEx’s secret deal with the NRA and the gun industry
While publicly trying to distance itself from the NRA, FedEx has made a secret agreement with the association and other major players in the firearms industry.
Base NRA photo BY Justin Sullivan Getty Images
FedEx cut a deal with gun manufacturers on shipping guns in order to compete with UPS.
But FedEx’s decision to stand by the NRA probably has less to do with shipping NRA polo shirts than a much more profitable business: shipping guns.
In a stark contrast with FedEx’s recent attempts to distance itself from the gun lobby, the internal company document obtained by ThinkProgress outlines in great detail precisely how FedEx has secretly agreed to bend its own rules on gun shipments for powerful forces in the gun industry, including all major gun manufacturers and the NRA itself.
The document, labeled “Confidential information. Internal use only,” was provided to ThinkProgress by a FedEx employee, who asked to remain anonymous due to concern that disclosing the document would cause the source to be terminated.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) won’t mail handguns except under certain rare circumstances, mostly for relic collection and museum purposes, meaning almost all handgun shipments need to go through either the United Parcel Service (UPS) or FedEx.
UPS requires all handguns be shipped overnight, according to its website.FedEx’s public policy, like UPS’s, is that “[f]irearms must be shipped via FedEx Priority Overnight service,” according to the company’s 2018 Service Guide, which also states that FedEx will not transport handguns via FedEx Ground.
But FedEx does not apply its public rules to everyone. According to the document, the company has struck a deal with dozens of major gun manufacturers and dealers in an effort to woo the industry away from competitors with lower cost shipping. The agreement, which has not been previously reported, shows how important the handgun shipment business is to FedEx.
“Some customers have been approved for an exception to ship firearms with a 2-day (AM or PM) service,” the document says. Those customers include 86 firearms manufacturers and dealers, including nearly every major company in the business, like Smith & Wesson, Colt, Glock, SIG Sauer, and the NRA itself.
Corporations make a lot of money on guns. Not just the obvious ones like gun manufacturers, but all the industries that support it. Some of that money goes back to the NRA. The NRA then uses that money to lobby lawmakers.
FedEx is using it’s ‘common carrier’ status as a way to talk about non-discrimination on shipping. But a marketing deal is not the same as discrimination on shipping.
FedEx has a special price sheet for guns and ammo customers, they knew that if they dissed the NRA their gun manufacturing customers might take their business to UPS to protest.
So they listened to the big money, figuring they could hold off on the PR pain till this blew over. But they were busted by this Think Progress piece. Good job Addy Baird and Judd Legum! h/t to BL for the link.
