AIRLINES

Fedex, Pilots Union Announce Pact: The agreement on a five-year contract for the cargo airline’s 3,000 fliers is tentative and must be approved by union members. No date was set for a vote. Memphis, Tenn.-based Federal Express Corp. and the Air Line Pilots Assn. have argued over a work contract since 1994 and that dispute led to an attempt to disrupt cargo deliveries over the year-end holidays. Union pilots refused to take flights on their days off during the peak shipping period, while fliers opposed to the union’s tactics continued to handle such assignments. Overtime work during the holidays is common for Fedex flight crews. Fedex declined to release details. But the company said in a statement that it includes “pay increases, a portion of which is related to corporate profitability, work-rule changes that provide improved flexibility and productivity and enhancements to retirement benefits.”