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FedEx Just Made a Major Announcement About Its Relationship With the NRA, and People Are Cheering
Good.
Federal Express is cutting ties with the National Rifle Association, the company announced on Tuesday, ending a discount partnership program for businesses that are members of the nation's largest gun lobby.
The $56 billion logistics giant confirmed to Reuter's BreakingViews that it will no longer offer discounts to business members of the NRA as of November 4, 2018. The company claimed the NRA didn't bring in enough business to justify continuing the arrangement.
The move "suggests the NRA no longer has the economic clout to inspire fear in the corporate world," John Foley of BreakingViews reported on Tuesday.
Twitter exploded with gun control advocates voicing their excitement over FedEx's decision.
Parkland student survivor David Hogg thanked FedEx for "ending its relationship with the NRA."
Thank you @FedEx for taking this bold step by ending your relationship with the NRA— David Hogg text VOTE to 954-954 (@David Hogg text VOTE to 954-954) 1540925998.0
@davidhogg111 @FedEx Fed EX pulled through for us #theyoungpeoplewillwin— Christina (@Christina) 1540926186.0
@davidhogg111 @FedEx Sorry typo...meant AR-15— mared (@mared) 1540926677.0
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, said he felt "overwhelmed that they have decided to finally" drop their partnership with the NRA.
WOW!!! This is a big deal. FEDEX just ended its relationship with the NRA. They refused to do this after the Par… https://t.co/xKNY76kn6F— Fred Guttenberg (@Fred Guttenberg) 1540912228.0
@fred_guttenberg Great news. It is about time, guess better late than never. Thank you @fred_guttenberg for keepi… https://t.co/u4txpxsAoa— Donna Galindo (@Donna Galindo) 1540913970.0
Igor Volsky, the Executive Director of Guns Down, a gun control non-profit, tweeted that the announcement from FedEx heralds a decline in the NRA's power.
Proof that @NRA is losing power: 1. Its political spending is ↓ 2. Its membership dues are ↓ 3. Its approval rat… https://t.co/lQ8wYUR5f7— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) 1540916729.0
.@FedEx has joined at least 40 other companies that have realized that their ties to @NRA are not more important th… https://t.co/ADxq2Ub9Ud— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) 1540928769.0
VICTORY: After 500,000 Americans signed a petition urging FedEx to stop providing discounts to @NRA members, @FedEX… https://t.co/6k8fkjuFmE— Guns Down America (@Guns Down America) 1540912132.0
.@FedEx, your decision to join the growing number of companies to break ties with the @NRA is another indication th… https://t.co/9OLbMgDWgj— Guns Down America (@Guns Down America) 1540923313.0
Actor and activist John Leguizamo said he's going to "FedEx all day long."
Gonna fedex all day long!!! https://t.co/uTn4OumKSs— John Leguizamo (@John Leguizamo) 1540917876.0
Activist Shannon Watts also lauded the news.
BREAKING: In the wake of the mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue, FedEx is ending a program that offers discoun… https://t.co/cGkkzAMSFA— Shannon Watts (@Shannon Watts) 1540912093.0
"The tides are turning." It sure seems that way. Twitter flooded with happy reactions.
Update: It's working. https://t.co/6kFShQTK0o— National School Walkout (@National School Walkout) 1540937153.0
@fred_guttenberg Good news!— Christine (@Christine) 1540912336.0
@davidhogg111 @FedEx WHAT?????? THAT just made my DAY!!!!! Thank You @FedEx!!!— Beth (@Beth) 1540926492.0
@davidhogg111 @FedEx Awesomeness!!! Way to go @FedEx !— JR 🇺🇸🌊🇺🇸🌊🇺🇸🌈🌞🌏 (@JR 🇺🇸🌊🇺🇸🌊🇺🇸🌈🌞🌏) 1540932271.0
@davidhogg111 @FedEx https://t.co/HpYJO2d91v— SoporificCRNA💕💙🌊 (@SoporificCRNA💕💙🌊) 1540926716.0
@davidhogg111 @FedEx Thank you FedEx ending relationship with NRA.— Susan Santry (@Susan Santry) 1540928351.0
@davidhogg111 @Str8Grandmother @FedEx Better late than never, @Fedex https://t.co/xQVoWquG1O— AKSARBENT (@AKSARBENT) 1540931905.0
FedEx spokesman Jim McCluskey said in a statement to ThinkProgress on Tuesday that the decision had any specific event and that it is part of a larger internal policy shift which will affect FedEx's relationships with more than 100 companies.
“We are transitioning some account holders in more than 100 organizations in the FedEx Marketing Alliance program to other pricing programs,” McCluskey said. “Account holders that participated in the program will continue to receive the same discounts on FedEx shipping, and we will work directly with these customers to ensure a seamless transition.”
The decision comes three days after a gunman murdered 11 Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue, and represents a stark contrast from FedEx's prior refusal to cut ties with the NRA after the February school shooting in Parkland, Florida that left 17 dead.
Public demands that FedEx sever ties with the NRA in the wake of the Parkland shooting were met with resistance from the company itself even as numerous other major brands dropped their NRA discount programs.
“FedEx has never provided any donation or sponsorship to the NRA which is one of hundreds of alliance and association participants that serve more than one million customers,” FedEx said in a statement at the time.