FedEx among prominent companies highlighted in leaked diplomatic records
FedEx officials in Argentina sought advice from American Embassy officials in Buenos Aires in June 2008 after agreeing to a second demand for higher wages within three months by a truckers’ union.
Along with UPS representatives, they also expressed concern that the country’s labor minister had close ties to the union.
“They asked for advice on how to proceed with a potential meeting with the minister and whether it would be beneficial or detrimental to their long-term ability to operate,” according to a diplomatic cable describing the situation. The embassy suggested they deal with the transport minister instead.
That account is one of hundreds of references to FedEx in the 1.73 gigabyte cache of unredacted diplomatic cables collected by the anti-secrecy group Wikileaks now widely available on the Internet. Most of the documents are listed as “unclassified,” but many are labeled “sensitive” or “confidential” and some contain details such as informant names and diplomats’ cell phone numbers.
They were shared with a handful of news organizations last year but became widely available late last month when a book about Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange, was discovered to contain a still-working password unlocking the quarter of a million cables.
The U.S. State Department has declined to confirm the authenticity of the leaked cables and said through a spokesman last week that it continues to withhold comment on them. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last year called the disclosures, which include classified memos by diplomats such as former Memphian Margaret Scobey at posts in Baghdad and Cairo, “an attack on the international community.”
Wikileaks is under federal criminal investigation. No charges have been filed.