"FedEx and UPS Clash over LegislationAccusations of Bailout and Disinformation Fly as Bill Threatens to Facilitate FedEx Unionization," by Alex Roth,Wall Street Journal, July 20, 2009.

FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. are intensifying a dispute over proposed legislation that could upset the balance of power in the package-delivery business by making it easier to unionize FedEx. UPS is hoping Democratic control of Congress and the White House will enable it to win support for a bill that would place some of FedEx's drivers and other employees under the National Labor Relations Act, the same law that governs UPS. FedEx drivers are currently governed by a separate federal law that makes unionizing more difficult.

The chief executives of both companies have met with senators in recent months and have doubled or tripled their lobbying expenditures over the past year and a half. In June, FedEx unveiled a website criticizing UPS, whose workers are organized by the Teamsters, for its support of the bill. FedEx also has said the bill would put it at a competitive disadvantage and, as a result, has threatened to postpone buying billions of dollars in new planes from Boeing Co if the bill becomes law.

FedEx, the number-two delivery company behind UPS, worries that a Teamster-organized work force would eliminate a key competitive advantage. In past contract negotiations between the Teamsters and UPS, FedEx has played up the issue of potential "industry disruption" in attempting to capture business from some UPS customers.

In 2008, UPS more than doubled its lobbying expenditures to $5.2 million, according to Opensecrets.org, which tracks federal lobbying spending. FedEx last year spent $9.3 million on lobbying, or nearly triple its annual average in recent years, according to the website.

a) How would you establish that FedEx's lack of unionization is indeed a source of competitive advantage over UPS? Briefly explain your answer.

b) Which fact in the article suggests that "lack of unionization" may not be a sustainable source of competitive advantage for FedEx over UPS? Briefly explain your answer.