#BoycottFedEx trends after employee says he was fired after viral confrontation

FedEx is facing backlash and calls for a boycott on social media after one employee said he and another were fired following a viral confrontation with a customer in Leesburg, Ga.

“#BoycottFedEx” sat at the top of Twitter’s list of trending items in the country into Wednesday night as a video shared of an interaction between two workers and a customer racked up million of views in a matter of hours.

The short video, which was also reported on by NBC News, seems to capture the last moments of a confrontation between the workers and the customer.

At the start of the clip, one of the drivers, who is black, can be seen standing next to their truck telling the customer, who appears to be white, “But you didn’t have to come out here cussing at me like that like some child.”

Update FedEx called and told me to take down this video and fired both of us Today .. I’m reposting this video because people like him doesn’t matter white or any race should never disrespect essential workers putting their lives in jeopardy especially with this covid-19 pic.twitter.com/Fw0S5gNRso

— antonio (@Toniob38) May 20, 2020

As the driver begins to walk back to the delivery truck, another man recording the confrontation off screen tells the customer, who also appears to be holding a recording device, “You can record all you want. I got you.”

When the driver begins to enter the truck, the customer then asks him, “Where you going?” 

“Man, I ain’t finna waste my time with you. You got my information,” the driver responds. “They’ll find me. They’ll find me. You need to get your glasses back on.”

As the two deliverymen begin to pull off, the customer could then be heard saying he thought the two men were going to be “waiting for cops.”

“Yeah, I thought you were gonna whoop my ass, too,” the driver responds back. 

One of the workers who shared footage of the confrontation said in a tweet that the conflict began as he and the other deliveryman tried to drop off a package.

“All we did just delivered his package, mind you, he was in the house,” he wrote in a tweet, adding “it was quick stop.”

But the worker, whom police identified as Antonio Braswell, said as soon as he and the other deliveryman were getting ready to head out, the customer started to exit his house “cursing and threatening us and we just apologized but he kept escalating the situation then kept saying he would whoop our black asses.”

Shortly after, Braswell said the police were called and the man started to follow them. “He kept following us then he pulled out his phone to record us and start playing the victim role. We drove off at first but they yelled ‘f–k y’all,’” he wrote in a series of tweets detailing the incident.

“So, we stop the truck and that’s when I started recording the incident. … after the video the police came and we told our side of the story & the man said to the police ‘they look like they would’ve broke into my house while my wife is there,’” Antonio continued. 

After the incident, Antonio said that FedEx called him and told him to remove the video from social media and then fired both deliveryman.

The Hill reached out to Antonio for comment. 

According to a police report obtained by The Hill from the Leesburg Police Department, the incident occurred on Monday afternoon. The officer who arrived at the scene at the time said in the report that they were dispatched to a home in Leesburg after receiving a report of “a dispute between a homeowner and the driver of the Fed-X truck.”

“Although both parties were arguing in the street, it was determined that Charles Ulm (the homeowner) was the initial aggressor,” the report stated.

After speaking with Felinsay Lundy, the driver who had been captured on-video in the viral confrontation with the homeowner, police stated in the report that “no case was made because he advised that he was not worried about it because he was training Mr. Braswell and was being moved to another route.”

Pressed for comment about the incident by The Hill on Wednesday when “#BoycottFedEx” began to pick up steam on Twitter, a spokesperson for FedEx said, “FedEx Ground expects the highest level of conduct from service providers and their employees.”

“We are aware of this incident and have reviewed the matter with the customer and the service provider business that employed the individuals depicted in the video,” she added.

FedEx has since drawn criticism on social media over the incident, with many calling for a boycott of the company.

@fedex Black lives do matter. How dare you allow your employees to be treated this way and fire them when they are simply trying to do their jobs. Shame on you FedEx. #BoycottFedEx pic.twitter.com/xLghdDKFBl

— jayne crider (@lyricalprisoner) May 20, 2020

Really @fedex? This is how you show gratitude to the Black essential workers who put their lives on the line everyday and are dying more from both racism and the virus? #BoycottFedEx https://t.co/JMiV5zeuA6

— brittany packnett cunningham does not do remixes. (@MsPackyetti) May 20, 2020

Until FedEx issues an apology to the two African American drivers it fired and offers them their jobs back, my company Cool Quit will not be using FedEx to deliver our medications and medical devices to our patients and will instead use USPS and other mail carriers. #BoycottFedEx

— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) May 21, 2020

In an updated comment on Thursday at midnight, the company said, “FedEx takes extremely seriously any allegations of discrimination, retaliation, or improper employment actions.”

“These individuals are employed by an independent service provider and FedEx will be conducting a thorough investigation into these claims. While we conduct this investigation FedEx will provide employment for these drivers,” the company added.

When pressed for more information regarding the workers and the incident, the company said, “We are not at liberty to disclose the name of the service provider business or other details related to their personnel.”

“With respect to the status of the individuals employed by the service provider, FedEx will provide employment while we conduct our investigation into these claims,” the company added.

A GoFundMe has since been set up for Antonio and the other deliveryman, who was identified in the fundraiser as Felinzay. Since it has been posted, the page has raised more than $52,000.

Updated 5:37 p.m.