FedEx is taking aim at United Parcel Service for its role in pushing US legislation that would make it easier for express-delivery workers to organise with a multimedia campaign that links its arch rival to banks, carmakers and other recipients of government ­largesse.

In advertisements and a website, FedEx argues that the measure would leave its air and ground delivery networks – and in turn the US economy – susceptible to costly disruptions and is tantamount to a “legislative bail-out” for UPS, which is subject to different bargaining rules and remains the largest employer of members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.