Overnite Terminal Workers On Strike
On July 5, about 1,400 union workers walked off their jobs at three terminals in the Atlanta area and one each in Memphis, Tenn.; Kansas City, Mo., and Indianapolis. Teamsters officials said other terminals might join the strike.
The company said the strikes would not disrupt service.
"We expect to make deliveries and pickups in the affected areas," said Gordon Mackenzie, senior vice president of operations.
"Right now, Overnite seems to be acting like a sniper, picking off stewards and labor activists around the system," Cameron said. "Workers have been threatened, harassed, intimidated. Overnite is one of the largest labor law violators of this decade."
Overnite, the trucking subsidiary of Union Pacific Corp., is the nation’s fifth-largest less-than-truckload carrier. It reported revenue of $1 billion in 1998.
The Teamsters began its campaign to organize Overnite in September 1994. Less than a year later, the National Labor Relations Board stung the company with an unfair labor practices complaint. That was followed by two others -- in 1996 and 1998.
The Teamsters said they represent workers at 38 of Overnite's 166 service centers, while the carrier contends the number is 21. The union also said it represents about 40% of company’s dock workers and drivers.
1998
