Still No Strike at Overnite

The Teamsters union said it remains on "high alert" for an imminent strike against Overnite Transportation. But so far, the promised picketing of the nation’s largest nonunion less-than-truckload carrier has not materialized.

Also, the union has withdrawn from a National Labor Relations Board representation election scheduled for Sept. 28 at the company’s Los Angeles facility. Union sources said it plans to opt out of an election in Syracuse, N.Y., as well.

Of the last nine representation votes at Overnite facilities, the Teamsters have lost seven times. The union has blamed this on company scare tactics.

Contract talks between the two bitter antagonists broke off Sept. 17, a day after the union’s freight director sent a letter to Overnite customers telling them to get ready for an imminent strike of the company’s 21 Teamsters-represented terminals. Company officials said that strategy has turned Overnite workers against the union.

"The plain truth is the Teamsters are in no position to close this company, and they know it," said John W. Fain, Overnite’s senior vice president of marketing and sales. "The union’s plan to threaten our customers . . . is hardening support against them."

Teamsters President James P. Hoffa has made the contract with Overnite a centerpiece of his plan to reinvigorate the union, which has seen its membership and clout diminish significantly in the last decade.

Of the Teamsters’ withdrawal from the Los Angeles election, union spokesman David O. Cameron said it was a matter of resources and focus.

"With Overnite, each election is very labor-intensive," he said. "We can’t be putting 12 people into one location when a nationwide strike is about to be launched."