Car haulers authorize strike
Teamster drivers that transport new motor vehicles to dealerships have voted 97% in favor of authorizing a strike should management fail to agree to a contract by May 31, the current agreement's expiration date.
Union general president James Hoffa, who also chairs the Teamsters' National Automobile Transporters Negotiating Committee, said the car-haul carriers have sought givebacks in health care and new-hire rates while turning a deaf ear toward union proposals aimed at improving operating efficiencies, attracting new work and enhancing job security.
The decision by Allied Automotive Group, the Teamsters' single-largest car-haul employer, to withdraw from the employers' association and the associations' refusal to bargain with Allied has also complicated bargaining, Hoffa said.