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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Teamster's Striking and Picketing Ford Plant in Louisville

Teamster's are striking a Louisville Kentucky Ford plant after negotiations broke down between the Teamster's and a new Ford contractor, Auto Port. 

Disputes over the railcar-loading work began soon after Ford announced the switch from contractor RCS Transportation of Shelbyville to Auto Port, a subsidiary of Toronto-based CN International.

Auto Port, which had won a three-year contract for the work, notified Teamster employees that they would be out of a job June 1, but invited them to interview for their old jobs at less than half their former hourly pay of $20 to $22. - source

 

A temporary resolution had been reached, enabling the teamster's to work for less pay, but keep health benefits and job security, but it would appear that Auto Port and the Teamster's fell apart on their compromise with no hints of a new reconciliation.

For Teamster's their compromise, may have ultimately allowed them to give up the high ground in their battle to secure employees some jobs, and ultimately may push them completely out of work all together before all is said and done. 

It is said, that anytime you can't walk away from a deal, you are bound to receive the bad end of it.  It would appear that the Teamster's were unwilling to walk away from a bad deal, and have subsequently been dealt table scraps until even those were with held.  They would have almost been better off taking a Las Vegas travel trip and investing in slot machines rather than give in inch by inch until there was nothing left to give.

Over the years and decades, unions have all rapidly lost their direction and way.  Membership has declined rapidly as unions fail to protect new members and from a corporate perspective gouge the bottom line for older workers.  The things that made unions strong have almost completely evaporated with time and bad practice and this particular failure is just another example of the manifestation of this problem.

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