At a meeting on Saturday, August 6th, Teamsters 89 Carhaul members voted to recommend rejection of the new NMATA Tentative Agreement (TA) with zero opposition. During the meeting President Fred Zuckerman and Vice President Avral Thompson discussed the TA at length, highlighting the positive and negative aspects from their perspectives. Many Carhaul members took to the mic and voiced their own concerns.
The primary issue that Teamsters 89 Carhaulers have with this TA are the changes to Article 33, which details work preservation. The changes in Article 33, both to Original Equipment Manufacturers and Secondary Market Traffic, will allow companies to bid work that is outside their current book of business on what they call a ‘spot buy’, then broker it out to non-Union entities. This effectively gives away Teamsters Carhaul work to non-Union companies.
“We believe this change alone would deteriorate our current members’ working conditions and is cause for rejection,” said Vice President Thompson. “It eliminates any possibility of our unionized companies growing.”
Also of great concern to Teamsters 89 Carhaulers is language that gives the companies the right to allow drivers from the Eastern and Western conferences to come into the Central and haul our traffic away. Teamsters 89 currently has grievances in the panel system challenging this very issue.
“It appears our grievances must be correct,” said President Zuckerman. “Why else would the company want to put in new language that allows them to do the very thing we’re fighting them on now? They know they’re wrong, and they want new language that gives them a way out.”
Teamsters 89 Carhaul members were very vocally opposed to the TA, and showed a high degree of knowledge about their contract with many spot on questions, comments, and suggestions. They showed a strong willingness to stand firm and fight for a superior agreement.
Ballots mail out on or about August 22nd, 2016 and will be counted on or about September 14th, 2016.“Fred and I both know that the Carhaul industry faces many challenges with non-Union companies growing around the country,” said Vice President Thompson. “However we will not agree to drag our members down to non-Union working conditions.”
A no vote on this TA will also authorize the national Carhaul negotiating committee the right to call a strike. This was discussed at length at Local 89’s meeting before the recommendation to vote no was passed by the Carhaul members. Teamsters 89 Carhaulers are prepared to fight, and if need be, strike, to get the contract they deserve.
Teamsters 89 is the largest Carhaul Local in the country, representing over 800 proud Carhaul members.
