Car Haul Negotiations Begin

Representatives of car haulers and the Teamsters union exchanged contract proposals Feb. 5, kicking off negotiations on terms of a new National Master Automobile Transporters Agreement.

The contract will be the only major labor agreement to expire during the term of Teamsters president-elect James P. Hoffa. Hoffa is awaiting final court-approval to take office after being cleared by a court-appointed election overseer in a race against Tom Leedham.

R. Ian Hunter, executive director of the National Automobile Transporters Labor Division, said the contract will determine "the future of this industry."

Despite a strong economy and robust car and truck sales, the condition of unionized car haulers has continued to decline since 1994, Hunter said.

Over the past four years, he said, the number of miles driven has declined by 23.1% and the average trip length has shrunk by 14.5%, principally because of inroads by railroads.

Competition from non-signatory companies has also been felt, with the number of non-Teamster car haulers increasing from 23 to 81 since 1995, Hunter said. The number of union jobs also fell from 14,141 to 12,194 between 1994 and 1998, he said.

Management’s proposals are designed to achieve operating flexibilities and efficiencies while providing reasonable wage and benefit increases, Hunter said.

"We want the next contract to do two things. We want to retain our existing business and expand into secondary markets and selected rail routes," he said.

NATLD represents 25 companies and is the bargaining arm for the unionized automobile hauling industry.

The contract expires May 31.