Overnite Driver Shot as Strike Stretches Into Seventh Week

An Overnite Transportation Co. driver was shot and wounded Dec. 1 in Memphis, Tenn., leading to charges by Overnite officials that Teamsters were responsible for the shooting.

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The driver, William Wonder, 46, of Evansville, Ind., was taken to Memphis Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the stomach. Memphis police said the shooting occurred around 5 a.m. on Interstate 240 North, roughly 10 miles from the Overnite facility on E. Brooks Road.

A Memphis Police Department spokeswoman said Wonder’s wounds were not life-threatening and he was able to speak to police investigators.

The shooting came amid an accelerating exchange of charges between the Teamsters union and Overnite, with each claiming the other is inciting incidents of violence. The Teamsters have made Overnite the centerpiece of their organizing strategy and have been on strike against the company for about six weeks, picketing various facilities around the country with mainly non-Overnite Teamsters workers.

For the full story, see the Dec. 6 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.