As the Teamsters strike against Overnite Transportation Co. passes its sixth month, both sides appear to be reaching out to the public for support of their positions.
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Overnite Chairman Leo H. Suggs said in an April 25 speech to a shipper group that the less-than-truckload general freight carrier was “fighting a battle for all U.S. business.”
“If they beat us to submission, the same tactic will rise up in organized labor and expand to other segments of industry,” he said.
Teamsters leaders, meanwhile, are using their dispute with Overnite to illustrate the difficulties faced by organized labor in getting contracts signed even after winning the right to represent workers. The union won the right to represent workers at only a handful of Overnite’s 160 terminals and the inability to get a signed contract has hurt the Teamsters’ ability to win over more workers.
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