TransportFool

Here is another quote from Teamsters for a Democratic Union:

June 17, 2008: In the wake of PTS’s closure, carhaul employers are trying to violate the national contract and deny the right of PTS Teamsters to follow their work.

This attack on our contract, our solidarity, and on Teamsters who struck when they were called out by the International Union cannot be tolerated. All these Teamsters ask is that Article 5 of the contract be honored by Jack Cooper, Allied, Cassens and Active Transportation.

At the national grievance hearing today, the employers refused to abide by the contract, and deadlocked initial cases, including Kentucky Local 651 vs. Cassens, and Dallas Local 745 vs. Jack Cooper. Those hearings will continue tomorrow, but the initial cases show that a stronger stand will be needed to protect our jobs and seniority rights.

They have battles on two fronts now with the non-union haulers and the union haulers. If they choose to battle the shippers they will have 3 plates spinning at once. Question is can they be effective on 3 fronts at once?

Here is a copy of one of the emails Jeff Cornish has received and posted on the PTS site:

To Mr. Cornish,
I want to thank you for trying to save your company. I have only worked for Leaseway Canada/PTS for a while, but this company was the best company I have ever worked for. Thank you for the opportunity to work for you. On behalf of all the Canadian drivers, we are sorry the US Teamster’s had their own agenda. For some reason, I see this as the beginning of the end for union car haul.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

There is a tread going on this subject on the union site that has 37 comments as of 7-1-08!

We called it on the 11th but now ,Jeff Cornish, the CEO of Performance transportation Services has made it official on the company website. I think the teamsters are fortunate that Jeff threw in the towel and folded when he did. If he would have let the strike extend several weeks then the shippers would have been forced to find non-union carriers to move the cars. Here is a copy of the letter:

Here is the Teamsters rebuttal

Lenders Pull Plug on Company

June 10, 2008

PTS announced today that it was shutting down, effective today, and Teamster carhaul negotiators are setting the record straight about the company’s demise.

“In its announcement, PTS suggested that our failure to accept its most recent proposal led to the closure, but nothing could be further from the truth,” said Fred Zuckerman, Teamsters Carhaul Director. “We learned this afternoon that PTS permanently closed its doors after its primary lenders, Black Diamond Capital Management, cut off access to its credit facility earlier this week. The union has been on strike against PTS since Monday, June 9, 2008, in support of our bargaining demands and in protest of the company’s unfair labor practices. PTS’s top officials met with us all day yesterday to try to end the strike and to convince us to accept drastic wage concessions for our members. The company did not provide us with information that was anywhere near adequate to support its demands. The company did not present us with a viable plan to get out from underneath its debt. Instead, the company wanted to force our members to bear the lion’s share of the cuts and to shoulder a grossly disproportionate share of the ongoing risks relating to the company’s problems with its lendors. We countered with a detailed proposal to the company, which included significant operating improvements for PTS and which in our opinion would have enabled to company to survive. The company rejected our proposal and insisted only on cutting our members’ wages. At the same time, though, the company’s top management would not take the same cuts for themselves. Their last-second gesture to take just a modest cut in relation to the cuts they wanted our members to take was an empty one at best. Based on the company’s actions today and reports of lock downs at the facilities, it appears the company has chosen to shut its doors rather than continue talks with the union.”

There is two sides to every disagreement. I think this one is no exception and both sides have valid points. I think Zuckerman loses some credibility when he says “it appears the company has chosen to shut its doors rather than continue talks with the union.” I don’t believe that PTS has any choice. They have run out of time. Creditors are pushing for chapter 7 so they can begin recovering assets.

I think a strike of any length could be a death sentence for Performance Transportation Services. Nobody wants to break strike lines because we want to see drivers get paid fairly but in this case the strike will more likely result in PTS folding. I think it would be better for the industry if PTS was replaced by several mid-sized companies instead of having one giant. Then if one company does not treat drivers fairly they see the drivers get hired away by the competition. No strike needed!

GM spokeswoman Deborah Silverman said the automaker “would take steps to ensure that the supply chain is not disrupted” in the event of a strike. Ford is hopeful there will be no strike, but spokesman Todd Nissen said “we’re working on contingency plans to keep our vehicles moving away from the plants” if there is a walkout.

Toyota spokesman Xavier Dominicis said the company also was monitoring the dispute and preparing a plan for moving vehicles if there is a strike.

Here is a copy of a portion of a letter written by CEO Jeff Cornish to PTS employees

Here is a quote from an information flier on the teamsters web-site:
“We have no confidence in this company’s ability to operate under any
circumstances going forward, even with one-sided wage concessions and a small
bridge loan from a hedge fund in place. Even with the concessions, the company
has virtually no chance for survival.”