Nearly five years after a nonunion carhauler took jobs from about 50 Teamsters' drivers at a railhead here, two union carhaulers have regained more than half the work.
Three dozen union drivers and a handful of union mechanics are now back on the job, and more may be hired, said Gerald Spencer, chief steward for Teamsters Local 120 at the union carhauler Allied Systems.
Carhaulers pick up cars, trucks and SUVs when they arrive by rail from the factory or from overseas, then deliver the vehicles to dealers. General Motors ? which gave its Cottage Grove business entirely to nonunion Sierra Mountain Express in 2000 ? now is dividing deliveries among Sierra Mountain, Allied Systems and a new union hauler, ELN Transport, said Louie Miller, business agent for Local 120.
"To get that work back, to see those guys go down the road, is a real thrill for me," said Spencer, who has been hauling cars for 27 years.
Until 2000, he said, there were no nonunion carriers in Cottage Grove.
When Sierra Mountain got GM's business, "they looked at Cottage Grove as their flagship terminal," he said. "They were a real thorn in our side. They took on the Teamsters and thought they won. To see them come in was sickening.? They stayed longer than we thought, but I think we're going to get them out of here for good."
Contract allows new tactic
The Teamsters helped regain the work by utilizing a clause in the national carhaul contract that allows locals limited flexibility with mileage rates so union carhaulers can bid more competitively.
"It's the only way to fight fire with fire," Spencer said.
The contract allows temporary wage adjustments as a way of regaining work in the long term, Miller said.
The tactic "is becoming a cancer on nonunion carriers," he said. "It's destroying them. It's literally starting to put them out of business."
Local 120 has a four-year contract with Allied and a three-year contract with ELN, Miller said. Despite the wage adjustments, union drivers still receive full health and pension benefits, he said, something nonunion drivers don?t get, especially at companies such as Sierra Mountain, which considers its drivers independent owner-operators.
The tactic helped ELN get GM's business for deliveries within 80 miles of the Twin Cities, and helped Allied regain GM's business along the Interstate 94 corridor as far west as Montana, Miller said. Five years ago, it was Allied that lost GM's business.
Allied continues to haul vehicles out of Cottage Grove for Ford, Daimler-Chrysler and most foreign makers, Spencer said.
Sierra Mountain still has GM's traffic to northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Iowa, "but I think we're going to get that work back, too," he said.
"It's a success story," Miller said. "We didn't get them out 100 percent, but we put a big dent in their business."
Adapted from The Union Advocate, the official newspaper of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@stpaulunions.org
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Nearly five years after a nonunion carhauler took jobs from about 50 Teamsters’ drivers at a railhead here, two union carhaulers have regained more than half the work.
Three dozen union drivers and a handful of union mechanics are now back on the job, and more may be hired, said Gerald Spencer, chief steward for Teamsters Local 120 at the union carhauler Allied Systems.
Carhaulers pick up cars, trucks and SUVs when they arrive by rail from the factory or from overseas, then deliver the vehicles to dealers. General Motors ? which gave its Cottage Grove business entirely to nonunion Sierra Mountain Express in 2000 ? now is dividing deliveries among Sierra Mountain, Allied Systems and a new union hauler, ELN Transport, said Louie Miller, business agent for Local 120.
“To get that work back, to see those guys go down the road, is a real thrill for me,” said Spencer, who has been hauling cars for 27 years.
Until 2000, he said, there were no nonunion carriers in Cottage Grove.
When Sierra Mountain got GM’s business, “they looked at Cottage Grove as their flagship terminal,” he said. “They were a real thorn in our side. They took on the Teamsters and thought they won. To see them come in was sickening.? They stayed longer than we thought, but I think we’re going to get them out of here for good.”
Contract allows new tactic
The Teamsters helped regain the work by utilizing a clause in the national carhaul contract that allows locals limited flexibility with mileage rates so union carhaulers can bid more competitively.
“It’s the only way to fight fire with fire,” Spencer said.
The contract allows temporary wage adjustments as a way of regaining work in the long term, Miller said.
The tactic “is becoming a cancer on nonunion carriers,” he said. “It’s destroying them. It’s literally starting to put them out of business.”
Local 120 has a four-year contract with Allied and a three-year contract with ELN, Miller said. Despite the wage adjustments, union drivers still receive full health and pension benefits, he said, something nonunion drivers don?t get, especially at companies such as Sierra Mountain, which considers its drivers independent owner-operators.
The tactic helped ELN get GM’s business for deliveries within 80 miles of the Twin Cities, and helped Allied regain GM’s business along the Interstate 94 corridor as far west as Montana, Miller said. Five years ago, it was Allied that lost GM’s business.
Allied continues to haul vehicles out of Cottage Grove for Ford, Daimler-Chrysler and most foreign makers, Spencer said.
Sierra Mountain still has GM’s traffic to northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Iowa, “but I think we’re going to get that work back, too,” he said.
“It’s a success story,” Miller said. “We didn’t get them out 100 percent, but we put a big dent in their business.”
Adapted from The Union Advocate, the official newspaper of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@stpaulunions.org