What's new

Yellow | 1994 Strike

Cab Lizzard said:
Jackie Presser died in 1988
This picture is of him was taken as he was carried in to the International convention.It raised quite a stir on national news.
Life was good if you had a Teamster job. .
Click to expand...

I was aware of the date of the Fatman's passing......just wanted to remind everyone what the fatcat life is for some of our union "leaders".
 
Been on the picket lines since 1977. I became a teamster that year and have stood with my brothers on every picket line since. We fought for what these mesters take for granted everyday. It's time they are held accountable, it is our wages and pensions given back to float this YRC ship. They cannot even tell us where the money went for the last 5 years. Do you think the Banks care if we show up for work...as long as they are getting 150 mil a year in interest payments alone.! It's the teamsters fault that they can't pay the bills coming due....how stupid do they think we are...how many years have they known when this debt was coming due, and waiting till the last minute right before the Hoildays to say..." give it up or else ". We had a misstep.." we stole to much, but you will give us our operating cash and it won't happen again, trust us.! I think it is time for the 72 hour notice...see how fast they change their song and dance...and all of this BS. Lay your cards on the table...lets see what is really going on.!!! Hell they gave us the 3 day we need to get right on this....lets give them the 72 hour no problem lets talk ..NOW !
 
cityman va. said:
I'm just wondering how many men on here have ever walked a picket line ? And if anyone remembers why we walked it the in 1994 ? I'm getting the feeling from the threads that very few men on here have ever had to go out on strike to stand up for whats right. Take a chance that you walk a line for a few weeks and could still get beat by the company,but it was the right thing to do. For the teamsters of YRC to just except what the company wants to give us erases all that has been accomplished by the National Master Freight Agreement established in 1964.
Click to expand...
Moot point, you can't strike a company that has closed its doors!!
 
Wrench97 said:
I remember the strike well, so do quite a few of our former good customers, I still feel it did and continues to do more damage to the unionized ltl industry then any other action before or since.
Since that time shippers have been looking for and developing cheaper, more dependable methods of moving their products from point A to point B that does not include using us.
Click to expand...

Ron Carey was the president in 94. That strike was the beginning of the end for several teamster companies., The non union carriers reaped a windfall from that strike & kept many customers. I blame both sides for that strike. If you look at the number of organized companies then & now you can see we as Teamsters lost many dues paying members/brothers. Deregulation & the 94 strike are largely responsible for the IBT losing it's presence in the freight industry.
As for everybody standing together during the strike nobody I know of crossed a picket line. But the ones who wanted a strike were the ones who didn't want to take their turn walking the picket lines. The local had to threaten to take away their strike fund check to get them to walk. The strike seemed like fun & games for a few days but they soon complained about not being able to pay bills with the strike fund. Several filed bankruptcy after the third week of the strike. I have walked picket lines several times during the freight strikes & also helped other brothers while they were on strikes with construction related contracts.
Before you vote for a strike be sure you are ready for the consequences.
 
albag said:
In my 37 years (1976-2013) I walked 3 picket lines. And trying to compare the situation at YRCW to 1994 or any other strike is misguided at best. The LTL industry has evolved to majority non-union, that was NOT the case in 1994. Additionally, from its inception the conditions of the NMFA were basically given rather than fought for. That's because until deregulation the industry was guaranteed a profit. Rates were based on UNION wages and conditions.
The Teamsters are not solely to blame for this fiasco. But neither is the current leadership at YRCW. It is much more complex with shared responsibility in every corner. We are witnessing what likely will be the end of teamster presence in LTL freight.
Click to expand...

I pray to God your wrong brother! I don't believe that we should give in to save our hides either. Most of the post you put up on the boards I can agree with or at least understand where your coming from, but on this one brother I just pray your wrong
 
And I just remembered the absolute best part about the 94 strike, when IBT decided it was necessary to take union dues out of the $200 strike fund! Yeah, those were the days.
 
cityman va. said:
I'm just wondering how many men on here have ever walked a picket line ? And if anyone remembers why we walked it the in 1994 ? I'm getting the feeling from the threads that very few men on here have ever had to go out on strike to stand up for whats right. Take a chance that you walk a line for a few weeks and could still get beat by the company,but it was the right thing to do. For the teamsters of YRC to just except what the company wants to give us erases all that has been accomplished by the National Master Freight Agreement established in 1964.
Click to expand...

In 94 the strike was all about part timers and the amount they could put on the rail. If I remember they got 28 percent on the rail. They were asking for less than that on the first proposal. Being the youngest(28) on the board and the last man at the bottom, I grew up real fast. After the strike was over I was laid off and three days later was called back and ran my but off until the sleeper change. We didn't miss a beat. Times have changed a lot since then. Good luck to all of you. And try and have a Merry Christmas.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top