Ron Carey playing hardball & not negotiating resulted in the 94 freight strike & the UPS strike. That strike put several carriers out of business & depleted the strike fund. After that four week strike we got less than the companies offered in the December negotiations before the strike. The strike was a combination of stupidity of management & playing "Hardball". Ron Carey would have have better served the Teamsters if the resources spent on the strike would have been used for organizing. The nonunion carriers & Fedex reaped a windfall from the strike & we lost customers we never got back. In the old days when almost all LTL carriers were organized a strike didn't give any carrier an advantage like this strike did the nonunion carriers. I remember that strike well & many shippers had customers waiting for goods that were on trailers & docks. They lost customers & we did too.
That strike hurt labor & the companies. Look at the number of organized companies before the strike & now.
I think we have gotten off the original topic.
Not completely off topic. Because the pension does go hand and hand with the strength of a company. I think the days of a nation wide strike are way far back in the rear view mirror.
If I had to guess I would say that in the future one may see rolling strikes. Where the union may give the company and it's customers advanced notice that a strike on date for the terminals affected in advance.
Therefore not completely loosing a customer just a temporary disruption in a carriers bottom line.
We are not here to harm ABF we are here to see that all are compensated in a way that each can be comfortable with.
Our pensions are a matter that even ABF should be in the forefront fight to preserve. If they can not come up with a plan to protect the years earned then I am concerned with our ability to function as we have in the past.
I think that taking away ones earned livelihood would only breed discontent for the company. When Teamsters see their executives living well and retiring with millions of dollars in retirement benefits it surly has to determine how they do their jobs.
People on the side of giving back screamed when ABF was not allowed to buy out of CSPF prior to the 2008 vote. But hindsight being 20/20 if we had come to an agreement it would have saddled ABF with a more than ONE BILLION DOLLAR LOAN and we all know where that would have landed us when the GREATEST RECESSION SINCE THE DEPRESSION(The Turncoats catch phrase).
ABF I believe could not have survived a ONE BILLION DOLLAR LOAN payment over the last four years. It would have at the very least stopped ABF from buying any new equipment and needed repairs to their terminals. And moral would have been at it's lowest.
We have charted a steady coarse thru troubled times but our journey has not ended yet. We as ABF Teamsters must decide the future for both ABF and our families. It will not be a easy task but it is none the less our RESPONSIBILITY.
So when you read the post of those not involved and just trying to cause trouble just ignore them. Only deal in facts and truths because lies and misinformation will only lead to the wrong decision. YOUR TRUSTING YOU BROTHER ALWAYS!
