Teamsters, Trucking Industry Brace for Strike : Labor: There’s no evidence of compromise on the eve of a walkout by 80,000 workers that could disrupt long-distance freight shipments.

As a midnight strike deadline approached with no resolution in sight, the Teamsters and major trucking companies Tuesday braced themselves for a walkout that could disrupt freight shipments nationwide.

Trucking and union officials blamed each other for the impasse during dueling press conferences hours before about 80,000 Teamster members were scheduled to begin the strike at 12:01 a.m. today EDT. Union members have already voted to authorize Teamster leaders to launch a strike if the talks failed.

The strike, while not expected to paralyze transportation, could be widely felt across the country by consumers, retailers and factories. The 23 companies threatened by the strike handle about half of the nation’s mid-size shipments over long distances.

Between 7,000 to 10,000 Teamsters in the Los Angeles area are expected to walk picket lines at the companies’ truck terminals, said Gregory Roth, secretary-treasurer of Teamster Local 208 in El Monte, where members were assembling picket signs late Tuesday.

“No one wants to walk out,” Roth said. “But the employers have taken a take-it-or-leave-it attitude on some extremely serious issues.”

Teamster President Ron Carey said Tuesday that the strike could be avoided only if the trucking firms address the union’s concerns regarding company proposals, primarily one that would increase the use of part-time workers.

But there was little evidence of a compromise.

“There is no chance for last-minute negotiations,” said Robert A. Young III, chairman of Trucking Management Inc., which represents the 23 large trucking firms in negotiations with the Teamsters. “We don’t plan to call them, and we don’t expect them to call us.”

Industry observers said that a shutdown of the 23 firms would leave many companies scrambling for space on other carriers.

But Young downplayed the potential significance of the strike.

“There are plenty of carriers out there that aren’t union carriers” that will pick up business, Young said. He added that trucking companies have sped up the delivery of customer shipments to beat the strike deadline and avoid delays. Also, he said, the 23 firms control only about 18% of the nation’s total freight traffic moved by truck, train and plane.

Trucking industry officials said cross-country shipments would be most vulnerable to disruption since the affected companies dominate long-distance transport.

“If your shipment is going from Orange County to the San Fernando Valley, (the strike) will not have much effect,” said Joseph M. Nievez, vice president of non-union Qwikway Trucking in Los Angeles. “If you are going from here to Charlotte, you will have a problem.”

But Carey said the strike could spread beyond the initial 23 firms to other trucking companies that employ an additional 40,000 Teamsters under the same contract.

Talks between the Teamsters and trucking firms broke off last week after the companies submitted what they described as their final offer. The Teamsters rejected the offer, which included proposals to hire more part-time workers and shift more business to railroads, as one that would lead to lower starting wages and lost jobs.