Trucking Firm Shuts Down, Lays Off 2,000 : Strike: Churchill Lines says Teamster demands would be too costly. But Preston breaks ranks and agrees to negotiate.
A Missouri trucking firm on Monday closed its doors and laid off more than 2,000 workers on the sixth day of a nationwide trucking strike while the Teamsters called off the walkout against another company that agreed to resume negotiations.
Trucking industry officials blamed the strike involving about 75,000 Teamsters for leading Churchill Truck Lines to permanently shut down after nearly 70 years in operation. More companies and jobs could be lost if the strike continues, industry officials said.
“We have been predicting for months that lost revenues from a strike would lead to lost jobs,” said Arthur H. Bunte Jr., president of Truck Management Inc., which represents 22 trucking firms struck by the Teamsters. “Because the Teamster leadership would rather walk than talk, this prediction, sadly, has become true.”
Kenneth Churchill, president of the family-owned company, told Dow Jones news service the firm decided to close Monday because it would not be able to operate profitably under wage and work rules sought by the Teamsters. Churchill officials were not available Monday for further comment.
But the Teamsters said Churchill was a victim of longstanding financial and operating problems unrelated to the strike. Spokeswoman Nancy Stella said the approximately 1,500 Teamsters at the Chillicothe, Mo.-based firm agreed to a 10% wage cut last August to help the financially troubled firm.
“This is a company that has been headed down the tubes for a long time,” Stella said. “The problems that led Churchill to this spot lay clearly at management’s doorstep.”
Meanwhile, another trucking firm--Preston Trucking--broke ranks with Truck Management Inc. and agreed to separate negotiations. As a result, the 3,400 Teamsters members at Preston will return to work, effectively leaving 20 firms involved in the strike. Preston and Yellow Freight Systems are owned by the same company, but Yellow Freight said it has no plans to resume negotiations.
Industry analysts said that many of the smaller firms involved in the strike are vulnerable. However, the four largest and by far biggest employers--Yellow Freight, CF Motorfreight, ABF and Roadway--are capable of withstanding a strike lasting several months.
“Roadway can outlast the Teamsters. CF has other sources of other revenues and Yellow has better financial resources,” said trucking industry analyst Paul R. Schelsinger at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette.
No formal talks are scheduled between the Teamsters and Trucking Management Inc. Negotiations broke down March 31 over management’s proposal to expand part-time positions in their terminals and to make greater use of railroads. Management also wants to use binding arbitration to settle grievances.
