I do believe it is. Time will tell.



Updated:

PTS Shuts Down Following Strike
Carrier, Union Trade Charges on Company’s Demise

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Automobile hauler Performance Transportation Services said it has gone out of business, due to a strike against the company last week by the Teamsters union.

PTS and the union traded blame on the company’s demise, with each side claiming the other rejected offers that could have led to a settlement.

The auto hauler ceased operations late Friday, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Cornish said in a statement. PTS is majority owned by California private equity firm Yucaipa Cos.

The company’s proposal included a reduction in wages for both hourly and salaried employees, Cornish said in a statement posted on its Web site.

“The proceeds from these savings would have been invested in new equipment and major refurbishment,” he wrote. “Unfortunately . . . the Teamsters concluded that it was not it their interest to accept our offer.

The Teamsters said in a statement that it countered a PTS offer with a “detailed proposal . . . which included significant operating improvements for PTS and which in our opinion would have enabled to company to survive.

“The company rejected our proposal and insisted only on cutting our members' wages. At the same time, though, the company's top management would not take the same cuts for themselves,” the union said.

PTS is ranked No. 73 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers and the second-largest car-hauler.


(Click here for previous coverage.)
By Transport Topics



http://www.ttnews.com/articles/baset...?storyid=19965

 

Sounds pretty fishy, given they wanted to file an injunction against a strike. They didn't want to bargain with the union. They just wanted their way or the highway.

 

Well it is THEIR company Ronin not the teamsters. They can run it as they please and if the union don't like it, take an F-ing hike. Funny how the union blames management for not taking the same pay cut yet they wouldn't allow their workers to take a cut either. Pot calling kettle there. I have never ever heard of a union allowing their workers to take a pay cut unless the want some new blood in the union and use the pay cut as a way to get the older folks out of there.

I'm sorry but I have no sympathy for unions. They want, want, want but refuse to ever give anything in order to get what they want. This isn't Russia where you get paid the same as I do but can sit on your rear all day while I do all the work just because your union and I'm not. Unions are communism at it's finest.

 

It depends on why the injunction was asked for. Was the strike illegal as the company says? If so then an injunction could very well have been in order.

As far as it being union busting it is hard to tell. Many trucking companies run on a fine edge, and having delivered to a major manufacturer on a dedicated run for many months I have seen how hard it can be to get the car makers to renegotiate contracts, raise fuel surcharges, etc.

Between the cost of the special equipment needed for car hauling, the higher than normal wages the drivers make, the skyrocketing fuel costs, the reduction is cars being made and the attitudes of the car makers themselves it is quite possible this company had no choice but to shut down.

 

Why should just the drivers have to take a pay cut. I was not really a big fan of unions intill about 1 year ago. I was at a tanker job for 3 years and really good benifits then just one day out of the blue the company cut are benifits in 1/2. WTF is that all about. Did management take a cut?? I dont think so. I only lasted 6 months after that then i left just like 1/2 of the 50 other drivers did. Nothing but a big slap in the face.

 

Exactly what I'm talking about not that Mr. Ford bothered to read that. A real leader leads from the front, they take the bad times right along with everyone else. Just goes to show they not willing to contribute to saving their own company, so to hell with them!

 

Why the f*** should the employees have to accept a pay cut when the cost of living is rising dramatically due to increased fuel costs among other things.

 

Weaker unions can only be a good thing IMO. Never had any use for them.

 

I know people hate to admit this, but unions have done a lot for working class citizens over the years. Bear this in mind when you consider that you're paid for deadhead miles, thanks to the Teamsters who demanded it. If it hadn't been for what they did so many years ago, I can guarantee you that you would have a hell of a lot more to complain about right now than a three mile per hour reduction in speed. What's wrong with someone who more or less devotes their life to their job to expect safe and fair working conditions? Would you rather have to sleep on a board laid across your seats at night? Would you rather be paid only for the miles you run loaded? Love them or hate them, you have benefited from the efforts of the Teamsters.

The biggest problem with the union is that there is no system of checks and balances, and it has grown out of hand in a lot of places. The union was formed with the right intentions, but never should have been able to wield such power as it does over a company.

The whole situation really is a lot more complicated, and I think a lot of the times that the union fails to realise that they are going to be expected to make concessions on their parts at times. Whether they're proud of themselves or not for having put this company out of business, I don't know, but I'm highly skeptical that they'll declare it to be any sort of victory - all they really managed to do was to put themselves out of a job, and that's the price they pay for overzealousness on their behalf.

 

What he said. 8)