Several Teamsters Locals Are Striking, Some For Over a Year, But Nobody Seems to Notice

[Omaha Steve]

http://wepartypatriots.com/wp/2012/01/07/teamsters-locals-striking-all-over-the-country/

Jan 7 2012



2011 was a year in which the Labor Movement reappeared at the forefront of the national political conversation. Born out of the Wisconsin struggle, a sense of solidarity swept the country’s organized workforce and, as extreme actors in the GOP continue to attack unions, more middle class mettle is being primed for the 2012 haul.

Still, in 2010, a total of 11 strikes were documented; this compared to as many as 300 at any given time in the 1970s, according to Mortimer B. Zuckerman.

But the Teamsters Union, which represents workers in myriad fields from bus drivers to art handlers and everything in between, currently has hundreds of workers on strike, all over the country, that nobody in the national labor media is dedicating much copy to. The only Teamsters struggle to get any legitimate media attention has been the Sotheby’s lockout (see below). Only Sotheby’s workers have witnessed “solidarity actions” from Occupy Wall Street or higher-profile union efforts. The largest group of striking Teamsters, though, is affiliated with the Pipe Line Contractors Association. They are striking over unreasonable contract demands by a profitable industry organization looking to gut workers’ retirement security.

Below is a brief summary of ongoing Teamsters strike and lockout actions.

Pipe Line Contractors Association (PLCA)

This strike started with 200 Pennsylvania and West Virginia workers walking off the job but has since gained support from Teamsters pipeline workers nationwide. The National Pipe Line Agreement between the Teamsters and the PLCA expired on January 31st, 2011 but was extended twice last year. The PLCA’s inability to negotiate a fair deal has caused workers to strike after the latest December 31st, 2011 deadline passed. What is at the heart of the issue is that the PLCA wants to force the Teamsters into 401K retirements instead of their traditional pensions. 401K plans are more vulnerable to Wall Street fluctuations and do not provide the same security as the current pension system the workers are fighting to keep. Teamsters President Jim Hoffa, Jr. said in a Press Release:

FULL story and videos at link.

[Starry Messenger]

1. I've been following the Sotheby's lockout but didn't know about the other strikes.

Thank you for the OP Omaha Steve. I'm on a mission to keep labor stories in OWS Twitter feeds, so I will Tweet this story too.