PaulChristenson
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Car hauler: Strike may sink company
Bankrupt PTS cuts pay 15%; Teamsters walk out
Louis Aguilar and David Shepardson / The Detroit News
A strike against the nation's No. 2 car hauler could force the company quickly out of business, the company's chief executive said Monday, a sentiment some striking Teamsters members said they were prepared to accept rather than take a temporary pay cut.
Some 1,250 car haulers represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters walked off their jobs at Performance Transportation Services, a move that many think will have little impact on automakers and car dealers. Both sides concede there is little time to settle before the Allen Park company, which has been in bankruptcy twice since 2006, may go out of business.
The two sides are in a stalemate over court-approved pay cuts and other contract issues. As of Monday evening the two sides were not talking.
The union is upset that PTS, which delivers 2.7 million vehicles a year including 10,400 vehicles a day for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., won federal bankruptcy court approval to immediately impose a 15 percent pay cut on the drivers through July 31. The company wants the temporary cut while it continues to negotiate a new contract. The Teamsters refused and walked off their jobs Monday, including seven locations in Michigan.
PTS filed a new court request Monday, seeking to hold the Teamsters and their chief negotiator, Fred Zuckerman, in civil contempt. The company asked for an expedited hearing on its request, but none was made as of late Monday. PTS wants the judge to assess civil penalties to prod the car haulers back to work. The company hopes to get a response possibly as soon as today, said PTS Chief Executive Jeff Cornish.Even a one-day strike could force the company to liquidate, Cornish said. "The longer this goes on, the more chance the Teamsters are going to extinguish their own jobs and all the other jobs at PTS," Cornish said.
The Teamsters were resolute.
"We are on strike to enforce our bargaining table demands," Zuckerman said. "There is no proposal on the table. There is no date set for us to go back to the table, and that's completely unacceptable."
Many striking members said they know walking out could cost them their jobs.
"We just have to do it on principle," said one, who requested anonymity because of union instructions not to talk to reporters. "Most of us don't expect to go back."
The impact on the automakers has so far been minimal. Cornish said that union and non-union haulers were picking up PTS' work.
Toyota spokesman Xavier Dominicis said the company hadn't seen any delivery disruption, but has put contingency plans in place.
Ford also was putting alternative shipping plans in place, though the company wouldn't discuss the details, said company spokesman Todd Nissen.
GM spokesman Chris Lee said the Detroit automaker also "hadn't seen any disruption."
"We're continuing to make sure that we can keep moving our new cars and trucks to the dealers," Lee said.
Some auto dealers said the strike would have to last several weeks to have any impact.
"Their timing is lousy," said Martin "Hoot" McInerny, whose holdings include Toyota and Ford dealerships. "Most of us probably won't know for at least a couple days, but the real impact would have been in the fall after new models are released."
Robert Farrell, executive director of the Automotive Carrier's Conference of the American Trucking Association, based in Arlington, Va., agreed.
"The disruption in the distribution channel is not an insurmountable challenge," he said. "We're already in June, when there usually is a slower month in sales. We go to summer shutdown of plants in July and market conditions are not great. And this against a backdrop of an industry that's reducing the number of vehicles that it will produce. Do the math."
The company says it needs wage concessions to deal with rising diesel fuel prices and declining sales. PTS is seeking similar cuts gained by Allied Holdings Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in 2007 and imposed a 17.5 percent pay cut.
Bankrupt PTS cuts pay 15%; Teamsters walk out
Louis Aguilar and David Shepardson / The Detroit News
A strike against the nation's No. 2 car hauler could force the company quickly out of business, the company's chief executive said Monday, a sentiment some striking Teamsters members said they were prepared to accept rather than take a temporary pay cut.
Some 1,250 car haulers represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters walked off their jobs at Performance Transportation Services, a move that many think will have little impact on automakers and car dealers. Both sides concede there is little time to settle before the Allen Park company, which has been in bankruptcy twice since 2006, may go out of business.
The two sides are in a stalemate over court-approved pay cuts and other contract issues. As of Monday evening the two sides were not talking.
The union is upset that PTS, which delivers 2.7 million vehicles a year including 10,400 vehicles a day for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., won federal bankruptcy court approval to immediately impose a 15 percent pay cut on the drivers through July 31. The company wants the temporary cut while it continues to negotiate a new contract. The Teamsters refused and walked off their jobs Monday, including seven locations in Michigan.
PTS filed a new court request Monday, seeking to hold the Teamsters and their chief negotiator, Fred Zuckerman, in civil contempt. The company asked for an expedited hearing on its request, but none was made as of late Monday. PTS wants the judge to assess civil penalties to prod the car haulers back to work. The company hopes to get a response possibly as soon as today, said PTS Chief Executive Jeff Cornish.Even a one-day strike could force the company to liquidate, Cornish said. "The longer this goes on, the more chance the Teamsters are going to extinguish their own jobs and all the other jobs at PTS," Cornish said.
The Teamsters were resolute.
"We are on strike to enforce our bargaining table demands," Zuckerman said. "There is no proposal on the table. There is no date set for us to go back to the table, and that's completely unacceptable."
Many striking members said they know walking out could cost them their jobs.
"We just have to do it on principle," said one, who requested anonymity because of union instructions not to talk to reporters. "Most of us don't expect to go back."
The impact on the automakers has so far been minimal. Cornish said that union and non-union haulers were picking up PTS' work.
Toyota spokesman Xavier Dominicis said the company hadn't seen any delivery disruption, but has put contingency plans in place.
Ford also was putting alternative shipping plans in place, though the company wouldn't discuss the details, said company spokesman Todd Nissen.
GM spokesman Chris Lee said the Detroit automaker also "hadn't seen any disruption."
"We're continuing to make sure that we can keep moving our new cars and trucks to the dealers," Lee said.
Some auto dealers said the strike would have to last several weeks to have any impact.
"Their timing is lousy," said Martin "Hoot" McInerny, whose holdings include Toyota and Ford dealerships. "Most of us probably won't know for at least a couple days, but the real impact would have been in the fall after new models are released."
Robert Farrell, executive director of the Automotive Carrier's Conference of the American Trucking Association, based in Arlington, Va., agreed.
"The disruption in the distribution channel is not an insurmountable challenge," he said. "We're already in June, when there usually is a slower month in sales. We go to summer shutdown of plants in July and market conditions are not great. And this against a backdrop of an industry that's reducing the number of vehicles that it will produce. Do the math."
The company says it needs wage concessions to deal with rising diesel fuel prices and declining sales. PTS is seeking similar cuts gained by Allied Holdings Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in 2007 and imposed a 17.5 percent pay cut.
