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President Zuckerman and Local 89 Expose Scheme To Steal Carhaul Work—NLRB Issues Complaint Against Jack Cooper Specialized and Teamsters National Automobile Transporters Industry Negotiating Committee
Aug 10, 2016

Feb 13, 2014

On January 31, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a complaint and “notice of hearing” against Jack Cooper Specialized and the Teamsters National Automobile Transporters Industry Negotiating Committee (TNATINC).  The complaint is the result of a lengthy fight by President Zuckerman and Local 89 against a sham contract designed to take work away from carhaul members. 

In late 2012, Teamsters Local 251 (Rhode Island) unlawfully negotiated an agreement with Jack Cooper Transport to create the separate entity named Jack Cooper Specialized.  This agreement was originally said to be a means to acquire traffic from non-union automobile transporters, but instead acted to strip work from other Teamsters in the Central-Southern Area.  The Company would take this work and divert it to workers whose wages and benefits fell well below area standards, thus violating Article 33 and other applicable articles of the National Master Automobile Transporters Agreement. Despite this clear violation, the National Automobile Transporters Joint Arbitration Committee and IBT Carhaul Director Roy Gross approved the agreement.

In February of 2013, President Zuckerman filed a grievance protesting Jack Cooper Specialized and its sham contract with Local 251.  The case was deadlocked by the National Automobile Transporters Joint Arbitration Committee after Jack Cooper Specialized took a “point of order” asserting Local 89 had no “standing” as the company had not moved any vehicles in its jurisdiction.  However, this was, at best, a half-truth.  Jack Cooper Specialized did indeed attempt to move vehicles in Local 89’s jurisdiction; however, the company reversed their plans after President Zuckerman and Vice President Avral Thompson threatened an area standards picket against the company.  The grievance then moved to arbitration in which it was ruled Local 89 did have standing to pursue the grievance.


The arbitrator sent the case back to the National Committee after the Company’s point of order was denied.  The Committee’s subsequent ruling arrived three months late, contrary to the rules, procedures and historical practices established by Committee.  During this lengthy waiting period, President Zuckerman persisted in his work to expedite the process including multiple correspondences with the IBT leadership.  Unfortunately, help from the IBT did not arrive.  Ultimately, the IBT leadership failed to protect the membership from this unlawful sham agreement which is a gross violation of the contract and a direct attack on the wages and working conditions of carhaul members.

During the grievance process, President Zuckerman filed an unfair labor practice charge with Region 1 of the NLRB against Local 251, Jack Cooper Specialized and the IBT.  Through countless hours of investigation, it was proven that Local 251 and Specialized had indeed violated the National Labor Relations Act through an unlawful organizing scheme and implementation of a sham contract. In a very fortunate development, the membership of Local 251 elected new leadership in December 2013 disposing of the officials who had negotiated and signed on to the sham contract in 2012. The new leadership promptly withdrew its interest in the Specialized group on January 22, 2014 which effectively terminated the sham contract.  In light of the actions by the new leadership at Local 251, Local 89 withdrew its charges against that local union.  Local 89 greatly appreciates the efforts of the new leadership at Local 251 to promptly rectify the wrongs of its predecessor administration.  

The issuance of last month’s NLRB complaint against the remaining defendants, Specialized and TNATINC, further highlights this despicable scam in which the former leadership of Teamsters Local 251 worked to cannibalize the jobs of other Teamster brothers and sisters.  Through perseverance, dedication and willingness to fight for what is right despite the odds, President Fred Zuckerman, Vice President Avral Thompson and Local 89 General Counsel Robert Colone have successfully defended against this threat to union carhaulers. 

The next step in the NLRB complaint process is a formal hearing on May 5th, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts before an administrative law judge.  We will keep you posted on any further developments. 


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Teamsters Local 89
3813 Taylor Blvd
Louisville, KY 40215
  502-368-5885


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