Teamsters local(Strike Legality)

[Fcrevatas]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

Hello,

My union is currently in the midst of discussions with our company regarding our union contract. The contract has been up as of may 31st of this year and there have been several extensions since then. We have given a proposal and declined a counter proposal and opted yes to a strike if the company did not come back with a proposal on the 11th of June(today) and the company still has not given a proposal but stated they have a negotiator who was out of town and is available now as of sunday. The union authorized an extension in favor of the company until July 7th which hurts our bargaining point of striking since the fourth is a busy season for our company. The union representative stated to me today that it would be illegal for us to strike per federal regulations regardless of the fact that we have authorized a strike and the deadline for a new proposal was not met. We work for a food storage and shipping warehouse which supplies a large food chain. Is it within our legal rights to strike (the extension puts us under the old contract yet again which contains a no strike clause so long as it is in effect which is why the strike was scheduled for the 11th on which day the contract would have been null and void pending no return proposal) or is it illegal and would we be in the wrong. I am concerned about the unions representatives decision to lessen our bargaining standpoint where we have shown nothing but good faith in continuing to work and perform as normal per the old contract and the negotiations. The holiday season and the amount of product coming in and going out of the facility would require them to settle the contract negotiations more swiftly to satisfy their contract with the food chain.


Thank you so much for any help, advice, or information you could provide,

Fcrevatas

 

[Zigner]

The union has decided not to strike. If you unilaterally "strike" then you are simply a no-show.


You gotta take the good with the bad in a union.

 

[Fcrevatas]

I understand that. The union rep agreed to extend the contract another month past the deadline without a proposal in hand and did not consult any of the union members to see if we would be fine with giving them an extension regardless of the deadline passing and us giving our authorization to strike under the fact that it would be illegal doing so before the company got busy for the holidays.

I am not discussing a solo strike i am questioning the reps decision and ability to extend this in favor of the company over the favor of the union members in giving them a deadline past a bargaining leeway like a busy season coming up.

 

[justalayman]

You have the right to change the leadership at your next election. It is difficult to make an argument for a failure to represent the members or they were acting against the best interest of the members

I would ask your leaders why it would be illegal to strike given the circumstances. Right after that, I would ask them (presuming they can actually support their statement) : then what is the point of having a strike vote if we cannot actually strike?

 

[justalayman]

One part of having a union/company relationship is: once the contract is settled, you want a company to be able to continue to work at. While the point of a strike is to injure the company, causing too great of an injury could cause irrepairable harm even to the point of driving them out of business. You also must continue to interact with the employer so you want to not destroy the relationship to the point of being enemies.

It's a tough balancing act to achieve the short term goal and not damage the long term issues.

 

[Fcrevatas]

Thank you, justalayman. I actually spoke with the representative today and he stated it was a federal regulation that was preventing us from striking under the collective bargaining laws which from what he stated I assume would be the NLRA. He stated that they were willing to come to the table but were unable to get their negotiator there in time for negotiations which has been set for friday and yet they extended the negotiations another month whereas normally it was two weeks. I asked him the why have a vote for a strike and he simply stated he will not have any federal indictments brought up against the local and yet we have come to the table and adhered to the collective bargaining protocol.

There was a no strike clause in the old contract which would have expired today voiding that agreement provided they did not come up with a proposal which they have not and the extension was pushed forward. He could state it was a good faith gesture as per the NLRA but the excessive time in the extension pushes us past a busy time which is beneficial for us to strike during to ensure a swift end to the strike whereas if we strike after the new deadline it would have lesser effect on the company and allow them to bring in the scabs to make up for what is lost in labor and productivity from the strike at that point.

I dont know if this helps at all but I was hoping someone could possibly help to clarify all of this a bit better.

Thank you again

 

[justalayman]

There is very little to clarify. Your leadership does have the power to act unilaterally in matters such as this. I suspect the claim of the rules applicable to acting in good faith would preclude the union from sanctioning a strike at the present, or at least allow the employer to file charges given the situation.

If you can prove the leadership has failed to represent the body properly, there are avenues to explore. Such charges will be very difficult to substantiate if possible at all.

 

[cbg]

I'm sorry, did you say that the old contract expired on May 31? 11 days ago?

My union worked without a contract for 9 months while we worked with a negotiator.

Holy hannah, some people are impatient.

 

[cbg]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

Hello,

My union is currently in the midst of discussions with our company regarding our union contract. The contract has been up as of may 31st of this year and there have been several extensions since then. We have given a proposal and declined a counter proposal and opted yes to a strike if the company did not come back with a proposal on the 11th of June(today) and the company still has not given a proposal but stated they have a negotiator who was out of town and is available now as of sunday. The union authorized an extension in favor of the company until July 7th which hurts our bargaining point of striking since the fourth is a busy season for our company. The union representative stated to me today that it would be illegal for us to strike per federal regulations regardless of the fact that we have authorized a strike and the deadline for a new proposal was not met. We work for a food storage and shipping warehouse which supplies a large food chain. Is it within our legal rights to strike (the extension puts us under the old contract yet again which contains a no strike clause so long as it is in effect which is why the strike was scheduled for the 11th on which day the contract would have been null and void pending no return proposal) or is it illegal and would we be in the wrong. I am concerned about the unions representatives decision to lessen our bargaining standpoint where we have shown nothing but good faith in continuing to work and perform as normal per the old contract and the negotiations. The holiday season and the amount of product coming in and going out of the facility would require them to settle the contract negotiations more swiftly to satisfy their contract with the food chain.


Thank you so much for any help, advice, or information you could provide,

Fcrevatas

Quoted for posterity