Earlier today, Local 89 members in Louisville, Ky., set up an Area Standards Picket at the Ford Louisville Assembly Plant (LAP) in response to two non-union carhaul transport trucks entering the facility. Union officials were soon joined by dozens of Teamster carhaulers who were working at the LAP yard and chose to exercise their contractual right not to work behind a picket line.

Less than an hour after the Area Standards Picket was put in place, management at LAP agreed to send the non-union drivers out and terminate their transportation agreement with them, decisively ending the picket almost as quickly as it began.

“We’ve fought hard for decades to win the standards we have in our contracts, and it’s up to us to make sure we keep those standards intact,” said Avral Thompson, Local 89 President and Teamsters Carhaul Director. “Companies will never stop trying to get around our contracts, so we have to enforce them. When we set up a legal Area Standards Picket and our members refuse to work behind that line, that’s real union power.”

Members who honored the picket line received a surprise phone call from General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman, who praised the solidarity they displayed and the resulting victory their actions won.

“As leaders we must remain militant and vigilantly watch for contractual violations, but ultimately our power rests solely with our membership,” Zuckerman said. “General President Sean O’Brien, Avral and I are determined to build our power in the carhaul industry, and passionate members like these will help us lead the charge.”

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