Vol.63/No.43 December 6, 1999
'We can win,' say strikers at Atlanta Forum
BY JILL FEIN
ATLANTA—Speaking at a Militant Labor Forum here November 13, John Culberson, a member of Teamster Local 728 and a driver for 16 years at Overnite said, "We're convinced we can go one day longer and win this strike." Culberson described how difficult it has been trying to get a contract from Overnite since the successful union election on April 17, 1995.
There have been 155 negotiating sessions in four years, according to Culberson. At the last negotiating session held in June, negotiators for Local 728 made a proposal straight out of the Overnite Employee Handbook that was rejected by the company. "They would rather out source our work than give us a legal binding contract."
Culberson expressed his lack of confidence in the NLRB to help them win the strike. "We're leading them, dragging them along the way. The NLRB is the wrong place to be relying on for anything. If we're going to war I wouldn't want them on my side, and we are in a war."
Also speaking at the Militant Labor Forum was Richard Merritt, a driver at Overnite for 23 years. "Hope lies in the united strength of our unions—UNITE, Teamster, UAW, and others," he said. "We need to act as one body."
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