Atlanta is one of the centers of the strike. The company has brought in Overnite employees from South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, and Alabama to drive the trucks and work on the loading docks here.

Jimmy Kersey has 35 years seniority with the company. He is on top of the seniority list here. He told the Militant, "I was probably the last one they thought would go out on strike."

Kersey described some of the upcoming activities to build up the strength of the strike. "We now have a food bank at the Teamster Local 726 hall and we are buying Christmas gifts for the children. Other unions' financial contributions make this possible. We are holding weekly membership meetings every Saturday before the $100 weekly strike benefits are distributed."

The Atlanta Labor Council is organizing a "Rally for Peace, Goodwill, and Justice" at 10:30 a.m. December 21 to back the strike. Kersey said, "Other union members are waking up to the fact that their contract will be affected by the outcome of our strike. This fight is about all of labor. We need more participation on the picket line. We'll never win this by ourselves."

Everett Cole is a Teamster member who works for ABF and joins the picket lines here. He explained, " I'm supporting the strikers to let them know the union brothers are behind them. They are not alone." Another Teamster, Robert Roger, who drives for Consolidated Freight said, "If we don't fight back, things will only erode."

The picket line in St. Louis has been beefed up by truck parades recently. On December 7 a convoy of 10 to 15 Consolidated Freight and Beaufort trucks paraded past the Overnite terminal on Hall Street in St. Louis, blowing their horns in support of the strike. Teamsters at the picket line told the Militant 10 trucks from CCX, one of the nonunion terminals, joined the caravan one morning.

Gary Graves, a driver at Consolidated Freight in St. Louis for 27 years and a member of Teamsters Local 600, told the Militant that every morning since the strike began he and other CF drivers meet at the CF terminal and caravan in front of Overnite.

Overnite strikers reported that Teamster-organized trucking terminals in St. Louis continue to take up weekly collections for the strikers. Office workers at the terminals who are members of Teamsters Local 688 have joined the picket line.

Overnite, the largest nonunion trucking company in the country, has fought tooth and nail against recognizing the union, which nearly half of the 8,200 drivers and loading dock workers have voted to join. The company has tried to get the Teamsters decertified at 19 terminals, without success so far. In October and November the National Labor Relations Board dismissed four more decertification petitions.

Overnite "takes advantage of its workers, with unjust firings and reprimands," said John Crosby, a dock worker and member of Teamsters Local 707 on strike at Overnite's Long Island, New York terminal. "We have to let everyone know what's going on, since there hasn't been much news coverage."

Crosby was addressing a rally of about 200 Overnite strikers, supporters from other Teamster locals, and members of several other unions outside Bed, Bath & Beyond in Manhattan December 9. Speakers at the rally included Teamsters president James Hoffa and AFL-CIO president John Sweeney. Hoffa announced plans to boycott the Bed, Bath & Beyond national store chain, which remains a major Overnite customer.

The same day about 100 Overnite strikers from Bensalem, Pennsylvania, and supporters rallied outside a Bed, Bath & Beyond store in Philadelphia to leaflet customers and passersby about the strike.

Rick Wickham, member of Teamsters Local 107 and one of the Overnite drivers who took part in the rally, said, "I'm getting some jobs to get by during the strike, but my fight's here. I show up every morning" at the picket line, and "couldn't go back in there without a union." Other members of Teamsters Local 107 have adopted strikers' families to give toys for the holidays. "They're doing this because we're all in this together," Wickham said.

Representatives of Teamsters Local 107 also spoke about the strike and invited participation in their rally at the December 7 meeting of International Association of Machinists Local 1776, which organizes workers at the Philadelphia airport.

Alyson Kennedy and Shelton McCrainey in St. Louis, Ruth Robinett in New York, and Nancy Cole in Philadelphia contributed to this article.  
 
 
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