Teamsters Strike Ryder Car Hauler

Teamsters union drivers struck Ryder System Inc. on Thursday, shutting down the movement of new cars and trucks by the nation’s largest car hauling company.

Ryder, which moves vehicles from factories, ports and distribution centers to dealerships, is the major transporter for General Motors Corp. and hauls vehicles for the other car makers.

The auto makers said immediate problems caused by the work stoppage would be minimal.

But should the strike continue, the companies would run out of storage space at some ports, plants and rail yards, and their dealers may face shortages as the crucial fall selling season and new model year get under way.

“We think we can run OK for the foreseeable future,” G. Richard Wagoner, president of North American operations for GM, said at a news conference. Pressed to be more specific, he said the problems created by the strike would be stickier after a week or two.

Ryder handled about 6 million new cars and trucks last year in the United States, more than a third of those produced or imported.

No talks were scheduled between the Teamsters and the National Transporters Labor Division, which bargains for Ryder and the major car hauling companies covered by a national contract with the union.

The old contract expired May 21, and negotiations have taken place on and off since July. The last session broke off Sept. 1.

Of the 12,000 Teamsters affected by the national contract, 5,000 work for Ryder’s three automotive carrier units.

In a statement Thursday, Ryder said it had filed an unfair labor practices complaint asking the National Labor Relations Board to order the union back to the bargaining table and workers back behind the wheel.

“In addition, the company plans to file a multimillion-dollar damage action alleging the union is engaging in unlawful activity,” the Ryder statement said.

Ron Owens, president of Teamsters Local 299 in Detroit and co-chair of the national bargaining team, said the union is willing to keep talking but that the next move would have to come from the NATLD.

The unionized work force of the car-hauling industry has declined from about 16,000 people in 1985 to 12,000 today, but productivity and company profits have increased, a spokesman for Owens said.