Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

newsworthy

XPO pulls Teamsters representation in Connecticut at request of workers there

Majority of rank-and-file submit petition to company asking for union's removal.

Transport and logistics company XPO Logistics Inc. said it has withdrawn recognition of the Teamsters union as the bargaining unit for 124 workers at XPO's North Haven, Conn., contract logistics operation after most of the employees told the company they no longer wanted Teamsters representation.

According to people familiar with the matter, 73 workers petitioned the company to request that Teamsters Local 443, based in New Haven, be removed as the workers' representative. As a majority of the rank-and-file signed the petition, the company was required by law to honor the workers' request, these people said.


In a statement, Greenwich, Conn.-based XPO acknowledged that it withdrew recognition of the Teamsters after receiving the petition. It declined further comment.

The Teamsters have a very different view of the issue. Bret Caldwell, a Teamsters spokesman, said in a statement that due to XPO's behavior following the certification vote, workers and the local were forced to file "numerous" charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which oversees the nation's labor-management relations, alleging the company had engaged in unfair labor practices. The allegations, which were filed before the petition was submitted to the company, accused XPO of bad-faith bargaining and of inappropriate involvement by management in the de-certification campaign, according to the statement. "We anticipate winning these charges and the company being required by the government to return to the table," Caldwell said.

Traditionally, members seeking to sever Teamsters representation vote to de-certify the union rather than submit a petition to their employer. The people who commented for this story said they did not know what may have prompted the rank-and-file's action. The Connecticut workers voted for Teamsters representation last October. However, a collective bargaining agreement was never reached.

This was the second unusual incident in less than a month involving Teamsters representation in the transportation and logistics sector. On Oct. 5, FedEx Freight, the less-than-truckload (LTL) unit of Memphis-based FedEx Corp., said the NLRB revoked the Teamsters' certification to bargain on behalf of drivers at the unit's Monmouth Junction, N.J., facility after Teamsters Local 701, which was chosen to represent the rank-and-file at that location, decided not to continue in that capacity.

XPO and FedEx Freight have been targeted by the Teamsters for representation as part of the union's strategy to broaden its organizing into the supply chain management field. XPO Chairman Brad Jacobs and FedEx Chairman Frederick W. Smith are adamantly opposed to Teamsters representation in the belief that the company's open and flexible work environment renders bargaining units irrelevant.

Editor's note: This story was updated Oct. 25 at 12: 22 p.m.

The Latest

More Stories

AI sensors on manufacturing machine

AI firm Augury banks $75 million in fresh VC

The New York-based industrial artificial intelligence (AI) provider Augury has raised $75 million for its process optimization tools for manufacturers, in a deal that values the company at more than $1 billion, the firm said today.

According to Augury, its goal is deliver a new generation of AI solutions that provide the accuracy and reliability manufacturers need to make AI a trusted partner in every phase of the manufacturing process.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

kion linde tugger truck
Lift Trucks, Personnel & Burden Carriers

Kion Group plans layoffs in cost-cutting plan

AMR robots in a warehouse

Indian AMR firm Anscer expands to U.S. with new VC funding

The Indian warehouse robotics provider Anscer has landed new funding and is expanding into the U.S. with a new regional headquarters in Austin, Texas.

Bangalore-based Anscer had recently announced new financial backing from early-stage focused venture capital firm InfoEdge Ventures.

Keep ReadingShow less
Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Supply chains continue to deal with a growing volume of returns following the holiday peak season, and 2024 was no exception. Recent survey data from product information management technology company Akeneo showed that 65% of shoppers made holiday returns this year, with most reporting that their experience played a large role in their reason for doing so.

The survey—which included information from more than 1,000 U.S. consumers gathered in January—provides insight into the main reasons consumers return products, generational differences in return and online shopping behaviors, and the steadily growing influence that sustainability has on consumers.

Keep ReadingShow less

Automation delivers results for high-end designer

When you get the chance to automate your distribution center, take it.

That's exactly what leaders at interior design house Thibaut Design did when they relocated operations from two New Jersey distribution centers (DCs) into a single facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2019. Moving to an "empty shell of a building," as Thibaut's Michael Fechter describes it, was the perfect time to switch from a manual picking system to an automated one—in this case, one that would be driven by voice-directed technology.

Keep ReadingShow less

In search of the right WMS

IT projects can be daunting, especially when the project involves upgrading a warehouse management system (WMS) to support an expansive network of warehousing and logistics facilities. Global third-party logistics service provider (3PL) CJ Logistics experienced this first-hand recently, embarking on a WMS selection process that would both upgrade performance and enhance security for its U.S. business network.

The company was operating on three different platforms across more than 35 warehouse facilities and wanted to pare that down to help standardize operations, optimize costs, and make it easier to scale the business, according to CIO Sean Moore.

Keep ReadingShow less