TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Pennsylvania Boss Sentenced for Union Violence
Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters Local 107 in Philadelphia and a picket line
boss were found in contempt of court and fined Apr. 17 a total of $30,000
in connection with the assault on an Overnite Transportation
Company driver. Bucks County Court Judge R. Barry McAndrews found
boss Jim Milligan and Local 107 in contempt of a prior injunction prohibiting
certain picketing conduct and acts of violence against the company and
its employees. The Local has been on strike for six months.
Milligan, who was handcuffed and remanded to the custody of the Bucks County Sheriff, was sentenced to 120 days in jail. McAndrews ordered that Milligan, who has never been employed by Overnite, could be released from custody by providing written assurance that he would pay a $10,000 fine in 10 days and that he would withdraw from all participation in the strike. McAndrews also fined International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 107 $20,000 in connection with the incident.
According to court documents, an Overnite driver was assaulted while en route to work in his personal vehicle on Apr. 13, just one day prior to his scheduled testimony as a witness in a second case involving alleged threats by a Teamster in a separate incident in the Philadelphia area. The driver, who was struck in the face during the Apr. 13 attack, identified Milligan in court as one of his assailants.
IBT called for a nationwide walkout against Overnite in Oct. 1999. IBT's protest has been marked by violence as evidenced by judges in 14 states issuing restraining orders to curb union activities, including violence and the threat of violence. The Nat'l Labor Relations Bd. has issued nine complaints against the teamsters for violence and threats of violence. A federal task force is investigating possible teamster links to 48 reported shootings and numerous acts of assault and vandalism aimed at Overnite and its employees since the protest began six months ago. In Jan., a 225-page suit filed in U.S. Dist. in Tenn., named IBT president James P. Hoffa and other IBT bosses as defendants in an orchestrated pattern of racketeering activities, including 57 predicate acts of attempted murder, aimed at extorting a labor contract with Overnite. [Overnite Transp. Co., Media Release 4/28/00]
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