Abrupt closure of trucker now in NLRB hands

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, February, 2006 | by Jane M. Von Bergen

A federal judge's order has cleared the way for the National Labor Relations Board to consider whether a trucking firm acted properly when it abruptly shut down after a brief strike that started in Philadelphia.

"We think it was reprisal against the employees," said Robert F. O'Brien, a Cherry Hill lawyer who represents several hundred Teamster drivers and warehouse workers, including some who were employed at a Philadelphia terminal where the strike began May 21, 2004.

The company's attorney had no comment.

Two thousand people, including about 200 in Philadelphia, lost their jobs when the company closed.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker in Philadelphia approved a $7 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit involving 1,700 union...