NLRB upholds ruling on division shutdown

The National Labor Relations Board has upheld its Feb. 28 decision affirming that USF Corp. did nothing wrong when it abruptly closed its Red Star division after a brief national strike that started in Philadelphia on May 21, 2004. About 2,000 people, including 200 in Philadelphia, lost their jobs. The Chicago company, now owned by YRC Worldwide Inc., Overland Park, Kan., had said the strike, which lasted less than 48 hours, caused so much financial harm that the division would have to be shut - even before the strikers could return to work. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters had filed an unfair-labor-practice charge before the NLRB, saying the closure was a union-busting move. Another USF division, Holland, now operates the former Red Star terminal in Philadelphia's Bridesburg section and employs some former Red Star drivers. They still work under a Teamsters contract, but have lost seniority and other benefits.