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Season 6, Episode 218

Teamsters Local 284 and the Sutphen Corporation strike

Jon Wentz Gray

 

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Jon Wentz

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Wentz, McInerney, Peifer & Petroff, LLC 

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On this episode of the America's Work Force Union Podcast, attorney Jon Wentz of Wentz, McInerney, Peifer & Petroff, LLC, discussed the ongoing conflict between Teamsters Local 284 and the Sutphen Corporation, a leading fire truck manufacturer based in Columbus, Ohio. The conversation covers the drastic shift in company management and labor relations, the legal and organizational tactics used by the union to fight unfair practices and the impact of a nationwide boycott on both workers and local communities.

Wentz explained how the Sutphen Corporation, after decades of stable labor relations, took an unexpected turn under new leadership. He shared that the company refused to bargain in good faith and introduced regressive contract proposals aimed at stripping workers of key rights and benefits, creating a hostile climate for its unionized workforce.

Teamsters Local 284, represented by Wentz, responded by filing unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board. Despite a settlement requiring good-faith negotiations, the company doubled down by reintroducing anti-union proposals and further escalating tensions, prompting new legal action and setting the stage for a future NLRB trial.

With negotiations at a standstill, the Teamsters and the International Association of Fire Fighters have called for a national boycott of Sutphen products. Wentz describes how cities like Columbus have already canceled orders in solidarity and highlights the growing support from elected officials and the public, who don’t want taxpayer money to support unfair labor practices.

To get the full story and hear more from Wentz, tune in to this episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast!


America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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