Con-Way Freight New Hampshire Workers Vote Against Teamsters

The latest attempt by the Teamsters Union to organize workers at the trucking company Con-way Freight has failed by a 2 to 1 margin.

They voted 29 to 15 against the union at the company’s Manchester, New Hampshire facility in an election conducted Thursday by the National Labor Relations Board.

"We were gratified that our Manchester employees, after having the opportunity to review all the facts and make an informed choice, rejected the Teamsters union and clearly communicated their intention to remain union-free," said Greg Lehmkuhl, Con-way Freight's president. "We continue to believe that our company can best meet the needs of our employees by maintaining an open, respectful and direct relationship with them, without the interference of a union.”

In September employees at the Con-way Freight terminal in Laredo, Texas voted to join the union, marking the first time workers at the trucking company have done so.

Late last month a narrow majority of workers at the downtown Los Angeles location also sided with the union while those at Con-way’s Santa Fe Springs and San Fernando Valley locations voted against representation.

Con-way Freight in a statement on Thursday stressed it currently does not have a contract with the Teamsters union at any of its locations despite recent union wins.

The vote at Con-way follows one the day before at rival less-than-truckload carrier FedEx Freight where workers at the company’s Newark, New Jersey voted against collective bargaining. Since September the Teamsters have won two out of five union organizing votes at various FedEx Freight locations. Four others are planned for later this month.

The votes are the latest in part of a wider campaign by the union at the two trucking companies to increase its membership numbers.