Teamsters issue statement on Ford’s plans to cancel Jack Cooper trucking contract

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) have responded to the reported cancellation of auto-hauler Jack Cooper’s long standing partnership with Ford Motors Inc.

On January 7, Teamsters President Sean M. O’Brien issued a statement reacting to this week’s news that automaker Ford plans to terminate a decades-long contract with Kansas City-based auto transport trucking company Jack Cooper:

“By taking steps to end its relationship with Jack Cooper, the Ford Motor Company has officially threatened the livelihoods of more than 1,400 Teamsters-represented carhaul workers and their families. Ford, a once iconic American brand, wants to boost its own bottom line by walking away from a family-owned company and into the arms of second-rate third parties that will pay workers less money and far fewer benefits to haul Ford vehicles.

The entire 1.3 million-member Teamsters Union stands absolutely opposed to this shameful and un-American decision.

The erosion of good-paying union jobs poses a serious threat to our entire economy. We have seen time and again that there are no winners when corporations sell out workers to the lowest bidder. Corporate executives refuse to look past the short-term, setting their sights on an extra bonus as they race to the bottom to ruin lives, hollow out communities, and decimate the middle class. It must stop.

The Teamsters urge Ford in the strongest possible terms to reverse this decision. We are prepared to use the full force of the Teamsters Union to defend our members and protect honorable union jobs in America.“

Jack Cooper was founded in 1928 as a hauler for General Motors in Kansas City. Since then, it has grown to become one of the largest fleets of finished vehicle carriers in North America.