"This in not an Overnite fight. It's a Teamsters' fight. Every freight member's future is on the line with this fight," Morris said.

"We're in this for the long haul," added Don Fletcher, a Teamster member who works at ABF and regularly joins the picket line.

Chris Stanton, a Teamster who works at Yellow Freight in Sacramento, also joined the picket line. He pointed out that if he were out on strike he would like to see solidarity by other truckers, which is why he wants to join in on a more consistent basis.

Some 2,000 drivers, dockworkers, and maintenance workers across the United States began an unfair labor practices strike against Overnite at the end of October. Overnite is the sixth largest trucking company in the United States and the largest one that is unorganized.

The workers here said nine Teamsters members are out on strike and 15 have crossed the picket line. They also believe that the company is running a full crew based on the number of trucks that are coming in each day.

The pickets estimated that every day about 20 people in cars stop by during their 6:00 a.m. to noon shift to show their support and talk. UPS workers from Rockland donated turkeys for Christmas and have brought donuts to the line.

Two days before, more than 75 people joined a rally near the gate as part of national actions organized by the Teamsters. Workers from other Teamsters locals and those who work at Consolidated Freightways, ABF, and Roadway came out to show their solidarity.

Five years ago 90 percent of the workers at the Sacramento terminal voted to be represented by the Teamsters union. Since then, the company has unfairly written up union supporters, charging them with driving six miles an hour where the speed limit is five. The company has used such pretexts to fire union activists and hire other workers who don't openly support the union.

The Overnite company has hired security personnel who constantly monitor the gate. They won an injunction limiting the picket lines to five people.

There are usually about three workers in front of the company gate from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., a smaller number than in the beginning. The strikers have not been able to do as many "ambulatory pickets" as before, where they follow a scab truck and picket at the delivery or pickup site. The strikers said that they could use more support on the line so that they can return to doing more regular ambulatory pickets.  
 
 
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