Feud stalls Standard Trucking.

• Position: Standard Trucking Co.

The war at Standard Trucking Co. is over, but two main combatants still battle over what caused the collapse of one of the state's 100 largest private companies.

In one corner is former state Sen. William Goldston of Eden, who is vice president of Charlotte-based Standard Holding Co., which owned Standard Trucking. In the other is R.V. Durham, president of Teamsters Local 391, based in Kernersville.

We incorrectly reported in our January/February edition that Standard Trucking Co. of Charlotte filed for bankruptcy protection and closed. Started by Charlotte's Hemby family and later sold to Sun Oil Co., the carrier had been owned since 1987 by an investor group led by CEO G.A. Sywassink.

Goldston reminded us that Standard's owners shuttered the money-losing business voluntarily last summer after failing to reach contract agreements with 700 union members. They had turned down Standard's offer of control of its stock in return for changes in work rules and benefits. "We told them that we would close unless there were some changes," he says. "They refused to believe us." Goldston blames Durham, saying he misled Teamsters' members at Standard. The two men have feuded for years, Goldston says, probably because "we beat him three times |in union...