More jobs on tap for Roadway

An expected change in operations at Roadway Express Inc. will add nearly 90 jobs at its Kansas City, Kan., terminal this spring.

Roadway, a subsidiary of Overland Park-based YRC Worldwide Inc., has reached a tentative agreement with the Teamsters union to restructure its network, a union official said.

Harold McLaughlin, president of Teamsters Local 41, said the agreement should be considered by the Teamsters national union later this month. If approved, it will add dockworker and driver positions at Roadway’s Kansas City, Kan., terminal as well as other terminals around the country. Some terminals will lose positions with the changes.

“Naturally, we’re going to be one of the gaining terminals, so we don’t have a dispute with it,” McLaughlin said. “It should result in 80-some additional jobs.”

A Roadway representative could not be reached for comment.

According to a document posted on a union reform group’s Web site, the Roadway changes will add 44 dock and terminal jobs and 43 driving positions in Kansas City, Kan. Other Roadway terminals that will gain jobs include one in Springfield, Mo., which will add more than 60 workers.

Roadway’s St. Louis terminal, however, will lose 17 jobs under the change, according to the document.

According to the document, the changes are intended to improve efficiencies in moving freight and reducing transit times for drivers. If approved, the changes will take effect in mid-March.

McLaughlin said the new local jobs will be filled by some people who transfer from other terminals. Other jobs will be filled by Local 41 members, he said.

Roadway is a less-than-truckload carrier, meaning its trailers carry freight for more than one customer. Roadway’s Kansas City, Kan., terminal currently has about 350 employees, McLaughlin said.