Wednesday, March 24, 2010

U.S. Senator Robert Casey Holds Press Conference at YRC Service Center in Advance of Introducing Multiemployer Pension Reform Legislation

YRC Worldwide Inc., one of the largest transportation service providers in the world, expresses strong support for legislation to be introduced in the U.S. Senate. The Create Jobs and Save Benefits Act of 2010 was outlined yesterday by Senator Robert P. Casey (D-PA.) at the YRC Worldwide facility in Harrisburg, Penn., which is the largest facility in the YRC Worldwide network. Legislation being introduced by Senator Casey will help preserve the jobs and pensions of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

The legislation sponsored by Senator Casey addresses unintended consequences of The Motor Carrier Act of 1980, the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 and the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The Motor Carrier Act deregulated the trucking industry, while the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act required companies in multiemployer plans to pay for the benefits of retirees who never worked for them. Approximately 40 percent to 50 percent of pension contributions made by employers in many of these plans go to fund these non-sponsored participants.

"On behalf of our employees, we wish to thank Senator Casey for introducing this important multiemployer pension reform legislation and recognizing that these costs represent a huge, hidden tax on large and small businesses that are unfairly shouldering this burden," said Mike Smid, president-YRC Inc. and chief operations officer-YRC Worldwide, who appeared with the Senator at the press conference. "The legislation will protect our employees' retirements and lead to a more competitive retirement contribution system for the industry. This is an issue that has the strong backing of labor and management. This is an opportunity to protect jobs and pensions."

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