Trucker YRC sees May gains; stock split upcoming

Troubled trucking company YRC Worldwide is on the road to recovery, according to its Chairman Bill Zollars, who said operations improved in May and were expected to gain more ground in the coming months.

After a brush with bankruptcy last year, business has stabilized and YRC has streamlined costs and set its multiple divisions on a growth path that should translate to positive EBITDA for the second quarter, Zollars told investors on Tuesday at the Wolfe Trahan & Co 3rd Annual Global Transportation Conference. Full Story.....

ABF Freight Teamsters Reject Plan to Protect Jobs, Benefits

Plan Would Have Reduced Gross Wages and Mileage Rates By 15 Percent

Teamsters employed at ABF Freight System have rejected a Wage Reduction-Job Security plan aimed at protecting the jobs of more than 7,000 workers and securing their health, welfare and pension benefits for the remainder of the National Master Freight Agreement.

Mail ballots were sent out April 30 and counted today with the process being overseen by an independent election officer. With a final count of 3764-2936, the workers voted no on the plan with about 80 percent of the members affected participating in the vote. The plan had called for a reduction in gross wages and mileage rates of 15 percent effective next pay period and running through March 31, 2013. Negotiated wage increases (less 15 percent) and cost of living adjustments, if any, would have remained in effect for the life the plan.

"We took a proactive approach to help ABF get through the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, but our members have rejected the plan," said Tyson Johnson, Director of the Teamsters National Freight Division. "The union will regroup to determine if there are other means to protect jobs and benefits. Our first priority continues to be the members' best interests."

Ballots were sent out to about 7,000 active employees and about 1,000 workers with recall rights. More than 6,500 employees cast ballots.

Teamsters reject ABF wage adjustment contract

More than 3,700 of the roughly 7,000 union employees of ABF Freight System rejected a wage-adjustment deal negotiated by the company and Teamsters leaders.

It is unclear what the setback will mean for a trucking company that has struggled to survive during a national freight recession that began in late 2006.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters reported in late April that it and Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp. reached a tentative agreement on 15% pay cuts through 2013 for the roughly 7,000 drivers affiliated with the less-than-truckload carrier.

Full Story......

TEAMSTERS, YRCW TO DISCUSS COMPANY'S RE-ENTRY INTO UNION FUNDS

Teamsters Name Pension Expert To Company's Board

The Teamsters Union announced today that it has agreed to form two joint labor-management committees to address YRC Worldwide Inc.’s re-entry into Teamster pension funds in January 2011 and ways to enhance YRCW’s competitiveness in the freight industry.

“Thanks to the sacrifice and hard work of our members, YRCW is rebounding from the impact of the economic recession and efforts by non-union companies in the freight industry to drive YRCW out of business,” said Teamsters General President Hoffa. “The joint labor-management committees provide an additional avenue for the Teamsters to be proactive in our continued efforts to preserve jobs and benefits of our hardworking YRCW members.”

“The Teamsters Union has turned freight trucking jobs into middle-class jobs since the 1950s,” said Tyson Johnson, Director of the Teamsters National Freight Division and TNFINC Co-Chairman. “While many forces have been attacking those standards, including trucking deregulation in 1980, the Teamsters Union remains committed to ensure the freight industry continues to provide decent wages, benefits and working conditions. The actions taken today can help shape the future of this industry for decades to come.”

The Teamsters also announced today that the union has named New School professor Teresa Ghilarducci to be its selection for the YRCW board seat, which was recently negotiated as part of the job security plan. Ghilarducci is the Bernard L. and Irene Schwartz Professor of Economic Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York City.

Professor Ghilarducci is a nationally recognized multi-employer and defined benefit pension expert who has worked with the Teamsters on numerous projects in the past. She has previously held a professorship at the University of Notre Dame and has researched and published extensively on employee pension and benefit matters. She is currently a trustee for the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust for GM, Ford, and Chrysler and the Goodyear Retiree Health Care Trust for Steelworker trustees.

YRC Worldwide and Teamsters Take Steps to Enhance the Company's Market Position and Support Jobs

Joint committees formed to address long-term competitiveness and reentry into union pension plans

IBT nominates candidate for board of directors

YRC Worldwide Inc. announced today that joint committees representing International Brotherhood of Teamsters leadership and YRC Worldwide management are being formed to address the company's competitiveness and reentry into union pension plans. In addition, Teresa Ghilarducci has been nominated by the IBT to join the YRC Worldwide board of directors. Ghilarducci's nomination is in conjunction with the most recent Memorandum of Understanding between the union and the company.

"The self-help recovery that the company and union accomplished together has stabilized the business and put us back on the path to success," said Bill Zollars, chairman, president and CEO of YRC Worldwide. "As customers continue to increase their business with YRC Worldwide, and the company returns to profitability, these efforts will provide further momentum as we focus on additional improvements to solidify the company's industry leading position."

Ghilarducci is a professor of economics and the Bernard L. and Irene Schwartz Professor of Economic Policy Analysis in the Department of Economics at the New School for Social Research, New York. "We look forward to Teresa's election and participation on the board," said Zollars.

Upon Ghilarducci's election, Carl W. Vogt will resign from the board as previously announced.