TCA Honors Vandenput, Boyd and Howland

Three ABF Freight System drivers have recently been named Truckload Carriers Association Highway Angels.

TSA has named Serge Vandenput, a professional truck driver for ABF Freight System, Inc. as its latest Highway Angel.

ABF driver sprang to action knowing that oncoming traffic could not see trapped woman.

TCA Honors John Boyd as a Highway Angel – Again.

ABF driver responds to an accident for the second time in one year

TCA Names David Howland as Highway Angel

ABF driver assists driver trapped between deployed airbags

Harry Wilson Tapped By Teamsters To Rescue Ailing Trucking Company And Union Jobs

Harry Wilson, last year’s Republican candidate for state comptroller, made a name for himself by helping rescue General Motors from bankruptcy. Now, months after an election he narrowly lost, he has turned his attention from the vehicles to the drivers.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters recently invited Wilson to help restructure the ailing trucking and freight company, YRC Worldwide, in what they billed as an effort to help save thousands of unionized jobs and prevent the company from going under.

One of the largest trucking companies in the country, YRC had racked up a sizeable debt in recent years, endangering over 20,000 union jobs, the Teamsters said. According to a source with knowledge of the agreement, the union reached out to Wilson the first week in January to devise a rescue. Full Story........

Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee 2011 Restructuring Documents

The Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee (TNFINC) has approved a restructuring agreement that paves the way to save the jobs of 25,000 YRCW Teamsters and keep the company in business, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa announced Monday, February 28.

Below are links to several documents, including:

A news release that was sent out February 28.

A letter to YRCW members from General President Jim Hoffa and National Freight Division Director Tyson Johnson.

A one-page summary of the agreement in principle.

Teamsters Now Represent Nearly All UPS Freight Drivers and Dockworkers Eligible to Join Union

Nebraska Workers Ratify Contract; Maryland, Kansas Workers Sign Cards

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters now represent nearly all of the 12,600 UPS Freight drivers and dockworkers eligible to join the union, announced Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa.

Nearly 100 workers in Nebraska, Maryland and Kansas recently signed authorization cards to become Teamsters. In Omaha, Neb., 55 workers represented by Local 554 recently ratified their first-ever contract unanimously. The Federalsburg, Md., and Wichita, Kan., workers will be holding ratification votes soon.

The Teamsters kicked off the organizing campaign in 2006 when the union organized UPS Freight workers in Indianapolis and negotiated a contract with the company that was ratified by a 107-1 vote in October 2007. The Teamsters won a card-check agreement from UPS in December 2007, and in January 2008, launched its nationwide campaign.

By November 2008, the Teamsters represented more than 12,400 UPS Freight workers in 42 states. The Teamsters now represent all but two UPS Freight locations that employ 50 workers

"Our continued success to organize UPS Freight workers is a great victory," Hoffa said. "They were determined to become Teamsters and we are proud to have them among our ranks."

"These drivers and dockworkers have shown a great commitment to joining the Teamsters and we look forward to representing them," said Teamsters Package Division Director Ken Hall. "We encourage UPS Freight workers who have not yet signed cards to do so now so they can also start benefiting from a great contract."

James Sheard, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 554 in Omaha said the UPS Freight workers ratified their contract on Oct. 4.

"After they saw the benefits of being a Teamster at other locations around the country, they decided to get on board," Sheard said.

Jesse Castillo, President of Local 795 in Wichita, said the 20 UPS Freight workers there realized that not being a Teamster meant inequality for them.
"They saw inequities in applications and work rules because they were not under a Teamster contract," Castillo said.

Irvin Williams, Vice-President of Local 355 in Baltimore, said the 20 UPS Freight workers at the Federalsburg facility came aboard after seeing a big increase in insurance costs.

"We had a gentleman who was ready to retire but said he couldn't because of the insurance costs," Williams said. "We also had key people who worked very hard on this campaign."

TEAMSTERS CALL FOR INDEPENDENT BOARD CHAIR AT FEDEX; URGE INVESTOR SUPPORT

Teamsters Cite FedEx’s Poor Performance, Oversight Failures

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters today asked shareholders of FedEx Corporation to support the union’s proposal for an independent board chairman at FedEx’s upcoming annual meeting.

In a letter to shareholders, Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer C. Thomas Keegel said that Frederick W. Smith’s dual role as chairman and chief executive of FedEx has resulted in a CEO-dominated board incapable of providing the rigorous, independent oversight of management that investors require. FedEx’s annual meeting will be September 28 in Memphis, Tennessee.

“FedEx’s lack of independent board leadership, compromised board independence and effectiveness, chronic poor performance, excessive executive pay, and questionable business strategies underscore the urgent need for an independent chairman to lead FedEx’s board in holding management accountable and providing strategic oversight and guidance,” Keegel said.

FedEx has significantly underperformed in the trucking and shipping industries, the S&P 500 Index, and compared to direct competitor United Parcel Service Inc. on a one-year, three-year, and five-year total shareholder returns basis, according to data from The Corporate Library (TCL), a leading provider of independent corporate governance research and analysis. Meanwhile, Smith has raked in exorbitant pay, accruing more than $84 million over the past three fiscal years while shareholder value has fallen by 50.2 percent. Profits made on the exercise of stock option grants with no performance hurdles make up the bulk of Smith’s pay.

The letter also raised concerns that Smith’s controlling influence on a board that includes potentially conflicted and over-extended directors has led the board to rubber stamp an unlawful and unsustainable business model at the company’s second-highest revenue generating business segment, FedEx Ground, which has exposed the company to staggering legal and financial risks.

The FedEx Ground business model, which relies on the misclassification of employee drivers as “independent contractors,” has allowed FedEx to evade expenses like payroll taxes, overtime pay and benefits. Numerous state courts and government agencies have found that FedEx Ground’s contractor model is a sham and are looking to collect the money owed to workers and states. According to an August 2008 Bloomberg article, the pre-tax liability from unpaid payroll taxes alone could reach as high as $2.5 billion.

“Many FedEx shareholders have already joined our call for independent board leadership, with 34 percent of the vote by shareholders supporting the Teamsters’ independent board chairman proposal in 2008,” Keegel said. “We believe that now, more than ever, an independent chairman is necessary for the company to successfully navigate the extraordinary legal, regulatory, reputation- and recession-related challenges facing FedEx.”

YRC gets little interest in sale of New Penn

YRC Worldwide Inc. has been exploring sales of subsidiaries that include New Penn Motor Express Inc. but has received little interest, its union said.

That leaves New Penn union workers with little choice if they want to keep the subsidiary operating past September, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters members said in a letter to New Penn members. Falling trucking valuations and the potential of having to cover unpaid pension payments have kept most potential buyers away, the union said in the letter, dated Aug. 18.

The union sent a second set of ballots to New Penn Teamsters on Aug. 19. The group was among a minority that last month voted down concessions to Overland Park-based YRC (Nasdaq: YRCW), and the union has said YRC is looking into merging regional carrier New Penn into its national unit, which could eliminate hundreds of jobs. That prompted the revote, due Sept. 9.

“Unfortunately, we have been formally notified by YRCW’s vice president of labor relations, and have also accumulated evidence from the field, that YRCW is prepared to shut down New Penn entirely and rebrand all remaining equipment and terminals as YRC exclusively going forward,” the letter said. “As difficult and distasteful as a revote is to conduct, it is our firm belief that New Penn Motor Express will not exist as a motor carrier past September if the (concessions are) rejected again.”

New Penn workers have railed against an extra 5 percent pay cut and giving up 18 months of pension payments, in part because their unit has been profitable for years. But they’re lumped in with a group of regional carriers — including Holland and Reddaway — whose revenues through June have dropped 33 percent from the same period last year and which posted an operating loss of more than $120 million in the first half of 2009, the union said.

New Penn represents about 4 percent of all employees and revenue for YRC, so it doesn’t add enough profitability to prompt YRC to exempt its workers from the companywide cuts, the union said.

If YRC were to file for bankruptcy or change hands, the concessions would end.

The trucking company has been deferring and eliminating pension payments, laying off thousands of workers, selling property, renegotiating lender agreements, integrating subsidiaries, seeking union concessions and taking various other steps so that it can keep enough cash to continue operating.

YRC carrier votes again after rejecting concessions

About 1,500 drivers and dockworkers at New Penn, a YRC Worldwide Inc. regional carrier, rejected the concessions accepted by most YRC Teamsters members earlier this month.

A revote began last week. This time, declining to accept the revised contract that reduces wages 5 percent more could cost many New Penn employees their jobs, the union said.

New Penn is a regional less-than-truckload company that operates mainly in the Northeast. Its employees are covered by a contract separate from the national agreement most freight industry Teamsters work under. YRC’s biggest units, YRC Inc. and USF Holland, approved the cuts to the national contract, including allowing YRC to suspend monthly pension fund payments until January 2011.

In a letter to New Penn union workers last week, Teamsters national freight director Tyson Johnson said YRC requested an emergency meeting with the union’s national bargaining team after the vote count.

“During the Aug. 11 meeting, the company indicated that it plans to call for a change of operations in the near future to merge New Penn into YRCW,” Johnson said. “Because the merger could cost hundreds of Teamsters jobs, the majority of New Penn local unions have also requested a revote by New Penn members.”

Essentially, industry observers said New Penn would be closed if it were to merge with YRC’s other carriers, a prospect that most likely will change the vote’s outcome this time.

Members of three Teamsters locals in the Chicago area, also under their own contracts with YRC, also rejected the concessionary proposal. They most likely will also hold revotes facing the same prospect of job losses.

YRC said bargaining units representing less than 10 percent of the company’s union employees have not yet ratified the contract revisions.

“The company and the Teamsters are addressing employee concerns for these smaller bargaining units to reconsider the modifications,” YRC said. “The company has not filed any change of operations affecting the network status of New Penn.”

The mailed ballots for the New Penn revote are expected to be counted on Sept. 9.

Obama to Meet Leaders of Mexico, Canada

Summit Will Discuss 'Buy American' Trade Provisions

President Barack Obama will travel to Mexico on Sunday to attend his first summit with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts, in a meeting that the latter hope will shed light on how the U.S. plans to address trade disputes involving Mexican trucks and "Buy American" provisions seen as favoring U.S. companies.

Mr. Obama, Mexican President Felipe Calderón and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper are slated to touch on a wide range of topics in the two-day North American Leaders' Summit, including economic, energy, climate and security issues.

Canadian and Mexican officials said their countries will focus on trade, with Messrs. Harper and Calderón closely gauging Mr. Obama's response to disagreements over "Buy America" provisions in the U.S. economic-stimulus plan, and Washington's ban on Mexican trucks operating in the U.S.

Full Story.......

Teamsters Ratification of Contract Changes Moves YRC Worldwide Comprehensive Plan Forward

Immediate cost savings from modified agreement estimated at $45 million monthly, increases to $50 million monthly in 2010

Company signs additional asset sale contracts with NATMI for $81 million

YRC Worldwide Inc. announced today a major step forward in the company's comprehensive plan, with a majority of its employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters voting '"yes" to ratify a modified labor agreement.

"With the support of our employee-owners and other stakeholders, we continue making progress with our comprehensive recovery plan - realizing efficiencies from the YRC integration, restoring financial strength and positioning YRC Worldwide for future success," said Bill Zollars, Chairman, President and CEO of YRC Worldwide. "The contract changes enable us to reduce our cost structure, preserve capital and be more competitive in the marketplace."

The modified agreement includes a 5 percent incremental wage reduction and an 18-month cessation of union pension fund contributions, which will not require repayment. Related savings from the pension and wage reduction are approximately $45 million per month, and begin immediately. Savings increase to an estimated $50 million per month in 2010.

"Our union employees approached this situation in a very professional manner," said Mike Smid, President of YRC Inc. and Chief Operations Officer of YRC Worldwide. "This vote sends a clear message to our customers and our competitors. We are moving forward together, and we're moving forward with confidence, delivering uninterrupted and unparalleled service in our superior networks."

As with prior ratification elections, a small number of the bargaining units representing less than 10 percent of our Teamster employees did not yet ratify the labor agreement modifications. The company and the Teamsters expect to address employee concerns and have these smaller bargaining units reconsider the modifications in the near future.

Additional Asset Sales Contract Finalized

The company also announced progress on improving its liquidity position by executing contracts with NorthAmerican Terminals Management, Inc. ('NATMI') to sell and simultaneously lease back certain facilities, and to sell additional excess properties. The aggregate sales price is approximately $81 million and the property sales are intended to close during the third and fourth quarters of 2009. Sale and financing leaseback transactions are now expected to generate around $375 million of cash proceeds and excess property sales should generate over $100 million in 2009.

YRC Worldwide will continue to announce updates on its comprehensive plan as developments occur.

YRC Worldwide expects union vote results Friday

Results of a union vote that will play a key role in YRC Worldwide Inc.’s future are expected Friday afternoon.

In a Thursday memo to freight local unions, Tyson Johnson, freight division director for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said an overwhelming number of ballots were cast regarding the concessions, meaning sorting would continue Friday morning, with a result announcement likely in the afternoon.

The concessions, the second proposed this year, include forfeiting 18 months of pension payments — which would not have to be repaid — and taking an extra 5 percent wage cut to save the trucking giant at least $45 million a month. YRC offered considerations such as options for an additional 20 percent stake in the company and a union-appointed board seat.

In a July 30 conference call, YRC executives expressed confidence in a positive outcome. Chairman and CEO Bill Zollars called it a “game-changing event” for YRC.

“All eyes now are on the Teamsters,” Jason Seidl, a Dahlman Rose & Co. LLC analyst, said in a Wednesday interview. “If this doesn’t happen, there is no Plan B. B probably stands for bankruptcy.”

In January, workers approved a 10 percent wage cut and were offered a 15 percent stake in YRC.

If the union concessions pass, then bondholders and lenders will have to do their part, and YRC will have to win back some of the business it lost, Seidl said Wednesday.

Last week, YRC reported a $309 million loss in the second quarter. The company has taken steps that include selling property, integrating subsidiaries, closing facilities, laying off workers and amending agreements with lenders in an attempt to ride out the recession.

YRC chairman: Nonunion workers probably won’t take further cuts

YRC Worldwide Inc.’s nonunion employees probably won’t take further cuts if International Brotherhood of Teamsters workers approve another round of concessions, company Chairman and CEO Bill Zollars said.

The nonunion workers, who constitute about 14,000 of YRC’s 49,000 total employees — or about 29 percent of the work force — early this year took a 10 percent wage cut that now has been extended, along with the suspension of 401(k) matches and benefits cuts.

The Overland Park-based trucking company (Nasdaq: YRCW) has laid off thousands, closed facilities, sold property, amended bank agreements and taken other steps to avoid bankruptcy amid a drawn-out freight recession.

Nonunion workers have taken more of a cut to health and benefits, Zollars said in a Thursday interview.

On Friday, the Teamsters mailed YRC union workers ballots about accepting concessions that include an extra 5 percent wage cut until 2013 and deferral of 18 months of pension contributions. The union workers would get options for an additional 20 percent stake in outstanding YRC stock, along with considerations such as an appointee on the YRC board.

The concessions, which would bring the total union wage cut this year to 15 percent and the total options available to union workers to 35 percent, would save YRC an estimated $825 million through the end of 2010.

In documents distributed to union members last week, the Teamsters said nonunion employees would “have further adjustments made to their total compensation package to bring their total wage and benefit package in line with what reductions are proposed” in the concessions.

“Increases to wages, if any, can only be made in proportion to increases Teamsters will receive each April under the revised agreement,” the Teamsters said.

The company also tried to balance opportunities for union and nonunion employees. Although union employees would get stock options, non-union employees potentially could get raises, Zollars said.

“Union employees will benefit through stock appreciation,” he said. “(Nonunion workers) will benefit from incentive-based compensation as we recover.”

YRC Worldwide, Teamsters find their fates hitched

The Teamsters didn’t mince words.

The more than $800 million in concessions that members are voting on should “send a message to the industry players who are slashing prices in an attempt to force (YRC Worldwide Inc.) out of business that (YRC) will have the resources to be here for the long haul,” Tyson Johnson, freight division director for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said in a statement this month.

The recession has wedged YRC and its union into an unlikely high-stakes partnership. In the pot: the fate of a massive trucking company, roughly 49,000 jobs (35,000 of them union jobs) and one of the last big Teamsters toeholds in the freight industry. YRC accounts for nearly half of the Teamsters freight division’s 80,000 members.

“If YRC were to go out of business, the Teamsters would be hard-pressed to replace those jobs,” said John Wagner Jr., president of North Kansas City-based logistics company Wagner Industries Inc.

The fragile alliance must navigate a rocky road. Union workers’ votes on whether to take an extra 5 percent wage cut and let YRC halt pension payments for 18 months, among other measures, are expected to be counted by early August. And those workers already accepted other pay cuts and pension payment deferrals earlier this year. YRC, meanwhile, lost $257.4 million in the first quarter. It also has been attempting to manage costs by integrating subsidiaries, laying off thousands and closing facilities. Other efforts have involved renegotiating debts and selling property, including its Overland Park headquarters. Full Story.....

Will $900 Million a Year Savings Be Enough For YRC Worldwide?

YRC Worldwide's 50,000 Teamsters employees are being asked to approve an additional 5 percent wage cut as well as an 18-month freeze in the company's pension contributions. This comes on top of a 10 percent wage cut already approved by the YRC workers. Combined, these two givebacks are estimated to save YRCW approximately $900 million annually as the debt-laden company fights for survival.

Another quarter, another round of wage and benefit cuts being proposed to rank-and-file Teamster members at troubled YRC Worldwide, the nation's largest trucking company by revenue.

YRC is asking its 35,000 active workers (plus an additional 15,000 or so laid-off or furloughed workers) to approve a 5 percent wage giveback (on top of an early 10 percent wage cut) that would last through the end of their current contract in 2013.

In addition, YRC wants to stop making payments to Teamsters pension plans for 18 months. That would save the company approximately $45 million a month, rising to $50 million a month in 2010.

Together, the two givebacks are estimated to save YRC Worldwide as much as $900 million a year.

You can pretty much bank on this latest giveback to be approved by Teamsters at YRC companies. Why? They don't have many options. Full Story.......

IBT Readies Ratification Ballots for YRC Teamsters

Union employees could receive ballots on wage cuts, company offer by next week

Teamsters at YRC Worldwide’s motor carriers will begin to receive ballots as early as next week for a vote on a plan to steer the troubled carrier clear of bankruptcy.

If the process runs smoothly, YRC and the Teamsters could seal their deal as early as the first week of August.

The Teamsters union and the less-than-truckload carrier group agreed July 9 to swap wage and pension cuts for a greater union say in running the company. The agreement would save the company $45 million a month in 2009 and $50 million a month in 2010, totalling more than $800 million.

Actual savings would be higher, as the wage cuts would stay in place until the current contract expires in 2013.

The agreement would give the Teamsters a seat on YRC’s board of directors and the option to purchase up to 35 percent of the $9 billion company.

It also would allow the union to impose restrictions on future acquisitions, offshore labor and the use of YRC’s third-party logistics subsidiary.

In return, the Teamsters would accept a 15 percent wage cut for the life of their master contract, along with an 18 month cessation of contributions to union pension plans.

The ratification vote could be a tough fight for the company and the union. YRC Teamsters agreed to a 10 percent wage cut in January — this tacks another 5 percent.
The loss of the pension contributions may be the toughest pill to swallow, especially for older drivers near retirement age.

“I think it will pass, but not with as big a margin as the last vote,” one YRC driver familiar with the plan said. “A lot of guys are really concerned” about their pensions, but also about what would happen to the company if the plan were voted down.

The company’s union employees approved the first round of concessions earlier this year by a 72 percent majority.

Teamsters consider extra 5 percent YRC Worldwide pay cut

YRC Worldwide Inc.’s union members will weigh an extra 5 percent pay cut on top of losing their pension contributions for 18 months, the union said Tuesday.

Leaders of local units for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters overwhelmingly endorsed the tentative plan at a Tuesday meeting in Chicago, the union said.

If union-represented YRC workers vote for the plan, the union this year would have gained options for as much as 35 percent of outstanding shares in the Overland Park, Kan.-based trucking company. The current plan also would require all YRC employees to take similar cuts, gain the union a YRC board appointee and bring in a corporate turnaround expert.

YRC and the Teamsters have been negotiating since June 29 about concessions that would provide YRC with the cash necessary to survive the recession. They reached a tentative agreement July 9 but didn’t release details until Tuesday.

The 5 percent wage cut, which would be effective until the union labor agreement ends in 2013, would mean a 15 percent total cut in wages this year. Early this year, Teamsters members agreed to a 10 percent cut in exchange for a 15 percent stake in YRC. The cost-of-living adjustment also is suspended through the contract, according to a document distributed at the Chicago meeting.

YRC would end its participation in union pension plans from July 1 through Dec. 31, 2010, meaning members don’t accrue pension benefits during that time. The company would have to resume participation and payments on Jan. 1, 2011. The move reportedly would save $500 million.

According to the document, YRC agreed to Teamsters demands that included gaining an appointee to the board, bringing in a turnaround consultant, offering the opportunity to get YRC stock options for an additional 20 percent of outstanding shares, bringing back bargaining-unit work that had been transferred to other countries, limiting the expansion of YRC Logistics and transferring its work back to the bargaining unit, restricting how the savings can be used, and requiring wages to revert to full rates should YRC file for bankruptcy or be sold. Job protections were added as well.

In addition, the document said, non-union workers at YRC will take equal pay cuts and, during the 18 months when YRC doesn’t participate in pension plans, won’t receive retirement benefits or 401(k) contributions.

YRC’s banks also agreed to “provide a fair share of the economic relief,” the document said, and YRC must provide the union with enough financial information that it can ensure the company’s compliance with plan provisions.

“Unfortunately, the freight recession has worsened for all trucking companies as 2009 has progressed, but it’s been more aggravated at (YRC) companies than any other trucking group operating in North America,” the Teamsters said in a document.