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Home » ABF sues YRC, Teamsters over concessions
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ABF sues YRC, Teamsters over concessions

November 1, 2010
Mark B. Solomon
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Less-than-truckload carrier ABF Freight System Inc., the largest subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corp., said today it has sued the Teamsters Union, rival YRC Worldwide, and YRC's subsidiaries for violating the current National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA), the collective bargaining agreement covering most of the nation's unionized trucking employees.

In a statement, Fort Smith, Ark.-based ABF argued that the three rounds of concessions the Teamsters have granted to YRC— the most recent being announced on Saturday—run counter to the agreement's basic premise that it should apply equally to all the companies that signed it.

"We need a long-term, industrywide solution that is fair to all NMFA parties," said Wesley Kemp, ABF's president and CEO. "We have the obligation to our employees, to our customers, and to Arkansas Best shareholders to enforce our rights under the NMFA and compete on the same playing field with our industry peers."

In May, Teamsters at ABF declined to ratify a proposed agreement that included labor concessions similar to those agreed to in late 2009 by YRC workers. The dual actions left ABF at a significant cost disadvantage to YRC.

The legal action, filed administratively under the contract and in federal court in Arkansas, seeks $750 million in damages. It contends that the Teamsters and YRC acted illegally by entering into "concessionary side agreements" with YRC to the exclusion of ABF and other companies governed by the NMFA.

"These agreements led to ongoing significant wage and benefit reductions and other economic concessions that were applied only to YRC, and not ABF," ABF said.

Besides the financial damages, ABF has requested the creation of a "grievance review committee" to hear the complaint and resolve the dispute, or to have the contract amendments benefiting only YRC declared null and void by the court.

In a statement, the Teamsters called the suit "frivolous and without merit." YRC had no comment at press time.

Transportation Trucking Less-than-Truckload
KEYWORDS ABF Freight System Inc. YRC Worldwide
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Marksolomon
Mark Solomon joined DC VELOCITY as senior editor in August 2008, and was promoted to his current position on January 1, 2015. He has spent more than 30 years in the transportation, logistics and supply chain management fields as a journalist and public relations professional. From 1989 to 1994, he worked in Washington as a reporter for the Journal of Commerce, covering the aviation and trucking industries, the Department of Transportation, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he worked for Traffic World for seven years in a similar role. From 1994 to 2008, Mr. Solomon ran Media-Based Solutions, a public relations firm based in Atlanta. He graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in journalism from The American University in Washington, D.C.

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