Chicago Teamsters Reject YRC Concessions

YRC Worldwide Teamsters in Chicago again rejected wage and benefit cuts approved by the most of the unionized employees at the troubled less-than-truckload company.

It was the third time the YRC drivers and dockworkers were asked to vote on a 15 percent wage cut and 18-month suspension of pension contributions already approved by the majority of union employees at YRC Worldwide’s national and regional companies.

City drivers in Teamsters Local 705 rejected the concessions 234 to 132 Dec. 8, while dockworkers in Local 710 voted them down 337 to 319. Only maintenance workers in Local 710 accepted the cuts, voting to approve them 8 to 4.

The union “is disappointed in the results and will await the company’s response,” Tyson Johnson, international vice president and National Freight director, said in a statement.

The vote complicates efforts by YRC Worldwide and the Teamsters to put in place a concession plan that promises all union and nonunion employees “equality of sacrifice.” 

The difficulty is that not all of YRC's Teamsters are under one national contract. While the National Master Freight Agreement represents the majority of the company's union employees, there are several bargaining units and "white paper" contracts that require separate negotiations and elections.

Workers at YRC New Penn, a northeastern regional subsidiary, also voted against the contract concessions but later reversed course and approved them.

Teamsters at Reddaway, YRC's northwest regional subsidiary, rejected a contract proposal in a 214 to 208 vote Dec. 2, the dissident Teamsters for a Democratic Union reported. 

The trucking company, which is struggling to complete a debt-equity swap with bondholders, did not immediately comment to the vote in Chicago.

Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com.