YRC-Teamsters contract takes effect after last supplemental agreement ratified

The five-year collective bargaining agreement between the Teamsters union and three units of less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier YRC Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:YRCW) took effect after western Pennsylvania workers ratified the last of the local supplements and riders, the company and the union said today.

Under the Teamsters constitution, no national or master contract can be implemented until all supplements and riders attached to the national compact are ratified. On May 3, the master contract was ratified by a 3,600-vote margin, and 26 of the 27 supplements and riders were also approved. However, members of Joint Council 40 rejected their supplement during the first voting cycle. On the second pass, though, workers approved the supplement by a 92-41 vote.

The five-year contract, which is retroactive to April 1, 2019, covers about 24,000 workers at YRC’s YRC Freight long-haul unit and its Holland and New Penn regional units. The contract provides for an 18 percent aggregate wage increase starting April 1 and running through the end of 2023, a restoration of one week’s paid vacation, and higher levels of health and welfare contributions. For the first time, Holland will be able to purchase transportation services outside of the unionized pool, but only up to the equivalent of 8 percent of annual miles driven.

In addition, the contract calls for more smaller box trucks to be operated by union members instead of relying on third-party carriers to deliver freight.