Teamster officials set April 10 meeting to discuss YRC contract

Two-person teams of the Teamsters union will meet with top union officials April 10 in Chicago to discuss the tentative contract reached last month between the Teamsters and three units of less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier YRC Worldwide, Inc.

The meeting will convene at noon local time and run until about 5:00 p.m., General President James P. Hoffa and Freight Director Ernie Soehl wrote in a memo yesterday.

Under Teamsters bylaws, after the meeting the two-person teams will brief local leaders and the rank-and-file who will make the ultimate decision to ratify or reject the contract. Between 20,000 and 25,000 employees at national unit YRC Freight and regional units New Penn and Holland are Teamsters members.

The current collective bargaining agreement has been extended until May 31, two months past its original expiration date, to allow for the language to be fully vetted and for the rank-and-file to vote. YRC employees have been working under wage and pension reductions for the past 10 years. The Teamsters and YRC agreed to a five-year contract in 2010, which was then extended in 2014. Various workers have stated they will not ratify a contract that doesn’t contain acceptable wage and pension snapbacks.

The language in the tentative agreement has been a closely guarded secret. It is expected that details will emerge following the April 10 meeting.