Teamsters, YRC reach tentative labor contract, union says

The Teamsters union said tonight that its negotiators have reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement with less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier YRC Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:YRCW) covering some 20,000 unionized workers at the Overland Park, Kan.-based company’s YRC Freight national unit and at regional carriers New Penn and Holland.

If ratified by the rank-and-file, the new agreement would replace the existing compact set to expire on March 31. The existing agreement will be extended through May 31 to allow the parties to finalize specific language and a few supplemental issues, as well as to allow the union’s ratification process to take place, the Teamsters said tonight.

Details of the agreement will not be released until they have been reviewed at two-person meetings with the union locals, the Teamsters said. No dates for those meetings have been scheduled, the Teamsters said.

“There were a lot of issues, history and emotions involved with these negotiations,” said Ernie Soehl, head of the Teamsters’ freight division, in a statement. “We certainly got creative, but I believe we got every penny we could have and that this contract will improve Teamster lives.”

A contract covering workers at YRC’s Reddaway regional unit, which serves the western U.S., is negotiated separately.