Yellow lines up labor for overnight service
National less-than-truckload carrier Yellow Transportation said it plans to roll out Next Day service in the Northeast by the end of the year after gaining tentative approval from union leaders.
Yellow said it expects the new service to create nearly 100 teamster jobs.
The National Master Freight Agreement reached by unionized carriers last year set up mechanisms for carries to gain quick union approval for switching operating procedures to accommodate new types of service.
The agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters will likely allow Yellow to use “premium employees” who can both drive and load or unload trucks, an important factor in operating an overnight service, Bear Stearns transportation analyst Edward Wolfe said in a client note. Under the Master Freight Agreement, carriers can pay drivers an extra 20 cents per hour to do more than one task.
