The U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas ruled Friday against less-than-truckload carrier Yellow Corp.’s request for an injunction, which would have kept its Teamsters employees from engaging in a work stoppage.
In her decision, Senior Judge Julie Robinson denied a motion for a temporary restraining order and injunction.
The decision allows the union to carry through with a planned strike, which could begin as soon as Monday. The final straw prompting the strike was Yellow’s missed benefits contribution payment to Central States Funds last week, which will leave workers without health insurance on Sunday.
The two parties have been embroiled in a bitter dispute over operational changes for the last nine months. The carrier has maintained that without the changes it wouldn’t survive while the union took the stance that it had given enough in the past in the form of wages, benefits and work rules concessions.
“The company has two more days to fulfill its obligations or we will strike,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said following the decision. “Teamsters at Yellow are furious and ready to act. They are done with the mistreatment and mismanagement.”
In its filing seeking an injunction, Yellow said it would likely file for bankruptcy if the court didn’t rule in its favor.
“Absent injunctive relief, Plaintiffs will suffer immediate, substantial, and irreparable harm from Defendants’ unlawful work stoppage, including being forced into a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy proceeding.”
In a news release late Friday, Yellow said it would appeal the court’s decision and continue to pursue its breach of contract lawsuit against the Teamsters.
“The court, recognizing a strike would likely kill the company, resulting in the loss of 30,000 jobs, cautioned the Union — that while it won today’s battle, it could very well lose the war,” the statement said.
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LOLSTERS
This whole thing is rife with irony. Idiots in charge of Yellow ran off good regional management and stuck with the knuckle dragger Darren good ole boys.
The geriatric teamster morons chanting “shut it down” and all the other nonsense are about to get a wake up call that nobody is going to hire them. Unions kill companies and this is just another example of a once proud organization running ashore.
Yellow wasn’t gonna be old dominion if they finished One Yellow in terms of profitability or service, but they would have been around. Is this really worth not having to waddle on to a fork lift to move freight? And occasionally a load bar or some dunnage.
Michael Vitale
After decades of sitting on the side of the road, reading the newspaper, the Teamsters have repeatedly caused their own demise. When I first started driving, Union jobs were the holy grail. Now, not so much. But when you hate to see the company you work for be profitable, this is what you get. Unemployed.
Davo (retired Yellow P&D driver )
This whole Yellow/Teamster fiasco smells
like our political scene! I am still wondering why the Democrats are the “Party” that the Teamsters back? Could this situation have anything to do with the Trump administrations approval of the government loan to Yellow Freight?
Zud
This is going to be the weirdest strike ever. Do you picket the terminal gate or help them lock it?
Rhino
Union what a joke. You going to let someone ruin your life with saying we cannot give the company any more breaks. They got to pay benefits and this and that or we will call a company wide strike. I rather have a decent company to work for instead some union President say no pay no work. All the retirees will now pay the price. Ask for proof that there changes will make a difference before you say strike. If employees strike Yellow and other companies will file bankruptcy and then there is no more jobs. How you feel about that.
B. Bolding
For those who make comments about the union workers deserve to loose their jobs obviously has never been a union worker. The majority of workers are hard workers just trying to make a good living and a future retirement for their families. I worked as a teamster for 33 years and I can count on one hand the times I missed work with the exception of sick days or vacation. I hate the fact Yellow has put the union in the position to strike. Hopefully they will come to terms that both sides can agree on. But someone said “passed behavior is a predictor future behavior” so unfortunately I think this is the end of the line.
Jason
As a FORMER Reddaway/Yellow employee we tried to tell management pursuing One Yellow would be a catastrophe but they were much smarter (or so they thought). The lack of management is what led the company here, farewell Yellow I just regret you DESTROYED Reddaway in the process.
TIM
We can thank William zollars for this mess!