Teamsters at YRC Approve Agreement Aimed At Saving 30,000 Jobs

The weekend vote at union balloting sites ran 12,267 in favor to 6,314 against. Passage followed a month-long mail-in vote on an earlier offer that 61 percent had rejected.

Union and company officials both had said all the jobs of YRC’s more than 30,000 employees hung in the balance, not just the roughly 26,000 Teamsters who work there. YRC Worldwide, a Fortune 500 company, owes more than $1 billion it can’t repay, including $69.4 million due Feb. 15.

In proposing the revised offer, YRC’s chief executive officer James Welch said it was the “best — and only remaining — path forward.” He had said the first contract proposal was needed to convince lenders to refinance the debt.

Unlike the first proposal, the revised pact was backed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, whose leaders negotiated its terms.

A video posted on the union’s website offered a summary that said a yes vote would give the company a chance to survive (see video above). Rejection would prevent refinancing, lead to a default and “would within a matter of weeks likely trigger bankruptcy,” the video said.

An online statement by the Teamsters Friday said: “If a ratified package is not in place by February 1st our best information is that YRC will be out of business shortly thereafter.”

Workers had rejected the original offer, which was proposed by the company without negotiating with the union. Talks on the revised plan that was approved Sunday began shortly after the lopsided rejection reported on Jan. 8.

The revised offer eliminated some concessions in the original offer and added new protections for workers.

“No one wants concessions, but with a ‘yes’ vote at least we live to see another day, and I urge you to do that,” Teamsters general president Jim Hoffa had said in an announcement prior to the vote.

With the vote, Teamsters workers agreed to extend into March 2019 the 15 percent pay cut they’ve lived with since 2009 as well as reduced pension contributions from YRC Worldwide. The new pact also adds concessions on raises for this year and next, among other changes, designed to save the company money and give it greater flexibility in running the freight business.

Source: Kansas City Star

YRC’s $1.4 Billion Refinancing Bolstered by Teamsters’ Yes Vote

YRC Worldwide Inc. (YRCW) union workers agreed to more concessions in a second vote this month, clearing the way for a $1.4 billion refinancing plan that helps the trucking company ward off default.

Teamsters approved the four-year contract extension by 66 percent as balloting ended today, said Leigh Strope, a spokeswoman for the union. The proposal maintains cuts of 15 percent in pay and 75 percent in pension contributions. Overland Park, Kansas-based YRC also sought other givebacks, including delays in raises and a reduction in vacation time, in a reworked proposal after the first version was rejected earlier this month.

YRC said creditors and investors demanded the lengthening of the current labor accord to 2019 in exchange for $1.15 billion of lower-interest loans and new shares to pare $300 million of debt. Payments due in September can’t be made without new financing, according to the money-losing trucker, which has said companies in similar straits have declared bankruptcy.

YRC amassed $1.4 billion in debt from acquisitions and what Chief Executive Officer James Welch called “numerous missteps” before he took the job in 2011. The company has posted losses of more than $3.1 billion since 2007, including a projected adjusted loss of $102 million for 2013, after bulking up with acquisitions that made it the biggest U.S. trucker by sales.

YRC rose 7.4 percent to $18.79 on Jan. 24. The shares have bounced along with YRC’s quest for givebacks, tumbling 29 percent in the week ended Jan. 10 after the initial vote on concessions and then soaring 38 percent over the next two weeks.

Source: Bloomberg

Additional Teamsters information will be posted on the YRCW Freight Updates site as it becomes available.

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