May 25, 2011: Teamsters at YRC have given up a lot to save jobs and a Teamster foothold in trucking. So why is Hoffa letting YRC move Teamster jobs to India and the Philippines?

It’s time to protect our jobs, not give them away!

A chart of the billing office for every YRC terminal shows that the majority of all terminals are now billed by the “917 Team” (India) or the “918 Team” (Manila, Philippines). These codes represent the “Regional Acquired Shipment Detail” (RASD) Centers in Asia.

At the time of the Yellow-Roadway operational merger in March 2009, Teamster members won grievances to protect union office jobs.

Now billing work previously done by union offices in places like Bloomington California (RASD 830), Toledo Ohio (488) or Topeka Kansas (482) has been moved overseas.

The Memorandum of Agreement with YRC states at Section 18(b): “The employer agrees that it will not transfer any bargaining unit work to India or any other country.”

Even the billing for the Dallas terminal, the home of IBT Freight Director Tyson Johnson, is now done in Manila.

Is the Hoffa administration asleep at the wheel or in bed with Zollars? Either way, Teamsters are losing.

The number one responsibility of Teamster leaders is to protect our jobs. Locals should demand that this situation be corrected: grievances backed up by calls for fast action by the IBT Freight Division.

Three Strikes

Meanwhile, within days, hundreds of YRC Teamsters on leave must return to work or lose their jobs. Forcing them back to work will cause the lay-off of other YRC Teamsters. So people who want to be on leave will be forced back to work, and those who want to work will be forced onto layoff.

The Hoffa administration has failed to protect Teamster pensions. They have failed to protect jobs from going to cheaper off-shore labor. They have failed to deal with the leave of absence issue. Three strikes -- they should be out.