Mark B. Solomon DC Velocity December 12, 2012 View the original piece For more than a decade, ABF Freight System Inc., the less-than-truckload (LTL) unit of Arkansas Best Corp., has convened a media reception on the first night of the joint annual meeting of the National Industrial Transportation League and Intermodal Association of North America. After a convivial hour of socializing, ABF's then-CEO would step to the mike to field mostly hardball queries from the...

John D. Schulz Logistics Management December 11, 2012 View the original piece Major changes are coming to multi-employer pension plans as two of the largest Teamsters-covered plans have adopted a new "hybrid" pension model to repair the broken system of the past. The health of the nation's multi-employer pension plans are in jeopardy because of changing demographics and a worsening ratio of active workers to retirees, a top trucking attorney says. Herve H. Aitken, who...

JP Wright & Ed Michael Labor Notes December 11, 2012 View the original piece Back in the old days, in order to operate safely, a freight train used a five-person crew—an engineer, a fireman, two brakemen, and a conductor. After two-way radios and electronic air brake monitoring allowed the railroads to eliminate the caboose in the 1980s, crew size went down to three. Tough contract negotiations eliminated another crew member, so now almost every freight...

Monica Davey New York Times December 11, 2012 View the original piece LANSING, Mich. — Over the shouts of thousands of angry protesters gathered outside the State Capitol here, Michigan's House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill that would vastly reduce the power of organized labor in this traditionally strong union state. The 58-to-51 vote was the first piece of a two-part package, that would, among other things, bar workers from being required to...

David Jesse and Lori Higgins Detroit Free Press December 11, 2012 View the original piece What began as a peaceful protest this morning became testy this afternoon, prompting Michigan State Police officers to don their riot gear—and some hopping on horses—to control an increasingly angry crowd. It was a crowd that at one point tore down a tent being occupied by Americans for Prosperity, a pro right-to-work group. As they tore the tent down, protesters...

Julie Jargon, Rachel Feintzeig and Mike Spector The Wall Street Journal December 10, 2012 View the original piece Hostess Brands Inc. said it used wages that were supposed to help fund employee pensions for the company's operations as it sank toward bankruptcy. It isn't clear how many of the Irving, Texas, company's workers were affected by the move or how much money never wound up in their pension plans as promised. After the company said...

JOC Staff The Journal of Commerce December 10, 2012 View the original piece The U.S. Department of Transportation's pilot program to open the border to Mexican trucks must be shut down because it is "dangerous and illegal," the Teamsters union argued in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Court this week. The three-year pilot program was set up to demonstrate the impact of Mexican trucks on U.S. highway safety. The Teamsters allege...

Mike Hughlett Star Tribune December 05, 2012 View the original piece Supervalu is moving toward selling its two largest chains to Cerberus Capital Management after a deal for the entire company has stalled, Bloomberg News is reporting. Eden Prairie-based Supervalu, which owns Cub Foods, is considering selling its Albertsons and Save-A-Lot chains to Cerberus, Bloomberg said, citing unnamed sources. Supervalu declined to comment, except to say that it "continues in active (sales) discussion with several...

Mark B. Solomon DC Velocity December 04, 2012 View the original piece Teamster union locals representing 7,500 employees of ABF Freight Systems voted late last week to approve a two-year contract proposal that will be presented to the carrier when negotiations begin Dec. 18. The proposed two-year duration, agreed to Nov. 29 at a meeting in Kansas City, is designed to coincide with the 2015 expiration date of the Teamsters contract with YRC Worldwide Inc.,...

Steven Greenhouse The New York Times November 30, 2012 View the original piece The biggest wave of job actions in the history of America’s fast-food industry began at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday at a McDonald’s at Madison Avenue and 40th Street, with several dozen protesters chanting: “Hey, hey, what do you say? We demand fair pay.” That demonstration kicked off a day of walkouts and rallies at dozens of Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, McDonald’s...