June 18, 2009. The International Union is proposing that the national contract with YRC be amended to defer pension contributions for some 14 months, which would allow nearly $500 million in savings to the carrier. The outline of the plan was unveiled today by the Hoffa administration at a meeting of freight local union officers in Chicago. The plan calls for YRC to obtain additional funding in bank credit, to provide additional fresh operating cash...

June 18, 2009: CEO Zollars said of the U.S. economy that "it looks like things have stabilized," but added that a return to growth was not likely this year. "We don't expect any meaningful recovery in 2009," he said. "We think things are going to stay flat for quite a while." Click here to read more at Reuters.

June 15, 2009: Teamster officials have been summoned to Chicago for a meeting on Thursday, June 18 to hear from the International Union about the next steps at YRC. Does the Hoffa administration have a plan to protect freight Teamsters? The Hoffa administration came under fire for failing to negotiate protections for freight Teamsters as part of the YRC concessions deal in January. Now the company wants more concessions in order to service their debt...

June 12, 2009: The International Union has called national meetings for June 17-18 to discuss further concessions to YRC. On June 17 there will be a meeting of pension fund chairs and administrators, and on June 18 there will be a “mandatory” meeting of union representatives from all local unions with YRC, Holland, or New Penn members. The announcement of the meeting states it is to give “the most current information available regarding the YRC...

June 12, 2009: The first-quarter 2009 Financial and Analytical Report on the Central States Pension Fund is finally out; it details the fund’s problems due to the stock market collapse. The report is available to members only through Teamsters for a Democratic Union. The Central States Fund had $15.7 billion as of March 31, 2009, down from $17.3 billion at the start of 2009. The fund lost about 6.8% on its investment portfolio during the...

June 11, 2009: FedEx’s has launched a multi-million dollar PR campaign to stop federal legislation that would make it easier for drivers and package handlers to unionize. But experts say the campaign is misleading and may backfire. FedEx is angry because the House of Representatives approved a bill that would bring the company under the National Labor Relations Act which would give employees there the same right to unionize as they have at UPS. In...

June 10, 2009: The word bailout has gone from descriptive to derogatory. In a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign introduced Tuesday, FedEx objected to legislation that would make it easier to unionize the company by accusing its rival, United Parcel Service, of taking a government bailout. Click here to read more at The New York Times.

June 9, 2009: Local 722, based in La Salle, Illinois, filed for bankruptcy yesterday, rather than settle with a member who they illegally denied employment opportunities. “He [Steve Mongan, local president] told me he would bankrupt the local union before he would admit he was wrong to deny me work,” Mark Serafinn commented. Local 722 has 1300 members, but maintains three full time officials, who all took raises last year. They also bought a $30,000...

June 09, 2009: NEW YORK -- FedEx Corp. is set to launch a multimillion dollar marketing campaign on Tuesday against chief rival UPS Inc., arguing the world's largest shipping carrier is the driving force behind a bill that would make it easier for FedEx workers to unionize. The bill currently before Congress would switch FedEx to the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act from the National Railway Labor Act. The Railway Labor Act allows...

June 08, 2009: WASHINGTON — Trucking interests Friday took traditional partisan stances over the nomination of Anne S. Ferro to be the next administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Click here to read more at TheTrucker.com.