August 18, 2009: With an open threat to close New Penn—YRCW’s most successful unit—Teamsters will be re-voting on the concessions package that they rejected two weeks ago by a vote of 726-463.

The ballots are to be mailed on Aug. 19, and counted Sept. 9. At local meetings held over the past few days, Teamsters discussed the closure threat and their difficult options.

At Philadelphia Local 107, where New Penn Teamsters voted No by a 69-24 margin two weeks ago, the mood was angry but with more members likely to vote Yes.

At Rochester Local 118, where most members voted Yes in the first vote, the meeting was held at the terminal, and management personnel participated freely. Given the close relationship of James Hoffa and trucking management, perhaps this is a sign of the times.

YRCW has not submitted a change of operations regarding New Penn. YRCW management has stated that they will close New Penn if the vote is No. The Hoffa administration has not offered any resistance to this elimination of 2,000 jobs. In fact, they have given the green light, by passing along the closure threat without a word of opposition to it.

Chicago Situation on Hold

The other units that rejected the recent concessions, in the Chicago area, have not yet received their threats or announcements of re-votes. Chicago Local 705 and Chicago Local 710 have contracts with YRC and Holland that are separate from the national master, and they voted to reject the concessions.

We will update Teamsters on this situation soon.

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