December 14, 2011: The Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have set Thursday, Dec. 22 as the date the FMCSA will release the final rule on Hours of Service, a source has told The Trucker.

The agency had promised to release the rule no later than Dec. 28 as part of the court settlement between the FMCSA and safety advocacy groups who have successfully challenged HOS rules on three different occasions.

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December 14, 2011: After decades of uncertainty over millions of dollars of potential pension withdrawal liability, Teamsters union-covered trucking companies in multi-employer pension plans finally have some tangible financial rays of hope.

And that is good news for shippers, who stand to benefit from potential changes that will make it easier for surviving carriers in multi-employer plans to remain in business and prosper.

Click here to read more at Logistics Management.

December 13, 2011: Underwriters, trucking companies and industry groups have mixed opinions on the merits and potential impact of a new federal rule prohibiting commercial truckers and bus drivers from using hand-held cellphones while driving.

The new rule, announced jointly on Nov. 23 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, will impose civil fines of up to $2,750 for interstate truck drivers and bus drivers caught using hand-held cellphones, and $11,000 for employers that do not require their drivers to use hands-free devices.

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December 1, 2011: Shareholders of the Overland Park, Kan., company on Wednesday authorized what is called a reverse split of its shares. The split is intended in part to raise the per-share price above $1 and bring YRC into compliance with NASDAQ market listing rules.

The stock split is effective Friday, according to preliminary results released by the company. YRC’s ticker symbol will temporarily change from YRCW to YRCWD. The ticker symbol will revert to YRCW on Jan. 3.

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November 30, 2011: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration expects to complete work on a final hours-of-service rule within the next 30 days, according to a joint report of the agency and plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit.

“The final [HOS] rule is under review by the Office of Management and Budget, and FMCSA expects to issue the final rule within 30 days,” said the report, filed Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Click here to read more at Transport Topics.

November 28, 2011: U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced a final rule specifically prohibiting interstate truck and bus drivers from using hand-held cell phones while operating their vehicles. The joint rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is the latest action by the U.S. Department of Transportation to end distracted driving.

"When drivers of large trucks, buses and hazardous materials take their eyes off the road for even a few seconds, the outcome can be deadly," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "I hope that this rule will save lives by helping commercial drivers stay laser-focused on safety at all times while behind the wheel."

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October 21, 2011: Guillermo Pérez knows all eyes will be on his trucks, but he says he’s up to the challenge. He’s a manager at Transportes Olympic, the first Mexican trucking company to receive U.S. approval for direct, long-haul trips north of the border.

The first truck is expected to arrive in the U.S. sometime this week.

Click here to read more at Fronteras.

September 27, 2011: YRC Worldwide’s new CEO James L. Welch eliminated two executive positions at the trucking giant as he reorganizes its management team and functions.

Dismissed are Chief Marketing Officer Gregory A. Reid and Chief Administrative Officer James G. Kissinger. Both were also executive vice presidents.

Click here to read more at The Journal of Commerce.

September 15, 2011: Freight Teamsters know Hoffa has shown no real muscle or stomach for defending our jobs or our future. There is no leadership and there is no plan.

It starts with enforcing our contract. ABF, YRC and Holland came after us long before the economy took a dive. For supervisors, it was open season on trashing the contract. They know they get most of what they want at the grievance panels. And when it comes to concessions, Zollars, and his pals at the banks got everything they asked for. Hoffa and Tyson could only talk about shared sacrifice to save the company. Zollars got his golden parachute and Hoffa and Tyson didn’t lose a dime.

Our pensions are in jeopardy. Long time Teamsters at YRC are already seeing reduced benefits because of the lack of full contributions. Add to that Hoffa’s decision to allow UPS to negotiate their way out of Central States. Combine those with a lack of foresight on the part of pension fund trustees and you have the answer for why we find ourselves in such a big mess.

Union membership has been decimated. With the attacks on our wages, pensions and benefits, Hoffa has done nothing to stem the tide. There has been little reason for nonunion drivers to join the Teamsters.

At UPS Freight, Hoffa made promises and then delivered a substandard contract.

Hoffa has to go. That means helping elect Sandy Pope. She’s worked the dock, driven the truck, knows what it’s like to work as a Teamster. That experience, her smarts and her commitment to the membership can go a long way to addressing the issues we face.

Freight Teamsters need to work to turn out a big vote for Sandy Pope.

By Tim Pagel YRC Dock Local 988 Houston

September 15, 2011: YRC Teamsters are outraged at the 50 percent pay raise for YRC Directors.

At the recent Teamster Convention, there were seven (!) presentations on how great Hoffa is for giving YRC concessions. To hear his PR script, you would think giving concessions to a company is really hard work.

There were zero speeches on building Teamster power in the freight industry.

One of the speeches, by Hoffa’s Freight Director Tyson Johnson, was about how great the members of the new Board of Directors of YRC are. He bragged that two of the eight were selected by the Hoffa administration.

YRC Teamsters are outraged that these same new directors, as one of their very first acts, raised their own pay 50 percent and boosted their bonuses to get at least $175,000 for serving as an outside member of the board. (They do not work for YRC, they just come to board meetings.)

Hoffa did nothing.

Sandy Pope announced where she comes down: “I stand with YRC Teamsters and join their call for a reversal of the big pay increase. This is an insult to hard working Teamsters who have given up 15 percent of their wages and over 75 percent of their pension contributions.”

“If Hoffa had any accountability to working Teamsters, he would have been raising this issue as soon as it came up.”

Freight Teamsters have a way to tell Hoffa just what they think of his 13 years of mis-leadership: Vote for Sandy Pope!