Negotiations with Teamsters rankle Yellow Corp.

Yellow Corp. seems exasperated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, according to a company statement issued June 6.

The Overland Park, Kan.-based company is trying to execute Phase 2 of its One Yellow reorganization strategy. Phase 1 included about 20% of the company’s network and addressed operations in the western United States. It was implemented in September.

Phase 2 is much larger. It covers about 70% of the network. It consists of legacy operations YRC Freight, Holland and New Penn terminals in the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast. Yellow Corp. says it began working with the union in October 2022 to address changes to reduce inefficiencies in the network.

“In or about January 2023, after the company had substantially revised its original Phase 2 change of operations based on union input, the union stopped the implementation of One Yellow abruptly in its tracks, deciding instead to improperly hold up the change-of-operations process as leverage to extract wage increases for the union’s members,” Yellow stated in its June 6 statement.

The company says it has negotiated in good faith.

Some of the sticking points

Yellow has proposed changing about one-fifth of over-the-road drivers to work freight on the docks in utility positions. This is less than the company originally requested but was cut at the demand of the Teamsters.

Yellow Corp. also is seeking to increase its use of purchased transportation to 29% of total miles across the company. This is the percentage allowed at YRC Freight. Purchased transportation can account for 8% of miles at Holland and 20% at Reddaway, per collective bargaining agreements. The National Master Freight Agreement allows Yellow to use outside or purchased capacity.

The company has agreed to putting wage increases of 40 cents per hour or 1 cent per mile into effect early. An additional 60-cents-her-hour increase, or 1.5 cents per mile, also is promised once an agreement is reached with the union and new financing is worked out for the company.

Phase 1 success

In a May 3 earnings call, Yellow CEO Darren Hawkins called Phase 1 a success for the company.

“The realigned and optimized terminal coverage positioned us closer to the customers, which has enabled us to enhance our service,” Hawkins said. Following the implementation of Phase 1, our customers have seen improvement across a broad range of areas that positively impact the customer experience, including an improvement in the percentage of shipments going out for delivery before 9 a.m., a reduction in missed pickups, an improvement in the percentage of shipments departing origin by 10 p.m.”

 Yellow Corp.’s angst

Yellow Corp. says the Teamsters have been “stonewalling” the implementation of Phase 2.

“While the union has refused to move forward with Yellow’s proposals under the contractual grievance procedures, or to let Yellow’s Teamsters employees vote to ratify the proposed changes, it has instead has made a number of extra-contractual demands on Yellow,” according to the company statement. “Each time it has made a new demand, Yellow has acceded to the union’s demands, with the expectation that accession would lead to implementation of the overdue Phase 2. But each time Yellow agreed to a union ask, the union increased its asks with unreasonable demands.”

The company called out John Murphy, national freight director for the Teamsters, for characterizing Yellow Corp.’s efforts to implement Phase 2 of One Yellow as “offensive to the union.”

“What is truly offensive is the utter disregard (Teamsters) senior leadership has for the 22,000 Teamsters Yellow employs, who are now at serious risk of losing their good paying union jobs,” Yellow complained in its statement.

The Yellow-Teamsters discord comes at a time when the Teamsters also are negotiating with TForce Freight (formerly UPS Freight) and ABF Freight System.  LL

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