January 29, 2014
Stephanie West
Washington, DC — Teamsters working for YRC Worldwide Inc. have approved a tentative agreement aimed at protecting more than 30,000 jobs, with about 12,000 out of 18,000 Teamsters working for YRC voting in favor of the agreement.
"This was a very difficult vote for our members, but in the end they did what they believe will give this company the best chance to stay in business and protect their jobs," said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President and Co-Chairman of the Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee. "Now we will hold management's feet to the fire to make sure our members' jobs are protected and redouble our efforts to make sure this company handles its finances responsibly."
The plan will provide a pathway for substantial debt reduction and refinancing initiatives that will permit the company to protect jobs.
"Once again, our members' sacrifices are providing the lifeline for the company," said Tyson Johnson, Director of the Teamsters National Freight Division and Co-Chairman of TNFINC. "Now we fully expect the company to successfully conclude the deleveraging and refinancing components of the restructuring to once and for all put this company on a sustainable path."
The agreement approved contained significant improvements over the company's prior rejected proposal. On Jan. 9, the initial proposal by the company was rejected by over 19,000 Teamster members who voted over several weeks.
