Crouse Cartage Contracts Ratified

Crouse Cartage Co. said its employees have ratified all but one local union contract with the company.

The regional less-than-truckload carrier, based in Carroll, Iowa, said the sole remaining contract covers seven mechanics in Chicago.

A company spokesman said the new agreements are a “win-win” outcome for the company and the 800 employees who are represented by the Teamsters union.

Crouse’s labor contracts expired March 31, 1998. A new five-year national pact covering most of its drivers and freight handlers was ratified in September, and the company has been negotiating about 30 local union contracts since then.

The national contract preserves past work rules and includes a salary addendum that provides wage rates below those in the National Master Freight Agreement negotiated by major LTL carriers, Crouse said.

Ratification of other local contracts will require retroactive wage increases, which the company expects to cost less than $200,000 in the first quarter.

Crouse is a subsidiary of TransFinancial Holdings, Lenexa, Kan.