YRC, Teamsters Leadership Approve Labor Agreement

YRC Worldwide’s board and the Teamsters union’s leadership have each approved an agreement extending current pay cuts through 2015 and delaying YRC’s resumption of pension contributions until June.

The pact must still be approved by the union’s rank-and-file membership, to which ballots will be sent out next week, the two said in separate statements.

YRC also said its board approved a reverse stock split, effective Friday. The split will be with a ratio of 1:25, and will reduce the number of authorized shares to 80 million from the current 2 billion, and reduce outstanding shares to 48 million, from about 1.2 billion.

“The agreement is designed to significantly improve the company’s competitive position in the marketplace,” YRC said, adding that it “provides for re-entry of the YRCW operating companies into the multi-employer pension plans to which they contribute in a manner that provides important member benefits while maintaining an improved competitive market position.”

The Teamsters said it expects to have its members’ votes counted by the end of October.

The agreement extends the current National Master Freight Agreement for a two-year period until March 31, 2015, and extends the current 15% wage reduction until that time, the Teamsters said.

The agreement calls for annual hourly rate and mileage rate increases (less the 15% reduction) of 40 cents on April 1 of each of the next four years, the union said on its website.

The less-than-truckload carrier said late Tuesday Chairman and CEO William Zollars will retire from the company upon completion of the recovery-plan agreement. (Click here for previous coverage.)

YRC is ranked No. 4 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.