Teamsters, YRCW to Discuss Company's Re-Entry Into Union Funds

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International Brotherhood of Teamsters

May 24, 2010, 10:26 ET

Teamsters Name Pension Expert to Company's Board

WASHINGTON, May 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Teamsters Union announced today that it has agreed to form two joint labor-management committees to address YRC Worldwide Inc.'s (YRCW) re-entry into Teamster pension funds in January 2011 and ways to enhance YRCW's competitiveness in the freight industry.

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"Thanks to the sacrifice and hard work of our members, YRCW is rebounding from the impact of the economic recession and efforts by non-union companies in the freight industry to drive YRCW out of business," said Teamsters General President Hoffa. "The joint labor-management committees provide an additional avenue for the Teamsters to be proactive in our continued efforts to preserve jobs and benefits of our hardworking YRCW members."

"The Teamsters Union has turned freight trucking jobs into middle-class jobs since the 1950s," said Tyson Johnson, Director of the Teamsters National Freight Division and TNFINC Co-Chairman. "While many forces have been attacking those standards, including trucking deregulation in 1980, the Teamsters Union remains committed to ensure the freight industry continues to provide decent wages, benefits and working conditions. The actions taken today can help shape the future of this industry for decades to come."

The Teamsters also announced today that the union has named New School professor Teresa Ghilarducci to be its selection for the YRCW board seat, which was recently negotiated as part of the job security plan. Ghilarducci is the Bernard L. and Irene Schwartz Professor of Economic Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York City.

Professor Ghilarducci is a nationally recognized multi-employer and defined benefit pension expert who has worked with the Teamsters on numerous projects in the past. She has previously held a professorship at the University of Notre Dame and has researched and published extensively on employee pension and benefit matters. She is currently a trustee for the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust for GM, Ford, and Chrysler and the Goodyear Retiree Health Care Trust for Steelworker trustees.

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters