ABF Cites Violations Of Contract In Suit Posted: Tuesday, November 2, 2010 8:41 am By Wanda Freeman
TIMES RECORD • WFREEMAN@SWTIMES.COM | 0 comments ABF Freight System Inc. on Monday filed a grievance and a federal lawsuit against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and several subsidiaries of trucking competitor YRC Worldwide. According to a news release, Fort Smith-based ABF alleges violations of the National Master Freight Agreement, the collective bargaining agreement that covers most unionized trucking companies in the country. In its lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas in Fayetteville, ABF claims the Teamsters made three prohibited amendments to the NMFA granting wage and pension concessions to YRC that gave the YRC companies a competitive advantage. After union members ratified the latest concessionary amendment on Friday, YRC, based in Overland Park, Kan., announced the new agreement would save it $350 million a year. ABF spokesman David Humphrey said his company, the largest subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corp., tried a number of options to resolve the situation. "If you're going to make changes to an industrywide agreement, you need to find an industrywide solution," he said. As late as April, ABF and the Teamsters had worked out a preliminary agreement calling for a 15 percent pay cut like YRC's, but union members rejected the proposal in May. The original agreement began April 1, 2008, and is due to expire March 31, 2013. YRC's latest concessionary agreement extends the labor contract to March 2015, Humphrey said. ABF filed a grievance Monday claiming the side agreements violate contract rules. But in its federal lawsuit, ABF argues that the National Grievance Committee should not review the grievance because committee members would be directly involved in the case. If the judge declines to appoint a neutral tribunal in place of the committee, or if the tribunal fails to find a resolution, ABF asks the court to set aside the YRC agreements and award $750,000 damages. Humphrey said the $750,000 figure is ABF's estimate of profits lost through the end of the contract because it did not enjoy the same wage and pension concessions granted to YRC. The Teamsters union on Monday posted a short statement about the lawsuit on its website. "After initial review of the ABF lawsuit and grievance, the Teamsters union finds each of them to be frivolous and without merit," stated Brad Raymond, general counsel to the union. "The Teamsters will vigorously defend against the lawsuit and grievance and will withhold further comment until we have thoroughly reviewed the documents." Teamsters press secretary Galen Munroe said the online statement would be the only comment about the lawsuit. The IBT and the Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee as well as Teamsters Locals 373 of Fort Smith and 878 of Little Rock are named as defendants in the lawsuit along with YRC Inc., New Penn Motor Express, USF Holland Inc. and industry bargaining agency Trucking Management Inc. According to a news release, ABF has 8,000 union employees. The company is represented by Littler Mendelson law firm of Fayetteville. http://www.swtimes.com/business/...e-e687-11df-a2df-001cc4c002e0.html |
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