canaryinthemine,...first, I work for YRCF. also, I enjoy reading your post, they are sincere and well thought out. I'm sure that you realize our situation is very different (colossal debt) from that of ABF. I don't feel as many do that we were "sold out", rather, I feel the IBT did the best they could with what little they had to work with. Keep in mind that we have a third party to all of this ...The Lender's, 7 different Banks and countless Hedge Funds. In the ABF scenario, you had Roy and Judy trying to sue the IBT and YRCW three times for the same concessions, or for monetary compensation. Judy strategically leaking her conversation with James to nudge you guys and gals to vote yes, may or may not be legal (i only have a high school diploma). Remember, law suits take a lot of time and money to pursue. Your concessions are less based on your better financials and debt. Now, add, the Industry Dynamics...LTL's not under labor agreements (huge flexibility), cut throat pricing, fuel prices, CSA points, 2008 recession that is dragging on and may never end. The Master Contracts are not negotiated on the Local level, just enforced by them. You are correct in urging all member's to attend and get involved and engaged. In the mean time, let's all go to work and show the World what Organized Labor is capable of. Remember, a lot of the Non's employee's are watching and wanting to sign cards, I'm sure you go to the other Boards and read the threads as do I...let's give them good reason to want to join this "TEAM".
Brother Sugarfoot,........Thanks for the compliments. My wife says my hat size increases daily..............I understand ,....and agree, in part,....about ABF's and YRC's negotiations being fundamentally different. YRC,..through accquisitions, leveraged themselves into the tenuous position they are in. Stellar management? Or,...as some have thought, an attempt was made,....with Teamster collusion, mind you,...to grow YRCF to the point where they had too many employees for the Government to allow them to go bankrupt,....thereby, by default,...putting the U.S. taxpayer on the hook to keep YRCF funded,.....Just like GM. The only differing factor was the employment lists contained CDL-A HAZ-MAT, D/T holders,...which, about 5 years ago, started to be a hot commodity. I bet you didn't think of yourself as a "commodity". None of us do, I'm sure. Anyway,...that "commodity",...which is the only way to legally and safely move freight in this country ( I don't care how many trucks you have,....worthless without drivers. Trucks can be rented.....) was recognized by Wall Street traders as a reason to fund a self-crippled and mis-managed company. This would be the reason that YRC has so many hedge-fund and Wall Street big bank fundrs,......when, by all rights,....YRC should've foundered like the Titanic by now.. Why,....in Zeus' Name,....our Overlords of Labor,....The IBT 'leadership",... didn't recognize this,...and APPLY it to the ABF negotiations,....the ongoing YRC negotiations,...is absolutely beyond me,....UNLESS,....that "commodity" is tied to a stock price that the IBT is benefiting from. Didn't the IBT receive quite a bit of stock options in their YRC dealings? The Teamsters own Constitution prohibits conflicts of interest that would affect contract negotiations. Holding YRC stock, and having two "employees" on YRC's Board of Directors,......would that not be a "conflict"?....Or,...as the IBT would put it..."They are looking after the interests of YRC employees",......and,...oh-by-the-way,....we'll make a few dollars in the process. The IBT wouldn't be holding stock in some of the "purchased transportation",...or some of the hiring agencies supplying temporary dock workers,....would they? How about individual officers? The point I was trying to make is that we,....as Teamsters,...took it for granted that the IBT "leadership" had our best interests at heart,....so we quit paying attention to how we were being represented........All of us did, YRC, ABF, .....all the failed companies. I mean the rank-and-file. So,.....now that there's an absolute shortage of qualified drivers,...."commodity",....that will only get much worse as 60 year olds start realizing that, thanks to Obamacare,...they no longer have to wait for Medicare age to retire,........which will only exacerbate the shortage of "commodity",.....the IBT is "negotiating" sub-standard giveback contracts designed to cheapen the price of the "commodity". Why? Are they that clueless as to the conditions in the trucking industry? If they are, then they have no business negotiating for us. What may be worse, though,...is that someone may be profiting by "negotiating" a cheaper price for the "commodity",.......a backhanded way to manipulate a commodity price. By the way, Brother,....you're one up on me. I don't have a high school diploma. Just a big dummy truck driver,..........But I know the taste of crap when it's spoon-fed to me by people who purportedly are "looking out for my interests". WE are the Union. Let's get rid of the Rot at the Top. R.I.P NMFA 1963 - 2013 Done In By The Son Of The Man That Created You.