ABF | Strike Votes at ABF

YRC Corporation at the end of 2009 was on the brink of bankruptcy.
YRC reported a net loss of $976 million for its 2008 fiscal year. In 2009 it again reported a net loss of $622 million. Towards the end of 2009, YRC narrowly averted having to file for bankruptcy protection by successfully persuading its bondholders to exchange their $470 million in bond notes for roughly 94% of the company’s shares. Concurrent with more recent manufacturing sector growth and recovery, since the fourth quarter of 2009, YRC has again been approaching a net positive balance sheet.[3]Nonetheless its share price declined in year 2010 more than 80%, raising in 2011 suspicions of Death spiral financing.[4] In September 2011 the company completed a financial restructuring that has essentially wiped out any shareholder equity.[5] All employees, Teamsters included, took massive pay cuts in order to keep YRC in business.
Just remember a Good Account or CFO can make the number's look good or bad ! becuase how did they convince the banks to let them buy Roadway & USF Holland just months before that ? and remember the past 20 years whenever contract talks were coming up they was always broke and then after its signed they give out Bonuses $$$$$$$ and p.s. Jamie was the best number's juggling ever !!
 
Just remember a Good Account or CFO can make the number's look good or bad ! becuase how did they convince the banks to let them buy Roadway & USF Holland just months before that ? and remember the past 20 years whenever contract talks were coming up they was always broke and then after its signed they give out Bonuses $$$$$$$ and p.s. Jamie was the best number's juggling ever !!
Sometimes you have to have common sense buy two major corporations and after major recession hits. Nobody was making money at that time except OD if I’m correct. Loans was given when money was rolling in I agree of :shit:ty terms, but then all of a sudden income wiped out due to recession come on think logical.
 
I thought yrc threatened to buy ABF last contract? With what? ? Just goes to show the real games Judy plays....

And.....a decision that will bite them for years. Regardless of whether that "offer" was real,....or ABF upper management taking advantage of the fears of their employees,........we no longer take the pronouncements from Fort Smith,....without a Large Dose of salt,.....


They kind of ruined the tenuous trust that Robert Young had built up with his labor force,....which made ABF a unique place to work, inasmuch as you could generally trust upper management to do the right, honest, thing........

The limousine door barely closed on Mr. Young's departure when the "new breed" decided that the work force wasn't worth the trouble to tell the truth to anymore........
 
I thought yrc threatened to buy ABF last contract? With what? ? Just goes to show the real games Judy plays....
With the same thing they have bought every company in their storied history, borrowed money. Since ABF has very low debt YRC could in theory leverage ABF's equity if the shareholders were willing to sell low enough. If ABF's union contract is expired and on extension any ABF employees that had seniority to dove tail and if willing to work for YRC would immediately go under their contract.
 
Like I said. YRC Teamsters voted for it.
And in the end we saved a lot of Teamster jobs, we lost almost half of them. There will always be debate if they would have shut it down. I sat in the meetings. There was no mentioning strike by the Union, only the facts that they were closing and there would be no more votes or negotiations. I had to take the word of my duly elected Union official. Some would rather have it went bankrupt, but I was in the majority that decided to live to fight another day, and I will always be proud of that. And if the Union authorizes a strike against ABF I'll do my time on the picket line, but I'm not painting up any signs just yet.
 
And in the end we saved a lot of Teamster jobs, we lost almost half of them. There will always be debate if they would have shut it down. I sat in the meetings. There was no mentioning strike by the Union, only the facts that they were closing and there would be no more votes or negotiations. I had to take the word of my duly elected Union official. Some would rather have it went bankrupt, but I was in the majority that decided to live to fight another day, and I will always be proud of that. And if the Union authorizes a strike against ABF I'll do my time on the picket line, but I'm not painting up any signs just yet.
You were proud of it, then you left. And the MOUs you were so "proud" to vote for still haunt the entire LTL sector to this DAY, particularly ABF. You were so proud you had to leave. Good man!
 
With the same thing they have bought every company in their storied history, borrowed money. Since ABF has very low debt YRC could in theory leverage ABF's equity if the shareholders were willing to sell low enough. If ABF's union contract is expired and on extension any ABF employees that had seniority to dove tail and if willing to work for YRC would immediately go under their contract.
I think the 'Dovetail" situation was taken care of when ABF bought Carolina. Us old timers were told that they would "end tail" but then then the ramrod was shoved down "our tail"...We were told over & over that since ABF was the "buyer" and not the "buyee", the they would end tail into our seniority board ...NOT!..
 
You were proud of it, then you left. And the MOUs you were so "proud" to vote for still haunt the entire LTL sector to this DAY, particularly ABF. You were so proud you had to leave. Good man!
Yes, last I checked it's still a free country. I'm surely not the only one. Many came over due to lay offs. I was fortunate enough to get to make the choice after another YRC employee that had qualified turned it down. It was meant to be. I realize if YRC had closed ABF could have went after some of the market share, but they would still be facing the same issue with the pension, and OD, XPO and FDX would have been the real winners in a YRC bankruptcy not ABF or the Teamsters. And, I am considered a good man by most who really know me, so thank you!
 
I think the 'Dovetail" situation was taken care of when ABF bought Carolina. Us old timers were told that they would "end tail" but then then the ramrod was shoved down "our tail"...We were told over & over that since ABF was the "buyer" and not the "buyee", the they would end tail into our seniority board ...NOT!..
I was told that "technically" since Carolina had declared bankruptcy that Mr. Young was advised by the top Union officials that his employees would retain their seniority. However, the Carolina crew cried foul at the local level, but wouldn't walk the picket line during the strike. They were the only company allowed to stay open during the strike and Mr. Young was the President of TMI at the table negotiating for the companies. He knew that dog wasn't going to hunt! The ABF old timers tell me the fact that they kept working during the strike then kept their seniority rights too was almost too much and created some bitter animosity for several years.
 
I was told that "technically" since Carolina had declared bankruptcy that Mr. Young was advised by the top Union officials that his employees would retain their seniority. However, the Carolina crew cried foul at the local level, but wouldn't walk the picket line during the strike. They were the only company allowed to stay open during the strike and Mr. Young was the President of TMI at the table negotiating for the companies. He knew that dog wasn't going to hunt! The ABF old timers tell me the fact that they kept working during the strike then kept their seniority rights too was almost too much and created some bitter animosity for several years.
you are correct on all points..bitter pill to swallow...the S
 
I was told that "technically" since Carolina had declared bankruptcy that Mr. Young was advised by the top Union officials that his employees would retain their seniority. However, the Carolina crew cried foul at the local level, but wouldn't walk the picket line during the strike. They were the only company allowed to stay open during the strike and Mr. Young was the President of TMI at the table negotiating for the companies. He knew that dog wasn't going to hunt! The ABF old timers tell me the fact that they kept working during the strike then kept their seniority rights too was almost too much and created some bitter animosity for several years.

Yaas.........I became assistant steward at that time, and pushed through a grievance in our Local area that kept our 8 man ABF barn from having to accept 6 Carolina men. We ended up with 2 Carolina guys, with such high seniority that one retired in 6 months,.......the other one 6 years later with 44 years service.

But, at least most of our guys retained their jobs. Many other barns weren’t so lucky.

Bad blood about working through the strike for years........Way to negotiate, Jimmy........
 
I was part of that CFCC/ABF deal, and yes we did work thru the strike, had so much freight and rental trucks looked like a truckstop in the yard. We (CFCC) were always told when the merge took affect that we would dovetail not end tail. And that's when I said good by to the LTL part of trucking, barn I could have went to had no linehaul and I wasn't working p&d. I guess hindsight is 20-20 since I now have 21+ years in carhaul. I know our shop guys took it hard,moved to another area and 6-8 months later ABF closed up the shops since they love to send stuff to vendors instead doing it in house. So yes there was a bunch of pissed off people on BOTH sides
 
It’s a shame..........we’re all Teamsters........subject to the back room backstabbing.

No way to build solidarity.

When they film that movie,.......they’re going to have to include the UPS contract jam-down,..........where Jimmy went and changed the IBT bylaws in a carefully packed meeting,.......so that the IBT Executive Board can accept any contract .......without a rank-and-file vote,.......if they feel it’s in the “best interests” of the members............

That’ll bite ‘em sooner or later......
 
Yaas.........I became assistant steward at that time, and pushed through a grievance in our Local area that kept our 8 man ABF barn from having to accept 6 Carolina men. We ended up with 2 Carolina guys, with such high seniority that one retired in 6 months,.......the other one 6 years later with 44 years service.

But, at least most of our guys retained their jobs. Many other barns weren’t so lucky.

Bad blood about working through the strike for years........Way to negotiate, Jimmy........
Well...it was Ron Carey our former UPS brother that struck both Freight and UPS during his tenure, in my opinion the best President we have had since Jimmy Sr. Ron was despised by the companies and the mob. He was railroaded out of the Union by a corrupt federal judge in 1999. Then in 2001, was exonerated of the phony campaign scam charges, but the union never removed his ban to be able to run for office again before his death in 2008.
 
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Yes, last I checked it's still a free country. I'm surely not the only one. Many came over due to lay offs. I was fortunate enough to get to make the choice after another YRC employee that had qualified turned it down. It was meant to be. I realize if YRC had closed ABF could have went after some of the market share, but they would still be facing the same issue with the pension, and OD, XPO and FDX would have been the real winners in a YRC bankruptcy not ABF or the Teamsters. And, I am considered a good man by most who really know me, so thank you!
Hey Turncoat, I have been personally "enlightened" and enjoy reading your posts. It must be quite a story how you became a "Turncoat" and came to ABF. I did a little google/mapquest and see that Millbrook, Al is close to Montgomery and you certainly must have been at the Montgomery terminals. Also, our (and your) Brothers over on the other board have mostly been banned from TB and really want to to join them in lively discussions over there. Take Care...
 
Hey Turncoat, I have personally come to be "enlightened" by your posts, but the brothers on Old School Teamsters want you to join their board! Most of them have been banned from TB and would like to address some of the issues that you bring to light.
Thanks...too many personal character assasinations over there. My opinion or point of view is unwelcome there, but they have some valid points as well. I like TB around contract time because pertinent news gets posted here sometimes before I see it otherwise. I always tell folks to vote their convictions when they get ballots. If we go on strike, I put on my sneakers and get a picket sign with em', if we ratify a deal, I put my boots on, go to work. I just don't see our Union doing any striking these days.
 
Thanks...too many personal character assasinations over there. My opinion or point of view is unwelcome there, but they have some valid points as well. I like TB around contract time because pertinent news gets posted here sometimes before I see it otherwise. I always tell folks to vote their convictions when they get ballots. If we go on strike, I put on my sneakers and get a picket sign with em', if we ratify a deal, I put my boots on, go to work. I just don't see our Union doing any striking these days.
good points..I don't see OUR Union doing any striking these days....just curious...how big is your terminal and how did you become a "Turncoat" ?
 
good points..I don't see OUR Union doing any striking these days....just curious...how big is your terminal and how did you become a "Turncoat" ?
Turncoat was what one of my YRC coworkers dubbed me when I told him I had gotten hired at ABF. He was a good friend and just retired last month from YRC after about 35 yrs. I was on the top of an 8 man board (it was 18 at the beginning of the merger, 10 had been layed off or quit) I started at ABF on the bottom of a 5 man board. It had grown to 6, but one retired this year, so we have 5 and a couple casuals, but will hire another full-time this summer in all probability. I have moved to number 2 in less than 7 years as 3 have retired. I'm running UE to ATL now...old man's job.
 
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