The Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee (TNFINC) met with representatives of YRC Freight, USF Holland and New Penn this week to kick off negotiations for a new National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA) covering those companies. The parties exchanged initial proposals on national language items. Economic proposals were not exchanged at this time and will be discussed as negotiations progress.

For approximately eight years, the companies have been operating under a series of MOUs designed to address the YRCW’s companies’ financial distress in the wake of the recession and to allow it to restructure. Those MOUs expire on March 31, 2019. The union is now seeking to move past the MOU format and return to the traditional NMFA contract format. TNFINC Co-Chair and Teamsters National Freight Division Director Ernie Soehl stated, “We want to get these companies back to a normal NMFA-style contract and we made clear to the companies that we are not interested in concessions in these negotiations.” This week the parties didn’t waste any time and made some progress. Information was shared and tentative agreements on some language improvements were already reached. Negotiations will be complex and multiple issues will need to be addressed, particularly when the parties discuss economics. In this regard, Soehl stated “These negotiations will certainly be difficult and require a lot of work but we have a great union negotiating committee made up of experienced leaders from across the country. I am confident that we will get the best possible outcome for the members and the committee appreciates the membership’s continued support.”

Negotiations are scheduled to resume in early January.

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via email