O’Brien: “As Yellow’s Biggest Creditor, Workers Need to Be Put First”

(WASHINGTON) – The Teamsters Union is calling for the Senate to investigate the unfolding bankruptcy at Yellow Corp., following today’s special Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on corporate manipulation of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

At the hearing, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) called out Yellow, pointing to the company’s attempts to expedite liquidation of its assets to evade responsibility for its mismanagement at the expense of workers.

“After a company files for Chapter 11, employees risk losing their livelihoods, health benefits, and pensions through no fault of their own. These are things that workers have worked hard for and have earned,” Sen. Klobuchar said during the hearing. “This issue has become relevant to my state because just last month, Yellow Corp., one of the largest LTL carriers in the country, filed for bankruptcy. This bankruptcy jeopardizes the livelihood and health benefits of many hardworking Minnesotans, including 480 Minnesota Teamsters.”

The Teamsters demand a comprehensive investigation, calling on Senators Dick Durbin and Bernie Sanders to exclusively hold hearings before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee to look into Yellow’s bankruptcy.

“More disturbing details of corruption, greed, and graft continue to emerge at Yellow. We call upon Senator Sanders and Senator Durbin to begin hearings,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “Yellow approved millions in executive bonuses in June at the same exact time that they were voluntarily choosing not to pay millions in worker health care and pension benefits. Workers in this country need real protections against corporations who game the system. We need real reform now that puts workers first in this process.”

The timing of Yellow’s bankruptcy filing and the unusual steps it has taken while controlling the bankruptcy as a debtor-in-possession warrant scrutiny. An expedited liquidation would preclude a potential purchase of Yellow’s assets from any party that may want to re-establish operations, which would benefit the economy, thousands of workers and their communities, and American taxpayers.

“Yellow is trying to fast track liquidation. Meanwhile, more than 22,000 union workers are out of work after sacrificing more than $5 billion over the past 14 years through wage and benefit concessions, a fact the company would prefer to conceal from the American public and the bankruptcy courts,” said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman. “We haven’t had bankruptcy reform in this country for nearly two decades. We need to take this opportunity to right the wrongs at Yellow and prevent them from happening again.”

Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.2 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org to learn more and follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

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