Over the weekend, 112 YRC members of Teamsters Local 492, took the time to come down and have their voices heard through the secret ballot. That works out to almost 80% turnout of the 142 eligible YRC members in New Mexico which include Albuquerque and Farmington, and a few more than the last vote which was a mail-in ballot. Of those who voted, over 85% voted Yes to ratify the current extension of the MOU which will carry them into 2019. The final tally was 96 Yes and 16 No. Thanks to all Local 492 members who took the time to vote.
Teamsters nationwide working for YRC Worldwide Inc. (YRCW) have also approved the tentative agreement aimed at protecting more than 30,000 jobs. 18,581 Teamsters at YRCW voted this weekend, this latest proposal was approved by a vote of 12,267 (66%) to 6,314 (34%).
Workers rejected a prior company proposal 61% to 39%. Over 75% of eligible members had voted with 19,651 votes counted, with a total of 12,028 voting to reject the deal, verses 7623 voting for ratification. Local 492 Teamsters had voted 51-51 for the prior deal.
Vote results can be seen here.
“This was a very difficult vote for our members, but in the end they did what they believe will give this company the best chance to stay in business and protect their jobs,” said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President and Co-Chairman of the Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee (TNFINC). “Now we will hold management’s feet to the fire to make sure our members’ jobs are protected and redouble our efforts to make sure this company handles its finances responsibly.”
The plan will provide a pathway for substantial debt reduction and refinancing initiatives that will permit the company to protect jobs.
“Once again, our members’ sacrifices are providing the lifeline for the company,” said Tyson Johnson, Director of the Teamsters National Freight Division and Co-Chairman of TNFINC. “Now we fully expect the company to successfully conclude the deleveraging and refinancing components of the restructuring to once and for all put this company on a sustainable path."
The agreement approved this weekend contained significant improvements over the company’s prior rejected proposal.
On Jan. 9, a ballot count revealed that an initial company proposal was soundly rejected by over 19,000 Teamster members who voted over several weeks.
