ABF Freight System Files Suit

ABF Freight System, Inc. Files Suit

A press release that hit the wire earlier this week announced that ABF Freight System, Inc., MoveBuilder's primary transportation provider, filed suit against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and other parties for violating the National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA)— a bargaining agreement that covers most unionized trucking employees. The suit was filed in response to labor deals reached between YRC Worldwide and the IBT. ABF claims these labor deals violate the NMFA, giving YRC a lower cost structure and as a result, an unfair advantage in the market. 

ABF Files Legal Actions Against Teamsters, YRC Companies

ABF SEEKS IMMEDIATE RESOLUTION, FINANCIAL DAMAGES FOR VIOLATIONS OF NATIONAL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT IN AN AMOUNT ESTIMATED TO BE APPROXIMATELY $750 MILLION
ABF DEMANDS LEVEL PLAYING FIELD CONSISTENT WITH INTENT AND PURPOSE OF NMFA

(FORT SMITH, Ark., Nov. 1, 2010) — ABF Freight System, Inc.® (ABF), the largest subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corporation (Nasdaq: ABFS) and a leading less-than-truckload transportation company, has filed legal actions today against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and other parties including several YRC Worldwide subsidiaries (Nasdaq: YRCW) for violation of the National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA), the collective bargaining agreement covering most unionized trucking employees in the country.

ABF today filed a grievance under the NMFA and also an accompanying lawsuit, naming as parties the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; the Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee; Teamsters Locals 373 (Fort Smith, AR) and 878 (Little Rock, AR), individually and as representatives of a class of all Teamsters Locals that are parties to the NMFA; YRC Inc.; New Penn Motor Express Inc.; USF Holland Inc.; and Trucking Management, Inc.

"It is ABF's firm belief that the three rounds of concessions granted to YRC – with the latest deal just ratified last week – by the IBT are in violation of the NMFA that has been in effect since April 2008," said Wesley Kemp, President and Chief Executive Officer, ABF Freight System, Inc. "The NMFA applies equally to every company that signed it and quite simply, with these three amendments, it does not do that. We need a long-term, industry-wide solution that is fair to all NMFA parties. We have the obligation to our employees, to our customers and to Arkansas Best shareholders to enforce our rights under the NMFA and compete on the same playing field with our industry peers." 

... Read more in the ABF Press Room.