The ABF Master Negotiating Committee has accepted the final contract offer from ABF Freight System following a strike authorization vote. The Central Region Local Cartage Agreement was the last of the 28 area supplements the ABF Master Negotiating Committee needed to finalize as part of the National Master Freight Agreement. The decision to accept ABF’s last offer was finalized following a strike authorization vote by the members covered by the Central Region Local Cartage Supplement.
About 77% of the members - nearly 1,900 drivers, dock workers and other local cartage employees in the Midwest – participated in the strike authorization vote, with 70% rejecting a strike, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said.
The committee then agreed to ratify the contract, which runs through March 31, 2018.
“We have now arrived at a point where, simply put, there is nothing left to negotiate with this employer and no desire for a strike in the Central Region based on the vote we received yesterday from the affected membership. The responsible course of action is to finalize the agreement,” said Gordon Sweeton, committee co-chairman.
According to ABF, a less-than-truckload carrier, the conclusion of negotiations on the Master Freight Agreement and all supplements will result in an estimated net savings for the company of between $55 million and $65 million per year. Savings will come from wage and vacation reductions and from work-rule and flexibility components of the contract, the company said.
“On behalf of all of the people and customers who depend upon ABF Freight, we are pleased that this final step in our lengthy contract negotiation process is now complete,” said Judy R. McReynolds, Arkansas Best president and CEO. “This new labor agreement follows several years of sacrifice from our non-union employees. As the transportation and logistics market continues to rapidly evolve, we are grateful that our union employees have also recognized the need for ABF Freight to operate much more efficiently so that we can better serve our customers every day.”
The agreement calls for a 7% wage reduction that will become effective on Sunday, Nov. 3. The reduction, however, will be recouped over the life of the agreement with incremental annual wage increases. The agreement also contains provisions to provide for bonuses in the event the company reaches certain national operating performance standards. The agreement does require the company to continue to participate in the same health, welfare and pension programs and provides for contribution increases in order to maintain benefit levels retroactive to Aug. 1.
“We believe that this agreement helps protect our members’ health, welfare and pension benefits and will also give the company the ability to compete in a very tough trucking environment, which is good for ABF and the long-term job security of our members. I would like to thank our ABF members for their patience and support during this difficult process.” Sweeton said.
