versation with shippers across the nation. Clowdis says he
doubts that YRC will be able to generate the needed funds
through its earnings power and that it may have to resort to
borrowing to raise the capital.
Hoffa is unapologetic about the process and the outcome.
“We feel we did [our] best given the circumstances of bal-
ancing need, preserving jobs, and maintaining decent wages
and health benefits,” Hoffa said in an interview with DC
VELOCITY. “It is easy to second guess, but I don’t think you
can put a price tag on livelihoods of 30,000 families.”
Hoffa declined comment on whether YRC would be able
to resume full pension contributions next year. He said the
company has made its operations as lean as possible and is
in a “good position to take advantage of the upswing” in
freight volumes when it occurs.
Hoffa said the union’s overarching goal has been to help
YRC “bridge the recession” and that steps such as the pension freeze were needed to “provide the company time to
weather the storm.”
Dubious anniversary
All of this has been playing out against the backdrop of a
dubious anniversary for organized labor in the trucking
business. In 1980, Congress deregulated the industry, free-
ing truckers to compete against each other to provide the
best service at the lowest price. The open market soon
would give shippers the upper hand in rate negotiations
with carriers, a grip they’ve never relinquished.
Ticking time bomb
The crisis at YRC has exposed what some consider a ticking
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