tries, and cannot be exported. It’s not like
manufacturing. So the Teamsters union
should be in a growth mode in trucking,
warehousing, distribution, rail, construction, waste, and public employment. In
today’s political and economic climate, that
won’t be easy, but it can be done with a
long-term plan in place and a leadership
capable of implementing it. It cannot be
done trading Teamster power for short-term gains, like Hoffa’s deal that let UPS
bust out of the Central States pension plan.
That was a crime.
UPS Freight is a critical piece of the plan.
So is rebuilding the master freight contract.
And organizing the non-union LTLs is
another piece of the strategy. The present
leadership has a short-term outlook—since
it’s a big challenge, they throw up their
hands and head for the golf course, where
they can meet up with trucking management. Can the union be rebuilt in freight
and trucking? Absolutely. But it won’t happen overnight, and it certainly won’t happen with the present leadership.
QYou have been skeptical of YRC Worldwide’s efforts to survive
through its series of restructured labor
agreements. How do you assess its
prospects? And have the rank and file sacrificed too much to keep the company alive?
AWhen the ship hits the reef, you can’t blame the galley slaves. It’s been poorly managed.
We’re all hoping YRC will survive. It may
depend on the pace of economic recovery.
The working Teamsters have done far more
than their share to make it possible. Right
now, they are about $11 per hour under
[National Master Freight Agreement levels]
on pensions and wages, and they’ve lost
additional contract protections that took
decades of Teamster power to win. I’d be
hard-pressed to name any other group of
American workers who have taken such a
big hit in their standard of living.
QABF Freight System, YRC’s chief union rival, sued YRC and the
Teamsters on grounds the two negotiated
their own agreements outside of the
National Master Freight Agreement. But
the suit was dismissed as having no legal
standing. Do you believe ABF has a case?
AWe said from the start that ABF didn’t have a case, and the
suit was promptly dismissed. But
ABF management isn’t stupid. They
got a lot of press and reached a lot
of Teamsters with their viewpoint.
They also exposed that Hoffa
approached them to offer them
concessions, if they would acquire
and merge with YRC. What genius
was Hoffa listening to on that one?
QLegislation was introduced last year to reform multi-
employer pension plans by requir-
ing the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corp. (PBGC) to take over the pen-
sion obligations of retirees of bank-
rupt companies. However, bills in
both houses went nowhere in the
last Congress. Should this be a
front-burner issue, and is there
political will to change the system?
AThis should be a front-burner issue. We are in danger of los-
ing pensions in this country. Not
just Teamsters, but millions of
workers, from teachers to industrial
workers.
