Teamsters bless YRC’s exit from short-haul business
The Teamsters union has agreed to allow YRC Worldwide
Inc. to proceed with a realignment of its less-than-truck-load (LTL) operations that will allow the carrier to effectively exit the shorter-haul delivery business.
In a memo dated March 16, Gordon Sweeton, a
Teamsters international vice president overseeing the
union’s response to YRC’s proposed change of operations,
said the Overland Park, Kan.-based carrier could implement
the change as soon as April 8. A YRC spokeswoman said the
company would implement the change on that date.
YRC proposed in January to remove its long-haul carrier,
YRC Freight, from the market for freight moving 500 miles
or less. The objective for the carrier was to streamline its
operations, reduce its payout for damage claims by minimizing “touches” of the freight, and to return it to its core
competency of hauling freight over longer distances.
As part of the proposal, the short-haul freight would be
turned over to the company’s three regional units: Holland,
Reddaway, and New Penn. However, in a strange twist, the
mid-March memo from Sweeton states that the company
has repeatedly pledged it will not turn over any of the
freight to “subsidiary or sister companies.”
Ken Paff, national organizer for dissident group
Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) and a frequent
critic of Teamster policies, said the provision was included
for “popular consumption” and that it is “180 degrees
opposite of reality.” Paff said YRC executives have said
repeatedly that the idea is to divert the freight from the
national operations to the three regional carriers. One of
the regional carriers, Reddaway, is mostly non-union.
newsmakers
John M. Hill has joined St. Onge Co. as a director. Hill will
focus on manufacturing, distribution, and warehousing
systems and operations. … Dematic, a supplier of intelligent logistics systems, has hired Robert Nilsson as vice
president and general manager of software and supply
chain intelligence. … The Material Handling Equipment
Distributors Association has announced its new board
members for 2012. They are Al Boston, CEO of AK
Material Handling Systems; Doug Carson, vice president
of marketing/sales for Fallsway Equipment Co.; Buddy
Smith, CEO of Carolina Material Handling Services Inc.;
and Tim Tyler, president/CEO of
Borroughs Corp. … Intelligrated, a North
American-owned automated material
handling solutions provider, has appointed Tom Sullivan to the position of national sales manager for the company’s Real
Time Solutions order fulfillment systems
product line. … Sanjay Sarma, a professor
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Mike
Rose, vice president of supply chain visibility for Johnson
& Johnson Health Care Systems Inc., have been elected
chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the
EPCglobal board of governors. … Steve Hamilton, CEO
and president of ChemLogix LLC, will join a delegation
of Pennsylvania business leaders and Governor Tom
Corbett on a trade mission to Europe. … Ann M. Drake,
SULLIVAN
CEO of DSC Logistics, has been selected by the Kellogg
School of Management at Northwestern University to
receive the 2012 Alumni Merit Award. …
Invata Intralogistics has named Steven
O’Brien senior account executive. …
Jennifer Lachenman has joined Lucas
Systems as vice president of product
strategy and business alliances. … Jervis
B. Webb Co. has named John Carney
executive director of information technology. … Kenco, a provider of distribution, warehousing, and transportation services and solutions, has
announced three executive promotions: Brad Liddie,
vice president, operations (Stryker-Medical); Jason
Minghini, vice president, best practices; and Shanon
Weber, vice president, operations (Green Mountain
Coffee Roasters). … David Judson has joined MIQ
Logistics as a director of business development. … NFI, a
supply chain solutions company, has appointed Rob
Barron to the position of executive vice president. …
LACHENMAN
GOUGER
Metro Ports has appointed Troy Gouger
to the position of general manager, West
Gulf operations. … Jonathan Routledge
has been promoted to the position of
vice president, sales and marketing, at
Purolator International, a provider of
U.S.-Canada logistics services.
