Arkansas Best To Appeal $750 Million Teamsters Lawsuit
by January 18, 2011 7:00 pm 73 views
ABF Freight System announced Wednesday it has appealed the dismissal of its lawsuit against competitor YRC and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
On Nov. 1, Arkansas Best Corp. filed a lawsuit seeking up to $750 million in financial damages from alleged violations of a National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA) by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and others.
YRC Worldwide, the largest less-than-truckload carrier in the U.S., received three rounds of wage and benefit concessions from the Teamsters, with the most recent announced Nov. 1 that includes up to $350 million annually through 2013. Previously, the Teamsters voted to approve a 15% pay cut among unionized YRC drivers. ABF has been unable to receive similar concessions from the union.
On Dec. 16, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Webber Wright (Eastern District of Arkansas) dismissed the suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
“We have said all along that ABF took itself out of the National Master Freight Agreement and therefore has no right to bring the suit,” Brad Raymond, Teamsters General Counsel, said in a statement following Wright’s ruling. “The bench dismissal should send a strong message to ABF that its attempts to interfere with the contractual arrangement between YRCW and its Teamsters-represented employees must end.”
ABF issued this statement in announcing the appeal: “ABF filed an appeal today in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (St. Louis) from the December 20, 2010, decision dismissing the lawsuit filed by ABF in November, 2010, against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and various other parties. ABF respectfully disagrees with the court’s decision last month, dismissing the suit which seeks to declare modifications to the National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA) on behalf of YRC Worldwide subsidiaries null and void. Therefore, we have chosen to exercise our right to file an appeal.”
ABF, the largest subsidiary of Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp., is the nation’s second-largest less-than-truckload carrier. The company operates in North America, with service centers all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Globally, the carrier serves 250 ports in more than 130 countries.
Michael Tilley with our content partner, The City Wire, is the author of this article. He can be reached by email at [email protected].