ABF Will Appeal Court Ruling in YRC, Teamsters Case

ABF Freight System said it will appeal an unfavorable decision in its lawsuit against YRC Worldwide and the Teamsters Union over contract issues.

ABF filed a notice of appeal in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals following a decision last month in which U.S. District Court found the company failed to prove the union and YRC violated the National Master Freight Agreement.

The dispute centers on an agreement between YRC and the union on a 15% pay cut in 2009.

“We continue to believe in the strength of our case,” ABF said on its website, without additional details on the nature of the appeal. The timing of this next appeals process is uncertain but is expected to take many months.

ABF initially brought the lawsuit in November 2010, after the company’s workers rejected a 15% pay cut agreed to by management and the union.

Last year, District Court Judge Susan Webber Wright ruled against ABF, prompting an appeal to the 8th Circuit Court that was won by the less-than-truckload subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corp.

In its earlier decision, the appeals court sent the case back to Judge Wright for further review, prompting the Aug. 1 decision this year in her court that again favored YRC and the Teamsters union.

The National Master Freight Agreement in the past has covered unionized LTL workers.

When the current contract was negotiated in 2008 talks, ABF negotiated separately from YRC’s national and regional units and later signed a contract with the Teamsters union.

Last month, ABF again said it would negotiate separately in the next round of talks to replace a contract expiring on March 31.