©  2008 

Updated Oct. 2007

UPS Negotiations Update: Company and Central States Reach Tentative Agreement

The Teamsters National United Parcel Service Negotiating Committee has been advised that UPS has reached an agreement in principle with the Central States Pension Fund establishing conditions for a potential UPS withdrawal from Central States. The specific terms of the agreement are being finalized by the Company and Fund. As you have been advised, these matters are strictly between the Company and Central States. Neither the Negotiating Committee nor the International Union has any authority or legal right to participate in those negotiations.

It is important for it to be clearly understood that whatever agreement has been reached between Central States and UPS cannot be implemented unless it is accepted by the Negotiating Committee and ratified by the members. In short, the existence of the agreement between Central States and UPS does not mean that UPS is free to withdraw from Central States and establish a new, jointly administered Teamster pension plan for its employees. We have said from the beginning that we will not accept a proposal for UPS to withdraw from Central States unless we are satisfied that it would be in the best interest of all Teamsters who are participants in that Fund, not just the UPS employees. While we await official notification of the terms of the settlement, we continue to evaluate the effect on the future of Central States. We repeat what we have pledged before. The Negotiating Committee will not accept a new UPS contract that does not protect the retirement and health benefits of our members whether they are employed by UPS or by the many other companies that participate in the Central States Fund.
 
 

First U.S. Trucks Roll Into Mexico

The first U.S. truck to drive deep into Mexico rolled into that country on Friday, and a Mexican trucking group said it had concerns about the cross-border program, the Associated Press reported.

The Department of Transportation said a truck owned by El Paso, Texas, company Stagecoach Cartage entered Mexico via the at Nogales, Nogales, Ariz., border crossing Friday, to deliver a load of plastic resin to Obregon, Mexico, about 270 miles from the border, AP reported.

The Senate last week voted to prevent Mexican trucks from gaining wider access to U.S. highways, just as DOT’s cross-border pilot program took effect. (Click here for previous coverage.)

Last week a truck owned by Mexican carrier Transportes Olympic crossed the border at Laredo, Texas, and arrived in North Carolina under the free trade pilot program.

Meanwhile, a group representing private Mexican trucking carriers said it had competitive concerns about the program, AP reported.

Tirso Martinez, the group’s president, said Mexico’s Transportation Department has not resolved traffic bottleneck issues for Mexican trucks trying to cross the border and lacks the personnel to enforce a provision prohibiting U.S. truckers from carrying domestic Mexican cargo, AP said.

Under the program, both countries’ governments committed to allowing trucks from about 100 companies from the other country to travel anywhere inside their borders, from a previously allowed border zone.

 

Feds Order Recall of Chinese-Made Tires

Federal officials ordered a recall of tires made in China after their U.S. distribution company disclosed that the Chinese manufacturer had stopped including a safety feature that prevented tire treads from separating, the New York Times reported.

The tires were distributed by Foreign Tire Sales Inc., Union, N.J., and sold under the brand names Westlake, Telluride, Compass and YKS, in a range of sizes. They were sold as replacements and were not standard issue on vehicles, the Journal said.

The recall of 450,000 radial tires being used for pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans, the Times reported.  Neither report said they were used in Class 8 big rigs.

FTS had originally sought the federal government’s help with a recall, saying it did not have enough money to recall tires, the Times reported. Typically, importers are responsible for the cost of recalling defective foreign products.

But National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials said it remained the responsibility of the company to pay for the costs of the recall, the Times said.

A Pennsylvania accident last August occurred when the tire’s tread allegedly separated in a van carrying four people, causing it to crash. Two of the four were killed and one was seriously injured, the Journal reported.

Estes Revamps, Renames Air Forwarding Unit

Estes Express Lines said Friday that its Estes Air division will be reorganized as Estes Air Forwarding LLC, effective Sunday, July 1.

The new firm will provide air and ground services to meet time-definite transportation needs of its customers worldwide, the company said.

Established as Estes Air in 2003, the air unit has experienced a 70% annual growth rate, with its employees growing to 70 from 15 since last year.

 “Our vision is for Estes Air Forwarding to be a leader in the industry by offering flexible, customized transport and product rollout options that serve customers no matter where or how they need to ship,” Scott Fisher, chief operating of Estes Air Forwarding, said in a statement.

Estes, which runs truckload and less-than-truckload operations, is ranked No. 19 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.

TORONTO (June 14, 2007) — FedEx Freight Canada, the newly-formed subsidiary of FedEx Freight that provides intra-Canada and transborder less-than-truckload (LTL) service, today unveiled its new combined national headquarters and 48 dock-door service center, located on Wilson Avenue in Toronto.

Formerly Watkins Canada Express, FedEx Freight Canada officially began operations in February. The company provides all-points coverage to more than 7,000 cities in 10 of the country’s provinces, as well as transborder service for shipments to and from the U.S. and other locations.

“This new facility establishes a strong base from which FedEx Freight Canada will quickly expand its operations across the country,” said Grant Crawford, vice president and general manager, FedEx Freight Canada. “From British Columbia to Nova Scotia, we offer LTL customers the service excellence and reliability they’ve come to expect from the FedEx brand.”

In addition to Toronto, FedEx Freight Canada offers pickup and delivery service through a network of facilities that includes Vancouver, Winnipeg, London, Calgary and Montreal.

FedEx Freight Canada also plans to add service centers in Ottawa, Cambridge, Edmonton, Halifax, and Quebec City, and open expanded facilities in Winnipeg and Calgary during the next several months, the company reported.

Hoffa spoke at a news conference on Capitol Hill with members of Congress and truck safety advocates. They issued a study that they said showed how the Bush administration is dodging truck safety requirements in its zeal to open the border to unsafe Mexican trucks.

“George Bush is trying to do as much damage to this country as he can before he leaves office,” Hoffa said.

The Bush administration has said it will ignore Congress and instead rely on the Mexican government to ensure the safety of Mexican trucks traveling freely along our highways, Hoffa said.

Hoffa pointed out that the Transportation Department admits Mexico doesn't have drug testing facilities. He also said the inspector general says DOT can't trust its own database to flag Mexican truck drivers with traffic convictions.

“It's no secret that it's easy for an unqualified driver to get a Mexican driver's license,” Hoffa said.

The group also released a poll showing a clear majority — 57 percent — of the American people disapprove of allowing unsafe Mexican trucks to travel beyond the current commercial zones.

“The Bush administration is brazenly ignoring the will of the American people by planning to open our highways to Mexican trucks,” Hoffa said.

Hoffa was joined by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., Joan Claybrook of Public Citizen, Jackie Gillan of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and Josh Ulibarri, of Lake Research.

AN MATEO, Calif. (June 27, 2007) — Con-way Inc. has launched the Con-way Leadership Academy — a corporate initiative designed to accelerate and deepen formalized employee training and professional skills development throughout the enterprise.

The Con-way Leadership Academy provides education and training across a wide spectrum of functional and leadership roles, spanning operations, sales and management, according to the company.

The program has an extensive curriculum designed to develop and improve job skills and leadership abilities at every level within the organization, and across all of the company’s freight transportation and logistics business units.

“Con-way would not be the solid, progressive company that it is today without the expertise and exemplary skills of every one of our employees — and the extensive training that helps them be most effective for our customers,” said Douglas W. Stotlar, president and CEO, Con-way Inc. “The Con-way Leadership Academy is the next stage of our investment in our most valuable asset — our people. We want to ensure that they are not only able to meet the challenges of their current positions, but are always preparing to take the next step.”

The Con-way Leadership Academy has four layers of skills development emphasis: position fundamentals, leadership fundamentals, strategic leadership/advanced leadership preparation for highest achievement (ALPHA), and executive education. Each layer targets employees at specific stages of their careers.

Selected employees complete four, three-day courses — one every six months. Leadership fundamentals courses are held at five U.S. locations, including Portland, Ore.; Buena Park, Calif.; Aurora, Ill.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Dallas/Fort Worth; and internationally at company sites in Amsterdam, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (June 26, 2007) — Meridian IQ, a subsidiary of YRC Worldwide Inc., is changing its name to YRC Logistics “to better reflect the company’s expertise in logistics and its relationship to YRC Worldwide,” the company said today. YRC also announced that it has entered into a preliminary agreement to acquire Shanghai Jiayu Logistics Limited, one of the largest providers of less-than-truckload ground transportation services in China.

YRC Logistics will fulfill the global logistics services of the YRC Worldwide companies.

“We continue to add to the breadth and depth of our logistics services, and the new name, YRC Logistics, is a clear signal to our clients and the market, of our ever-increasing global footprint,” said Jim Ritchie, president and CEO, YRC Logistics. “Our aggressive growth strategies can deliver substantial benefits to our existing and prospective clients worldwide as we continue to make investments in the future. Changing our name clearly connects YRC Logistics with the scale and strength of YRC Worldwide.”

The global operations of YRC Logistics span 170 offices and 76 countries in Asia, Europe, North America and South America.

The Shanghai Jiayu acquisition means an additional 30,000 customers, 1,600 employees, 300 tractors and a network of over 3,000 vehicles under the YRC corporate roof.

“Initially this acquisition will allow us to build a service network that will provide greater reliability for our customers as they move shipments within China as well as provide seamless, end-to-end service for international movement in the critical U.S.-China trade lane,” said Bill Zollars, chairman, president and CEO of YRC Worldwide. “Our existing freight forwarding and logistics joint ventures have provided the base for this strategy. The acquisition of Jiayu will further advance this objective by significantly expanding our scale and capabilities in China.”

YRC Worldwide Inc. is the holding company for brands including Yellow Transportation, Roadway, Reimer Express, YRC Logistics, New Penn, USF Holland, USF Reddaway, and USF Glen Moore.

WASHINGTON (June 29, 2007) — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration today announced it is extending the comment period for its June 8 Federal Register notice concerning the cross-border trucking demonstration program until the close of business on July 9.

“In the spirit of transparency, we have extended the comment period to give the public more time to review supplemental information added to the docket and because of technical problems due to relocation of the docket computer servers, which interfered with viewing access,” John Hill, FMCSA administrator, said.

The docket, available 7 days a week and 24 hours a day, can be found at:  

 http://dms.dot.gov/search/document.cfm?docketid=28055&documentid=474659

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