New labor deal between ABF and its Teamsters members is ratified

After coming to terms on a new tentative agreement in early June, ABF Freight System, the nation’s seventh-largest less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier with $2.95 billion in revenue last year, said late last week that its new five-year ABF National Master Freight contract with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters was “overwhelmingly ratified” by its ABF Teamster-represented employees.

ABF officials said that this new deal provides its Teamsters employees with increased wages and benefits, two additional sick days, and a paid Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, among other benefits.

ABF added that it also negotiates 27 regional supplemental agreements as part of the bargaining process with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

“Voting results show that 25 of the 27 supplements also passed. Negotiating teams from ABF and the IBT met on Friday and reached new tentative agreements on the two outstanding supplements,” it said. “Voting by Teamster employees for those two supplements will take place next week. It remains business as usual at ABF as the negotiating teams work through the final two remaining supplements. ABF employees will continue to work under terms of the current contract during this process. Additional information regarding the remaining two supplements will be provided when available.”

Following the parties coming to terms on a tentative deal in early June, ABF said that the Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee (TNFINC) and ABF sent out terms of the new deal to approximately 8,600 ABF truck drivers, dock workers and other members nationwide. The current five-year agreement expires June 30.

As previously reported, once ratified, the Teamsters said the proposed five-year contract will provide members with wage increases and improvements to benefits and working conditions, according to the union.

Teamster representatives are scheduled to meet in Chicago next week to review the tentative agreement before sending it to the membership for a ratification vote.

“At the start of negotiations, we promised to fight like hell for our members at ABF. I can confidently say that we did just that. This tentative agreement is a testament to our hard work, strength and determination at the bargaining table,” said John A. Murphy, Teamsters Freight Division director who spearheaded the talks.

“I want to thank the entire negotiating team for their hard work and commitment throughout the bargaining process, especially our rank-and-file members who served on the committee,” Murphy added.

On May 12, the Teamsters said that talks with ABF, had resumed but “the parties currently remain far apart on economics.” While details are scant, this final agreement must have resolved or mitigated those issues.

The final hurdles involved use of outside non-union transportation, driverless trucks and inward-facing dash cameras – all historically non-negotiable items for the Teamsters.

With more than 8,600 union employees, ABF is the third-largest Teamsters employer after UPS and Yellow Corp. Those ABF workers are entitled to roughly a 2% annual increase in wages. ABF workers also enjoy a profit-sharing deal that pays up to 3% more a year. That side deal has kicked in each of the last two years because of the favorable pricing environment in the LTL industry and other factors.