Arkansas Best Files Legal Action Against The IBT & YRC Worldwide

Arkansas Best

filed a contractual grievance and an accompanying lawsuit against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and YRC Worldwide

for violation of the National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA), the collective bargaining agreement covering most unionized trucking employees in the US. The Arkansas-based carrier says that the three rounds of concessions granted to YRC Worldwide (the latest deal just ratified last week) by the IBT are in violation of the NMFA that has been in effect since April 2008. Arkansas Best's law suit asserts that the NMFA applies equally to every company that signed it. Therefore, the unilateral agreements reached between YRC Worldwide and the IBT violate the NMFA. Arkansas Best wants the court to create an appropriate grievance review committee to hear the grievance and resolve the dispute, or to have the contract amendments benefiting only YRC Worldwide declared null and void by the court. Arkansas Best is also seeking financial damages in an amount estimated to be $750 MM by the time the NMFA is set to expire on March 31, 2013. ABFS is trading flat at $26.30