Trucking: ABF, Teamsters reach tentative five-year deal

Staff -- Logistics Management, 2/1/2008

FORT SMITH, Ark.—Arkansas Best System subsidiary ABF Freight System Inc., a less-than-truckload carrier, said it has reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) on a new five-year labor agreement.

The terms of this agreement state that ABF’s Teamster employees will be covered by the National Freight Industry Standards Agreement that is now being ratified, according to an ABF statement. This agreement, added, ABF, will replace the National Master Freight Agreement that is set to expire on March 31.

ABF said it will continue to participate in and contribute to its current multi-employer pension plans as a result of this labor agreement. It also noted that it will continue to evaluate these plans and others with the Teamsters in an effort to provide secure benefits for its employees.

“This new contract provides us with greater labor flexibility and will allow ABF to more effectively serve the competitive LTL market, particularly the growing regional market,” said Ronald A. Davidson, Arkansas Best and ABF president and chief executive officer, in a statement.