Yellow (YRC)

You are correct that no one has accepted responsibility. The unions may of had very little to do with whta is on the horizon for YRC, but the majority falls on the managments shoulders.

 

Well, now they couldnt afford it, they are trying to buy another house to replace the one they lost, another car, and no credit card is useable.

 

Walmart private fleet

Superior Carriers

Ryder Intergrated Logistics

I have a post / thread : from walmart to superior carriers (in favorite companies section check it out for some insight....

 

I think that Yellow had success buying Saia and Jevic and then spinning them back out. Roadway owned much of their own real estate and was debt free. I think that Yellow was planning on converting the deeds to long term leases and then spinning Roadway back out. Well, you couldn't give truck terminals away right now, let alone ones that are 40+ years old.

On the Roadway end, I think the deal happened for a few reasons. Galen R passed away and his kids wanted out. Other long term Roadway shareholders, who had been burned by the RPS debacle, wanted to cash in. Roadway was actually on firm financial footing before the deal and was beginning to be very progressive in getting the union members involved in the company's success.

This one was a bad business deal, and definitely not the union's fault. Anyone who says it was the union's fault is just not aware of the situation. The YRC management has never put this on the union. I don't want to throw dirt on the grave because they are not dead yet, but the loss of those good paying jobs is just sooo sad (not just the drivers and dockworkers, but mechanics, management, sales and back office jobs, too).

 

When Yellow bought Saia and Jevic they just about ruined two fine companies then spun them off. Saia had operated in the 80's and Jevic has always been profitable. Yellow sucked the life and money out of them and tossed them. Now Saia is working hard to become profitable and Jevic is out of business. This is probably rumor but its been said that when Yellow bought Jevic they didnt have the owner have any kind of non compete. Thus we have New Century and Jevic lost all their good people to New Century.

 

Unions did a good job for their workers and organized crime but their corruption and constant need to get more flesh out of a company when conditions did not warrant it speaks volumes on what they have become. No better then the hierarchy of Swift,Werner, or Covenant. If you look at the attitude of the UAW in the recent bailout it is clear that Companies will have to fold rather then deal with the burden to the books that unions have become.

The socialist dinosaur that is the "union" has no place in a free society. And if you think that improving the lives of a few while costing others more to support those lifestyles is the answer then I guess you should go work for a trucking outfit run by the feds or the state because they will be the only ones left. The free market will get rid of the rest.

Unions will only survive long term where the pensions and sweetheart deals can be supported by higher taxes and no competition. And as more states go broke under the fiscal weight of their unions even those will disappear.

 

Unions have no culpability?

You don't think that the high cost of operating under a union shop has anything to do with why and what business decisions are made? or why their terminals are so old and warn out?

I did not see non-union automakers coming to Washington looking for a bailout because the bloated pay from the CEO on down to the janitor was putting them out of business.

Entitlement pay just does not work. You make a buck you pay a buck, not a buck fifty because the contract says you have to. Why can't the socialists and the greedy CEO's figure this out?

 

Having been involved with union carriers for most of my life, I have to agree with most of what BIGBLUE says.
If you take a long look at the non-union companies most of them are operating at a profit. Maybe not as in past years due to the economy. And they take pretty good care of their employees. But the employees are required to work for a paycheck. When I took my first job with a non-union company it was a culture shock in regard to work ethics. And, NO, I am not saying nor am I suggesting that union workers don't work, most of them do and they carry the ones who don't.
My husband is a retired teamster and that's a whole other story. I also was for a short period of time.
One time a driver friend of my husbands stopped to pick him up for a union meeting to see if the company they were working for was going to strike. They were down to a dozen union employees at the time. I asked the guy why they would strike as they might shut the terminal down and all would be out of jobs. I've never forgotten this, his reply was, they owe us. My answer was the only thing they "owe" you is a days pay for an honest days work. When's the last time you did that? He didn't speak to me for years. Oh well...
Hopefully Yellow/Roadway can pull some rabbits out of the hats and survive. Too many people would suffer for the greed of a few.