YRC has ceased its Canadian operations and filed for bankruptcy in the United States.
Teamster local unions will do everything in their power to enforce the collective agreement and secure the monies owed to workers. Each local union will be taking action against the company individually.
It’s a tragic turn of events for workers – one made worse by how the company handled the apparent closure.
YRC failed to provide any formal notice of closure to Canadian workers or local unions, as required under the terms of the collective agreements. In many cases, workers were told on Wednesday not to show up on Monday, without giving any further information.
The company also dismissed key managers before fully shutting down, limiting workers’ ability to get answers.
The near-total lack of communication shows how little YRC respected workers who gave so much to their employer.
Over the past 20 years, YRC became one of the most mismanaged companies in the trucking industry in the United States, burning through hundreds of millions of dollars in US government loans while paying out tens of millions of dollars annually to executives. Unfortunately, the situation in the US has consequences on Canadian operations.
Many YRC workers spent their lives at the company. They did not deserve to be kept in the dark and treated arbitrarily. They deserved better.
Unlike the company, Teamster local unions have been in constant communication with members over the past few days. Because of the highly chaotic shutdown, the union does not have all the answers at this time. Workers at the company should still contact their local union if they have any questions. We will have more answers as the days go on.
Rest assured that all legal remedies will be exhausted.
YRC may have given up, but the Teamsters have not.
