via Teamster.org | The Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee (TNFINC) and YRC Freight, New Penn and Holland met this week for another round of bargaining for a new national agreement to succeed the agreement that is set to expire on March 31, and more progress was made.

Although the parties resolved most of the easy issues in the early weeks, they are now starting to address the more difficult ones. National Freight Director Ernie Soehl said, “This week we took up a number of challenging language issues with regard to video cameras, driverless trucks, discipline, family and medical leave, moving expenses and sick leave. We had spirited discussions with the company but eventually succeeded in resolving most national language issues. A lot of work still remains to be done, however, including the difficult issues of economics and operations.”

The industry-wide driver shortage also remains a central topic of discussion.

“We pointed out to the company that when we start getting into economics, one obvious way to help with driver recruitment and retention is to raise wage rates,” Soehl said.

The parties have multiple weeks scheduled to continue negotiations.