Teamsters Union calls on government to reform corporate bankruptcy laws

By Sarah Lizee

Olympia, Wash., Aug. 8 – The Teamsters Union is now calling on the federal government to reform corporate bankruptcy laws following Yellow Corp.'s filing for Chapter 11 this week, the union said in a press release issued Tuesday.

“Corporate bankruptcy legislation in the U.S. is a joke,” Teamsters general president Sean M. O'Brien said in the release.

“The rules are written to favor corporations in this country, not working people. We see this with federal labor laws as well with workers fighting an unequal system for more than 400 days to get a union contract.

“Workers need real relief and protection.”

The union said it is calling on Congress and the White House to pass and enact new legislation that prioritizes workers throughout the corporate bankruptcy process.

It’s also calling for new regulations to protect existing collective bargaining agreements to guarantee contracts are honored on the other side of bankruptcy by any future employers.

“With the Yellow bankruptcy filing late Sunday, rank-and-file Teamsters are reminded that workers at the 99-year-old freight company are, in fact, Yellow's largest uncredited creditor,” the union said.

“Since 2009, Teamsters sacrificed more than $5 billion in wage and benefit concessions to keep the company moving.

“These givebacks included more than $3.7 billion in voluntary wage cuts and more than $1.4 billion in pension benefit reductions.”

Yellow still owes hundreds of millions of dollars to the federal government in bailout money and more than $750 million to Apollo Global Management, the union said.

“Despite its extraordinary debt, Yellow owes more to the workers who kept it running than to anyone else,” O'Brien said.

“Yet existing bankruptcy rules encourage corporate vultures to pick apart workers' bones, shred union contracts, and kill off companies.”

Yellow is a provider of regional, national and international shipping services based in Nashville. The company filed bankruptcy on Aug. 6 under Chapter 11 case number 23-11069.

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