FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — The abrupt closure of freight giant Yellow Corp. has left 85 local union members without a job, according to Teamster Local 414 president Ehren Gerdes.
The Nashville, Tennessee-based company’s decision to shut down – the national Teamsters union and multiple media reports say the company is headed for bankruptcy – caused the closing of the YRC terminal on South Maplecrest Road in New Haven and the USF Holland terminal on Merchant Road in Fort Wayne.
Of the 85 union members affected by those closings, the majority were CDL-licensed drivers with several dockworkers and clerks a part of the mix, Gerdes said.
As the shock wears off, drivers are showing up to local Teamsters 414 on Cass Street to find out where they stand with their pensions, 401Ks and any redirect on job opportunities.
A notice on the local Teamsters Facebook page states the Central States Pension Fund was terminated on July 23 and “active members stopped earning additional pension benefit accruals on that date.”
There is “no self payment option for maintaining future pension coverage.”
Health benefits will end on midnight Aug. 5.
Gerdes was telling his drivers to show up for work Monday when he got an email over the weekend from Holland that operations would close down at noon on Sunday, he told WANE.
Gerdes addressed the pension fund in a text message to WANE 15 Wednesday morning:
Yellow Teamster Member Pensions are safe, they are part of a large multi employer Teamster Pension Fund, Central States pension fund. The company did not make June or July payments to the pension, but all previous pension accruals will be received by members at retirement. The health insurance was not paid by Yellow Corp. for June or July, but the Teamster Health fund, TeamCare, gave the members coverage for June, July, until August 5, 2023. After August 5, 2023 at 11:59 PM, a self payment Cobra option will be offered to affected members. We have been successful at offering other Teamster job referrals to members, or retirement if the member is of age.
Ehren Gerdes – Teamsters Local 414 President
One local labor leader, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that Yellow was “one of the good guys” and that the trucking industry has had its share of ups and downs.
At the local Teamsters headquarters, WANE was told Tuesday afternoon that local Teamsters business agents were in a meeting and calls to the national Teamsters Union have not been returned.
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