Teamsters at TForce Freight ratify national agreement

Teamsters have overwhelmingly ratified a new national contract at TForce Freight by 81 percent. The five-year master agreement provides members with significant improvements to wages and benefits, and safeguards against subcontracting and technology.

“Teamsters at TForce have set a powerful example for how to take on the employer and win a strong agreement. Over the next five years, TForce workers will continue to establish better standards for freight under this contract, including the most lucrative economic package in the industry and vital protections for technology, pension, health care, and safety,” said Sean M. O’Brien, Teamsters General President and Chair of the Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee (TNFINC).

The agreement will go into effect August 1, 2023, and expire July 31, 2028. Contract highlights include:

• Wage Increases: The highest wage increases in the history of the Teamsters’ national freight contract. Full-time local cartage and clerks will receive increases of $4.50 per hour over the life of the agreement. Road drivers will receive industry-leading increases to their current mileage rate over the length of the deal, starting at $0.7557 in August 2023 and increasing to $0.8257 by January 2028. The agreement eliminates split wage increases and two-tier wages.

• Health, Welfare, and Pension Contributions: TForce is required to increase its contributions to health, welfare, and pension plans. These contributions will provide vital support for members' health care and retirement needs.

• Technology Safeguards: The agreement includes provisions to safeguard members' rights and well-being from invasive technology. It prevents discipline from cameras and prohibits the use of robots, driverless vehicles, drones, or other technology to move freight or replace drivers, clerks, or dockworkers.

• Additional Holiday: Martin Luther King Day has been added as a paid holiday.

• Safety: All newly purchased equipment and vehicles must have air conditioning.

• Discretionary Days and Vacation: Starting January 1, 2024, two additional discretionary days will be added to the contractual floor, increasing the minimum number of paid days from four to six. There will be no blackout dates.

• Work Rule Protections: Shuttle and drayage work will not count towards the guarantee covered under the agreement. Road drivers will only perform road work and cannot work the docks except for the current mini-hub operations. TForce must have approval from the Teamsters for any other expansion of mini-hub operations.

• Protections Against Subcontracting: Road drivers would be protected against subcontracting. Penalties have been put in place to ensure rail and subcontracting come back into the bargaining unit.

“Our members at TForce have spoken loud and clear, and they overwhelmingly agree this new contract will deliver massive economic gains and non-economic improvements,” said John A. Murphy, Teamsters National Freight Director and TNFINC Co-Chair. “The entire union thanks our lead negotiators Kris Taylor and Ed Thompson and the full negotiating team for their efforts to bargain an industry-defining agreement. Most of all, we thank the tireless and dedicated rank-and-filers who served on the negotiating committee to improve the lives of their fellow Teamsters at TForce."

Teamsters voted in-person last week and ballots were counted on Sunday. The agreement covers approximately 7,800 Teamsters at 126 local unions throughout the U.S.