YRC Worldwide Inc. announced that its Yellow Transportation, Roadway, Holland and New Penn business units have reached a tentative agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to modify the current labor agreement for employees covered by the National Master Freight Agreement. Details surrounding the modification are expected to be available next week following further discussions with labor leadership and the affected employees.

Bill Zollars, Chairman, President and CEO of YRC Worldwide, commented, "We have already taken a number of steps to strengthen our financial position and improve both our profitability and our competitiveness, including the continued successful integration of Yellow Transportation and Roadway, the exchange of equity for notes through private transactions, modification of our non-union pension and retirement plans, sales of excess properties and, most recently, the commencement of a $100 million tender offer to purchase outstanding notes. While these efforts have been effective, the worsening macroeconomic crisis in America and the increasingly critical state of our industry mean that we must take additional measures."

Zollars continued, "The industry decline in volumes and pricing is continuing in the current quarter, affecting our profits and cash flow and our ability to pay down debt from operating funds. The modification to the agreement, which we expect to be ratified in December, will establish a more competitive cost structure allowing us to accelerate our market share recovery and capitalize on opportunities for future growth, while at the same time, defending the long-term prospects and job security of our employees."

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary action," said Mike Smid, President and CEO of YRC North American Transportation. "In that regard, our employees should be proud of the professionalism and seriousness that the Teamsters took on all fronts in their approach in reaching this tentative agreement. We look forward to continuing to work with them to protect the future of our employees and our company. At the end of the day, we have the interests of our employees and our customers in common, and together we are working hard to make our business more competitive and improve our position going forward."