Teamsters employed at ABF Freight System have voted to approve the national master portion of a new five-year agreement with the trucking company.

A majority of the supplements passed. The remaining supplemental agreements that require additional action cover various local work rules and other technical items and do not affect the major economic terms that are covered by the now-ratified master contract.

Voter turnout was strong, with more than 6,100 ballots cast and counted.

The contract calls for a 7% wage reduction, but the cut will be entirely recouped by the fifth year of the five-year contract.

"We understand the sacrifices our ABF members are making," said Gordon Sweeton, co-chairman of the National ABF Negotiating Committee. "We will work on obtaining approval of those supplements that were not approved."

The Teamster negotiating committees responsible for the supplements that were not approved by a majority of voting members will be talking with the members in those areas.

“We are very pleased that our Teamster employees have ratified the ABF NMFA, which is a critical step to putting ABF back on the path to profitability while still preserving the best-paying jobs and benefits in the industry,” said ABF Freight System president and CEO Roy Slagle. “We know this was a difficult decision for our union workforce, following many sacrifices made in recent years by our non-union employees, and we look forward to resolving the remaining supplements in the near term.”