The national labor negotiating arm of the major unionized LTL trucking companies has named a new head negotiator.

Mark W. Rodgers, former Deputy Secretary for Labor & Management Relations for Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, will join the Motor Freight Carriers Assn. as Vice President of Industry Relations and Executive Director of Trucking Management Inc.
MFCA President and CEO Timothy Lynch said that Rodgers will succeed Arthur H. Bunte Jr. in the post. Bunte is retiring at the end of this year, but will continue to serve as a consultant to TMI.
Rodgers will serve as the lead negotiator and contract administrator for the LTL fleets covered by the National Master Freight Agreement: ABF Freight System, A-P-A Transport Corp., Consolidated Freightways, New Penn Motor Express, Roadway Express and Yellow Freight System. The current contract expires March 31, 2003.
Rodgers served Gov. Ridge from 1995 to 1998, when he joined the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce.
“Mark brings to MFCA a wealth of labor relations experience and a vision for what can be accomplished in strengthening the competitive position of unionized trucking when labor and management work toward a common goal,” said Lynch.