Trucking giant Yellow shuts down: The 99-year-old company which has almost 30,000 staff and 12,000 big-rigs ceases operations immediately - despite $700M COVID bailout

Daily Mail ^ | 7/30/23 | Harriet Alexander, Sophie Mann

[Aeneas2112]

That is common. Part of being in a union is that you can only strike when the union calls one. That’s part of why companies sign contracts with unions. Going out on strike without union authorization is called a ‘wildcat’ strike, and the idiots who do it can end up with BOTH union thugs and corporate goons after them.

[GaryCrow]

If you got $700 million in free money from the government during Covid and still can’t make a go of it then you’ve got problems bigger than a union. Blaming unions for mismanagement is no different than blaming racism every time some thug gets arrested for murder.

[Scrambler Bob]

Was the carrot of being able to keep the $700M too great to resist?
= = =

Yellow is just 1/2 of yellow/blue Ukraine.

Biden can just kick in 1 Billion. Chicken feed.

[Tupelo]

I think with enough moxie and family support, yes.
Check out this couple on Facebook. Now, they did start-up a couple of years ago, but so far they seem to be doing fine.
They now own 4 tractors, both driving one and employ 2 team drivers for one and will probably be selling the oldest tractor soon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmPzPaoLKW8

[Tupelo]

“Would you become an owner/operator in the US today?”

I doubt I could get a CDL at age 81 with CHF.
But yes I think I would. There may be opportunites that show up with Yellow Freight shutting down and I expect in a year or so you will find several successful owner/operators that used their knowledge and contacts in the industry to grab on to some of those trucks & trailers to get their start.

[Moltke]

The German system of apprenticeship training has nothing directly to do with unions.

OTOH, while still lower than pondscum, German unions are not as strike-happy as their French or British counterparts.

That keeps the union pain in check, somewhat.