Dive Brief:
- Multiple union pension funds have again reached settlements over Yellow Corp. pension money, which still hinge once again on a bankruptcy court’s approval.
- The amounts total nearly $526 million, primarily due to obligations to the New York State Teamsters Conference Pension & Retirement Fund, according to an Aug. 28 statement by Yellow’s liquidating trustee, Daniel Golden.
- A court hearing is scheduled for Sept. 11.
Dive Insight:
In April, a bankruptcy judge rejected settlement amounts involving the Teamsters and International Longshoremen’s Association, citing nonconformity with an established legal methodology as parties disputed how much is owed.
A five-step methodology capped amounts, and those earlier settlements exceeded those figures, blocking the payouts.
Under the new deals, obligations to the New York Teamsters fund would be reduced by $26.5 million. Other reductions include millions of dollars less for pension funds tied to the Teamsters’ New Jersey-based Local 617 and ILA’s Local 1730.
The deals also include nearly $126.4 million to the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust Fund; $71.2 million to the Western Pennsylvania Teamsters and Employers Pension Fund; and nearly $5 million to the International Association of Machinists Motor City Pension Fund.
Yellow’s debtors — and MFN Partners, a hedge fund, along with its affiliates — have been involved in the dispute, and the liquidating trustee’s statement suggested that the settlements will avoid “years of continued litigation” and represent the best interests of the bankruptcy estates.
