The vote will follow a Jan. 8 meeting at Teamsters headquarters in Washington, D.C., for local leaders to go over details of the 5-year pact, the union added. Negotiators are recommending its ratification.

The new contract "provides good wage increases and protects members\' jobs and their health, welfare and pension benefits. It also allows the unionized freight companies to better compete with the non-union companies and gives the unionized companies opportunities to grow business in new areas," lead union bargainer Tyson Johnson, director of the union\'s National Freight Division, said in a statement.

He added the pact improves the grievance procedure for workers and addresses the issue of excessive overtime, though he was not specific.

The contract is with TMI, Trucking Management, Inc., the primary multi-employer bargaining arm of the unionized freight trucking industry. Unionized TMI member firms include Yellow Transportation, Roadway Express, USF Holland and New Penn.

Pact details were withheld pending the meeting in D.C., but dissidents at Teamsters for a Democratic Union discussed some provisions. TDU conceded the proposal "secures the $1 an hour needed to protect our pensions and health benefits.

"It also contains concessions that severely weaken our contract," TDU claimed.

Among the alleged concessions: Letting "utility drivers" do both road and city work, with a slight pay premium, reportedly of $1 an hour; permission for the trucking companies to use "low-wage casual" drivers, part-timers who would earn $14 an hour, and; a 4-year pay progression scale for new hires, though the new hires would start at 85%, not 75%, of base pay.

This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.