Trucks bring freight to the center, 10074 Princeton Glendale Road, and goods are combined and loaded on trailers for their end destination.
This newspaper first learned in March that YRC Freight planned to close in May three U.S. break bulk terminals, including the one in Butler County. YRC Freight also planned to close 29 end-line terminals nationwide.
Additionally YRC Freight has an end-line terminal in West Chester Twp., at 9991 Commerce Park Drive, for trucks to service runs in the Cincinnati region that is staying open. The city operation will still receive freight destined for Cincinnati, and collect freight from Cincinnati region customers to distribute nationwide.
The distribution center job cuts included union and non-union jobs, as well as people already on temporary lay off by the national freight carrier, according to union officials and workers.
Many jobs cut were for dock workers.
There are some opportunities for laid off dock workers who get their Commercial Driver’s License training within 60 days to get a job as a truck driver for the city operation, Lewis, with Teamsters, said. But workers with enough seniority could bump others off the payrolls, Lewis said.
“We’re still losing the same amount of people,” he said.
There are 23 laid-off dock workers enrolled in a five-week CDL training program through Workforce One of Butler County, the county’s government-run job center, Stewart Leonard, manager of Workforce One, said.
Some workers also transferred to other YRC Freight locations in Indianapolis, Ind., Nashville, Tenn., and other places, Lewis said.
Rick Bower, 52, of Milford Twp., used to think he would retire from YRC Freight. Bower, a dock worker and alternative union steward, worked at the West Chester Twp. distribution center for 15 years.
“Even going to school and getting a new trade at my age, you’re really not going to be able to build up enough time for retirement,” Bower said. “It’s just a bad deal all around.”
YRC Freight is a division of Overland Park, Kan.-based company YRC Worldwide.
The Less-Than-Truckload carrier, one of the nation’s largest, is under financial pressure and has done several downsizings before, industry experts said.
In a statement to this newspaper, company officials stated “we have consolidated operations into one building on the property. While the facility has changed its role in the network, it is still an integral part of serving our customers in the region.”
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