The Teamsters really had no choice but to take a cut in pay. When Yellow and Roadway are completely integrated 200 terminals will have been shuttered, power and trailing equipment will be sold off and thousands of Teamsters out of work.
Historically, at least since deregulation, when a union LTL company asked for a give back a high percentage were out of business within the next 3 years or the next contract. Which ever came first.
Yellow and the Teamsters agreed to a new Master Freight contract in January, 2008. The Teamsters can't afford to drag YRCW, the single largest LTL union employer left standing into the tar pits. But they probably will, with the help of Yellow management. I don't think Yellow will be around to negotiate a new contract in 2013. Unless of course they qualify for government bail out money to prolong the inevitable.