The quest for more equity in compensation continues.
About 4000 UAW members at Mack Trucks in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Florida walked out on strike this morning after voting by 73% to reject a tentative agreement. UAW Locals 171, 677, 1247, 2301, and 2420 in UAW Region 8 and Region 9 represent workers at Mack Trucks in Macungie and Middletown, Pennsylvania; Hagerstown and Baltimore, Maryland; and Jacksonville, Florida. There are now more than 30,000 UAW workers on strike in 22 states. Mack Trucks is part of the Volvo Group,where Chinese company Geely holds 16% of the voting rights.
“I’m inspired to see UAW members at Mack Trucks holding out for a better deal, and ready to stand up and walk off the job to win it,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “The members have the final say, and it’s their solidarity and organization that will win a fair contract at Mack.” UAW leadership had recommended that members approve the deal.
“We are surprised and disappointed that the UAW has chosen to strike, which we feel is unnecessary,” said Mack President Stephen Roy. “We clearly demonstrated our commitment to good faith bargaining by arriving at a tentative agreement that was endorsed by both the International UAW and the UAW Mack Truck Council.”
The tentative agreement included a 10% general wage increase in year one for all employees, a compounded 20% increase to general wages over five years, and a guarantee of no increases in health insurance premiums through the term of the contract.
“The UAW called our tentative agreement ‘a record contract for the Heavy Truck industry,’ and we trust that other stakeholders also appreciate that our market, business, and competitive set are very different from those of the passenger car makers,” said Roy.
Mack Trucks and the UAW reached a tentative agreement minutes before the initial deadline on 1 October. On Sunday 8 October Mack Trucks’ UAW members rejected the contract. UAW leadership then issued a strike notice to the company, citing “many topics [that] remain at issue, including wage increases, cost of living allowances (COLA), job security, wage progression, skilled trades, shift premium, holiday schedules, work schedules, health and safety, seniority, pension, 401(k), healthcare and prescription drug coverage, and overtime.”
“Mack Trucks is part of the only heavy-truck manufacturing group that assembles all of its trucks and engines for the North American market here in the United States, and continues to compete against products built in lower-cost countries. We have invested more than $435 million in our plants and logistics network over the last 10 years, and are now in the process of investing more than $1 billion in new Mack products,” said Mack President Stephen Roy.
UAW Now on Strike at Mack Trucks in Three States
The quest for more equity in compensation continues.
About 4000 UAW members at Mack Trucks in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Florida walked out on strike this morning after voting by 73% to reject a tentative agreement. UAW Locals 171, 677, 1247, 2301, and 2420 in UAW Region 8 and Region 9 represent workers at Mack Trucks in Macungie and Middletown, Pennsylvania; Hagerstown and Baltimore, Maryland; and Jacksonville, Florida. There are now more than 30,000 UAW workers on strike in 22 states. Mack Trucks is part of the Volvo Group,where Chinese company Geely holds 16% of the voting rights.
“I’m inspired to see UAW members at Mack Trucks holding out for a better deal, and ready to stand up and walk off the job to win it,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “The members have the final say, and it’s their solidarity and organization that will win a fair contract at Mack.” UAW leadership had recommended that members approve the deal.
“We are surprised and disappointed that the UAW has chosen to strike, which we feel is unnecessary,” said Mack President Stephen Roy. “We clearly demonstrated our commitment to good faith bargaining by arriving at a tentative agreement that was endorsed by both the International UAW and the UAW Mack Truck Council.”
The tentative agreement included a 10% general wage increase in year one for all employees, a compounded 20% increase to general wages over five years, and a guarantee of no increases in health insurance premiums through the term of the contract.
“The UAW called our tentative agreement ‘a record contract for the Heavy Truck industry,’ and we trust that other stakeholders also appreciate that our market, business, and competitive set are very different from those of the passenger car makers,” said Roy.
Mack Trucks and the UAW reached a tentative agreement minutes before the initial deadline on 1 October. On Sunday 8 October Mack Trucks’ UAW members rejected the contract. UAW leadership then issued a strike notice to the company, citing “many topics [that] remain at issue, including wage increases, cost of living allowances (COLA), job security, wage progression, skilled trades, shift premium, holiday schedules, work schedules, health and safety, seniority, pension, 401(k), healthcare and prescription drug coverage, and overtime.”
“Mack Trucks is part of the only heavy-truck manufacturing group that assembles all of its trucks and engines for the North American market here in the United States, and continues to compete against products built in lower-cost countries. We have invested more than $435 million in our plants and logistics network over the last 10 years, and are now in the process of investing more than $1 billion in new Mack products,” said Mack President Stephen Roy.