UAW Practice Picketing at Daimler Truck in the US South

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Daimler Truck workers from six different local unions in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee continue to conduct so-called “practice pickets” to demonstrate that they are strike-ready when their contract expires on 26 April. Practice pickets are not work stoppages or walkouts am  no entrances will be obstructed. Workers will report to their shifts as usual. Today the UAW released a new video called Leftover Money.

The workers who build Freightliner trucks, Western Star trucks, and Thomas Built Buses are facing declining real wages and job security as Daimler Truck tallies record profits and makes massive payouts to shareholders. During the past six years, Daimler Truck’s profits have increased by 90% while workers’ buying power has fallen 13%, the UAW maintains.

In March, Daimler announced record results for 2023 and a healthy outlook for 2024, including:

• Daimler made nearly $6 billion in 2023
• Profits increased 39% compared to 2022
• More than half of those profits were generated in North America
• The company plans to spend $2.1 billion on stock buybacks and intends to increase stock dividends by 46%

After those announcements, Daimler’s stock jumped 18% the next day. In interviews, Daimler CEO Martin Daum has said (boasted?) that:

• The company’s profits are “red hot”
• The “leftover money” belongs to the company’s stockholders

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