United Auto Workers members at Mack Trucks ratified a new five-year contract they had earlier rejected, ending a 39-day strike.
Mack called the Oct. 1 tentative agreement its “last, best and final” offer. It threatened to declare an impasse and hire outside workers if the 3,900 workers in three states rejected the contract that included an immediate 10% base wage increase and a signing bonus of $3,500.
Perhaps emboldened by richer offers to striking UAW employees at the Detroit Three automakers, the locals representing assembly and remanufacturing workers in Pennsylvania, an engine plant in Maryland and parts warehouses in Maryland and Florida voted 73% against the proposed contract on Oct. 8. They struck Oct. 9.
The 146,000 UAW members at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge and Ram Trucks, began selective strikes. Those deals are separate from Mack, which is part of Volvo Group North America.
The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) railed against the proposed Detroit Three and Mack agreements, urging workers to reject the contracts and join rank-and-file committees seeking greater transparency in bargaining.
Mack worker Will Lehman, a socialist supported by the WSWS, unsuccessfully opposed Shawn Fein to become president of the international union earlier this year. Fein narrowly defeated incumbent Ray Curry.
Additional gains in local UAW agreements
Union bargainers at Mack said they won additional gains in local agreements during the strike. But the master agreement remained unchanged. The second vote passed with 93% approval, the UAW said. Workers return to their jobs on Monday.
“The new agreement guarantees significant wage growth and delivers excellent benefits for our employees and their families,” Mack President Stephen Roy said in a statement Wednesday night. “At the same time, it will safeguard our competitiveness and allow us to continue making the necessary investments in our people, plants and products.”
The new contract extended by one year the length of the contract. About 45% of the total workforce is in progression, meaning they started at a lower wage and would grow into the top rate across five years, down from six years in the last contract.
For that group of workers across all sites, the average wage increase over five years would be 55%, with an immediate wage increase of more than 20%, Volvo Group spokesman John Mies said.
Health care premiums remain unchanged despite a 66% increase in the company’s costs over the past decade, the company said.
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