Union workers at Mack Trucking Co. voted down a tentative five-year contract agreement with the company and plan to strike at 7 a.m. Monday, the United Auto Workers union said.
Union president Shawn Fain said in a letter to Mack parent company Volvo Trucks that 73% of workers voted against the deal in Sunday’s vote count.
The UAW represents about 4,000 Mack workers in three states. Union leaders reached a preliminary agreement on the deal on October 1.
The agreement includes a 19% salary increase during the contract period and a 10% salary increase upon approval. In addition, there is a $3,500 approval bonus, unchanged weekly health care contributions, an increase in the retiree’s annual lump sum, and a $1,000 annual 401(k) lump sum to offset the cost of retiring without health insurance. Employee health care costs.
In a letter to Volvo Trucks’ labor relations director, Fein said employees who worked earlier Monday will leave the plant after completing tasks needed to prevent damage to the company’s equipment.
The workers are located in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida.
Fein wrote that UAW members and workers are seeking a fair share of wages and benefits. “The union remains committed to exploring all options to reach an agreement, but we are clearly not there yet.”
He wrote that companies and unions remain divided over work arrangements, health and safety, pensions, health care, prescription drug coverage, overtime and other issues.
The deal may have fallen through because of the lofty expectations Fein set in bargaining with Detroit’s Big Three automakers. During those negotiations, the UAW asked for a 36 percent raise over four years, while Ford offered 23 percent and the other two companies offered 20 percent.
Mack Trucks President Stephen Roy said in a statement Sunday night that the company was “surprised and disappointed” that the union chose to strike. He wrote that the union called the tentative agreement a record for the heavy truck industry. “We believe other stakeholders also recognize that our market, business and competitive environment are significantly different from those of passenger vehicle manufacturers,” the statement read.
He wrote that Mack is part of the only heavy-duty truck manufacturing group that assembles all vehicles and engines for North America in the United States, competing with trucks built in lower-cost countries.
The company is committed to collective bargaining and believes the two sides will reach an agreement that provides competitive wages and benefits while safeguarding the company’s future, the statement said.
On September 15, the UAW staged strikes at selected plants operated by automakers General Motors, Ford, and Jeep maker Stellantis. The strike began at one assembly plant at each company and then spread to 38 parts warehouses at GM and Stellantis. Two more assembly plants for Ford and General Motors were later added.
The union decided not to expand the strike to more plants for now after General Motors agreed on Friday to include its electric vehicle battery plants in the UAW’s national contract and ensure they were unionized. The union also reported progress at all three automakers.
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