UAW, Mack Trucks workers to vote on deal

DETROIT—Members of the United Auto Workers Volvo GroupOwned by Mack Trucks, the automaker will vote this weekend on a tentative deal that falls well short of what the union is demanding in current negotiations with the Detroit automaker.

About 3,900 union members will vote on Sunday, which could test whether workers are willing to ratify a smaller deal than the one proposed by UAW President Shawn Fain on higher hourly wages, equal pay, Inflation protection as well as expectations of a possible shortened work week.

While Mack Trucks is a separate company and part of the union, it is separate from the one that covers members General Motors, Ford and starsome workers expect they will receive similar pay raises and benefits as their union brethren at the Detroit automaker.

“In my opinion, the prime contract isn’t terrible. It’s not a bad contract, but it’s nowhere near what we expected,” said a 12-year Mack Trucking employee at the Lehigh Valley operations center in Pennsylvania. workers told CNBC.

The worker and several other UAW members at Mack Trucks said they planned to vote against the deal out of fear of union or company retaliation. Their reasons included that the tentative deal fell short of expectations, that the agreement was one year longer than before, and that salary increases and bonuses were insufficient to offset inflation or reward them for their work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When we go in, we basically follow like the automakers,” the worker said. “They’ve changed some things, but not enough in my opinion.”

Tentative agreements for Mack Trucking vary by location and job, but For many office workers, These include a salary increase of approximately 19% over the five-year agreement, with a 10% increase upon approval; a $3,500 approval bonus; an increase in 401(k) company payments; and other benefits. It does not include scrapping pay grades (it only reduces one year, extending the step to five years); restoring traditional pensions; adjusting the cost of living to account for inflation; or a shorter working week.

Mack Trucks’ tentative deal isn’t a bad deal, but it falls short of the 40 percent pay raise, inflation protection, work/life balance and other bonuses and benefits Fain set as standard for negotiations with the Detroit automaker. Far. For the Detroit automaker, wages have also been cut by at least half from eight years — a timeframe that Fein, a former autoworker, said Friday was “unacceptable.”

Mack Trucks and the UAW announced the tentative agreement earlier Monday and later released “highlights” of the deal to members later this week. Neither the UAW nor Mack Trucks has publicly released the tentative contract ahead of staff meetings this weekend to detail the agreement and vote.

Another Mack Teamster called the deal “shameful” compared to their expectations and what UAW international leaders are currently negotiating with the Detroit automakers, also known as the Big Three. “insult”.

“We are the low man on the totem pole and we have no international support,” said a materials technician with more than 10 years of experience. “They’re just pushing for this (tentative agreement) to be passed so they don’t have to deal with us when the Big Three negotiate.”

The UAW declined to comment on contract comparisons between Mack Trucks and the Detroit automaker. Mack Trucking President Stephen Roy said in a statement Monday that the tentative agreement “will significantly increase wages and continue to provide best-in-class benefits for Mack employees and their families” while keeping the company competitive.

Another veteran worker at Penn State’s Mack Trucks Lehigh Valley operations said they don’t expect the same pay raises and benefits they’re negotiating with the Detroit automaker, but they’re seeking more than what’s in the current tentative agreement. content.

“We pay our dues like the Big Three,” said the employee, who has worked at Mack Trucks for about 20 years and has held various positions at the company. “We should at least get the same type of negotiating options.”

One of the “options” mentioned by the Mack Truck workers is a targeted strike, like what happened at the Detroit automaker, to fight for additional wages and benefits, specifically the restoration of cost-of-living adjustments to combat inflation.

“Honestly, I thought we were going on strike because there was no Coke in it,” the worker said. So, five years from now, we’ll be in the same predicament again. “

Marick Masters, Business Professor at wayne state university Experts specializing in labor issues in Detroit said it’s important to note that Mack Trucks is in a different situation than the Detroit automakers. However, union members’ high expectations can be a problem.

“The UAW may be a victim of its own success,” he said. “They’re getting a good deal here and everyone would say we want the same thing… but they operate in different industries or different parts of the larger industry and have different financial considerations, I think. That’s exactly what you see here.”