UAW members attend a rally in support of the union strike at the UAW Local 551 Hall on the South Side in Chicago, Illinois, on October 7, 2023.
Jim Vondruska | Getty Images
DETROIT – About 3,900 United Auto Workers members at Mack Trucks will go on strike Monday after a majority of members rejected a tentative agreement reached last week between the union and the company.
The tentative agreement was rejected by 73% of UAW members who voted, the union said Sunday evening. Workers at facilities in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida will strike starting at 7 a.m. Monday, the UAW said announced online.
The Mack Trucks workers are joined by tens of thousands of other striking UAW members, most notably more than 25,000 employees at General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis. The union launched targeted strikes in selected factories against Detroit automakers starting September 15th. Since then, the union has expanded strikes at each of the automakers.
The Mack Trucks deal was seen as a potential test of workers’ willingness to ratify a deal that failed to meet UAW President Shawn Fain’s heightened expectations for record contracts for hourly wage increases, equal pay for equal work, inflation protection and shorter workweeks .
The tentative deal with Volvo-owned Mack Trucks fell well short of union demands in negotiations currently underway with the Detroit automakers, prompting some workers to tell CNBC last week that they opposed the deal would be correct.
A Mack Trucks employee called the deal “disgraceful” and an “insult” compared to his expectations and what international UAW leaders are currently negotiating with the Detroit automakers, also known as the “Big Three.”
“We are a low man on the totem pole and we get no support from the international side,” a materials engineer of more than a decade said on Friday. “They’re just pushing this forward [tentative agreement] through so they don’t have to deal with us while the Big Three negotiate.”
While Mack Trucks is a separate company and a different part of the union than the chapter that represents members of the Detroit automakers, some workers expected to receive similar raises and benefits to their union brethren at the Detroit automakers.
The tentative agreement with Mack Trucks varies by location and workplace, but includes a wage increase of approximately 19% for many workers over the course of the five-year agreement, including 10% after ratification; $3,500 ratification bonus; increased company 401(k) payments; and other benefits. There is no plan to abolish the salary scales (only a one-year reduction is envisaged, which would extend the salary scales to five years); reintroduction of traditional pensions; cost of living adjustments to combat inflation; or shorter work weeks.
UAW negotiators’ demands with Detroit automakers included a 40% wage increase, inflation protection in the form of cost-of-living allowances (COLA), work-life balance, and other bonuses and benefits.
Fain, who has publicly laid out the demands of Detroit autoworkers, cited COLA, job security, wage trends and a host of other issues as prominent topics in discussions with Mack Trucks.
“The members have spoken, and as the highest authority in our union, they have the final say,” Fain said Sunday in a statement released by the union. He said the union “remains committed to exploring all options for an agreement, but obviously we are not there yet.”
Stephen Roy, president of Mack Trucks, said the company was “surprised and disappointed that the UAW chose to go on strike, which we believe is unnecessary.”
“We are committed to the collective bargaining process and remain confident that we can reach an agreement that provides our employees and their families with competitive wages and benefits while securing our future as a competitive company and stable long-term employer.” “We look forward to it “To resume negotiations as quickly as possible,” he said in a press release on Sunday evening.