More than 4,000 UAW workers are on strike after rejecting deal with Mack Trucks



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The United Auto Workers union says about 4,000 members of heavy truck maker Mack Trucks are on strike after rejecting a tentative agreement reached a week ago.

The union said 73% of its workers had voted against the proposed deal, which took place a week earlier.

In a statement released Sunday on the social media platform I am ready.” Earlier known as Twitter.

The union called for an immediate 10% wage increase in the rejected contract, and an additional 9 percent wage increase over the five-year life of the contract, a $3,500 signing bonus, vacation and holiday improvements and no increase in insurance premiums paid by members. Is included. ,

Mack Trucks President Stephen Roy was quoted by Reuters as saying he was “surprised and disappointed” that the union decided to strike.

“We have clearly demonstrated our commitment to bargaining in good faith by reaching a tentative agreement, which is supported by both the International UAW and the UAW Mack Truck Council,” he reportedly said in a statement.

CNN has contacted Mack Trucks for comment.

News of the work stoppage at the heavy-duty truck maker comes as the union continues a strike against three major carmakers.

Mack Trucks is one of the leading US manufacturers of heavy-duty and medium-duty trucks, with 27,000 to be delivered in 2022 and 16,000 for the first half of 2023. It is owned by Sweden’s Volvo Group, separate from the Volvo car brand, which is owned by China’s Geely.

The union’s announced bargaining goals at Mack reflect many of its demands in negotiations with the Big Three automakers — General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, which makes cars under the Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler brands — including better wages and health care. Care and pension benefits are included. ,

This is the first time in the union’s history that it has struck all three unionized automakers at the same time.

Fain told members Friday that the three-week-long strike has already pushed automakers to meet some of the union’s key demands, even if no agreement has yet been reached.

He said progress in negotiations allowed the union to abandon plans to expand the strike to other facilities. More than 25,000 union members are now on strike at five assembly plants and 38 parts distribution centers across the country.

President Joe Biden became the first sitting president to visit the picket line when he came to a striking GM facility last month to voice support for the strikers.

In recent years it has become common for ordinary union members to reject temporary labor agreements made by their union leadership.

The proposed agreement between MAC and the UAW was reached last week, minutes before the union’s contract was set to expire on Oct. 1.

In July, 57% of FedEx pilots rejected a proposed contract signed in May, which would have provided for a 30% pay increase as well as a 30% improvement in pension benefits.

But because those pilots and other airline employees work under a different labor law, they were not allowed to immediately go on strike the way Mack Truck workers and most other private businesses can after their labor contracts expire.

Two years ago, John Deere UAW members voted “no” on a temporary contract negotiated by their union leadership. They later rejected another temporary agreement and decided to remain on strike, eventually accepting a third temporary agreement and returning to work after a five-week long work stoppage.

Strikes have become much more common this year. Unions are taking advantage of the strong US labor market to flex their muscles and demand better wages, benefits and working conditions for their members.

The number of strikes lasting a week or more, with 100 or more strikers, has increased to 56 in the first nine months of this year, according to a database of labor actions maintained by the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

This figure, which is 65% more than the same period last year, means there has been more than one such strike in a week.

And that doesn’t even include significant smaller actions, such as the three-day strike last week by 75,000 health care workers at Kaiser Permanente.

Unions involved in that strike had initially intended to return to work after three days, but have threatened an even longer strike in November if their demands for better pay and better staffing are not met.

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