The United Auto employees said that union employees at Mack Trucks, which is owned by Volvo Group (VOLVb.ST), went on strike on Monday morning after decisively rejecting a proposed five-year contract deal. This is the most recent preliminary labor agreement to be rejected.
According to the UAW, 4,000 workers in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Maryland made up the approximately 73% of workers who voted against the agreement.
This year, while they negotiate new contracts, unions in the auto, shipping, and healthcare sectors have utilized labor strikes to put companies on the defensive. According to polls, the majority of Americans largely accept the demands of the unions.
Before achieving agreements, union management and businesses have attempted to establish tentative agreements with freight train workers and FedEx employees during the past 12 months.
Since September 15, the UAW has been striking specifically against the Detroit Three automakers’ facilities. Of the 146,000 UAW workers at Chrysler parent Stellantis (STLAM.MI), General Motors (GM.N), Ford (F.N), and those at Ford, about 25,000 are on strike.
A 19% salary increase, a $3,500 ratification bonus, better retirement benefits, more vacation time for select employees, and a shorter time to reach top pay were all part of the proposed Mack deal.
UAW President Shawn Fain stated late on Sunday, “I’m inspired to see UAW members at Mack holding out for a better deal, and ready to stand up and walk off the job to win it.”
After Mack employees rejected the agreement, the UAW informed the firm that “many topics” remained in contention, including pay raises, cost-of-living adjustments, job security, and salary advancement.
Stephen Roy, the president of Mack, stated that the firm was “surprised and disappointed” by the UAW’s decision to strike and criticized the action as needless.
“We clearly demonstrated our commitment to good faith bargaining by arriving at a tentative agreement that was endorsed by both the International UAW and the UAW Mack Truck Council,” Roy stated.
