UAW members at Mack Truck have ended their strike with the tentative agreement reached.
The United Auto Workers is on a deal-making streak, suspending its two-week-long strike after reaching a tentative deal with Volvo’s Mack Trucks.
The two sides reached an agreement on Thursday covering more than 3,600 hourly employees. The union is currently conducting voting on a new contract with General Motors also. Voting on that deal ends Friday.
“Through great sacrifice, UAW members at Mack have achieved significant gains toward fair pay, benefits and job security protections,” said UAW Secretary-Treasurer and Director of the UAW Heavy Truck Department Ray Curry.
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Curry said the strike will be suspended and Mack workers will be scheduled to return to their jobs.
Mack is the country’s sixth-largest heavy truck manufacturer.
“It is not easy to strike for a member or their family,” said Curry. “It is impressive the unity that Mack UAW members and their families have shown. We can’t thank enough the surrounding communities for the outpouring of support for our striking families.”
The strike involved workers at six Mack plants in Florida, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Like the 48,000 employees at GM who set up picket lines nearly a month ago, the truck workers received $275 a week in strike pay.
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A subsidiary of Swedish truck company AB Volvo, Mack is the sixth-largest heavy truck manufacturer in the U.S., its 7.4% market share lagging just behind its Swedish parents, Volvo Trucks holding a 10.7% share in 2018. Mack had a solid year in 2018, with orders jumping about 20%.
Mack operates plants in six states, with an hourly workforce of 3,600.
Demand has been dipping this year, along with the rest of the heavy truck industry. Part of that reflects the impact of the Trump trade battle with China, according to industry analysts. Revenues this year are expected to top $500 million, according to tracking firm Inc Fact.
According to the union, a laundry list of issues were left unresolved when Mack workers walked off the job at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, including, “wage increases, job security, COLA, wage progression, skilled trades, shift premium, holiday schedules, work schedules, health and safety, seniority, pension, 401(k), health care and prescription drug coverage, overtime, subcontracting and temporary and supplemental workers.”
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The details are being withheld by both sides. Union officials said they planned to keep the terms of the deal quiet until they can meet with their members and brief them about the proposed deal.