Labor

United Auto Workers Reaches Tentative Deal With Mack Trucks

OCT 2 2023·Updated AUG 27

Story

Image credit: USDA/Flickr [via Wikimedia Commons]

The Facts

The United Auto Workers (UAW) and Volvo Group-owned Mack Trucks agreed Sunday to a tentative deal that covers nearly 4K employees at the company just before the current contract was set to expire — narrowly averting a strike that would have added to work stoppages at plants run by the big three Detroit automakers.
Forbes
First announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, this temporary deal comes after the union stated that Mack employees had authorized almost unanimously a strike last month. The agreement must still be ratified by the UAW before being officially accepted.
Reuters
While details of the agreement have not been immediately released, bargaining goals of the union that represents workers at five Mack Trucks facilities included increased wages as well as improved health care and pension benefits.
CNN
Mack Trucks, established in 1900 and bought by Volvo in 2000, is reportedly one of North America's largest manufacturers of medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks, engines, and transmissions, selling products to nearly 30 countries.
FOX News
This development follows the second expansion of the UAW strike since it began on September 15, with 7K more workers at a General Motors plant in Lansing, Michigan, and a Ford plant in Chicago walking off the job on Friday. About 25K autoworkers in total are currently striking across the US.
CBS News
The union is demanding a 36% raise in general pay over four years as well as other benefits — including a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, defined-benefit pensions for workers hired since 2007, and a return of cost-of-living pay raises.
The Associated Press

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The Spin

Republican narrative

Democrats like to boast about how pro-union they are, but that unconditional support has empowered this all-too-powerful union to implement an economy-stifling strike. If Biden really had the workers’ well-being in mind his administration would have done more to prevent this walk-out that is going to crush the economy and, hopefully, his reelection chances.

Daily Caller

Democratic narrative

Republicans have stood by for decades while these companies’ profits and executive compensation have skyrocketed — far outpacing employee compensation and benefits. Pres. Biden and the Democrats are doing what they can to help the workers but the only ones to blame here are the exploitive companies and their GOP allies.

AlterNet

Metaculus Prediction

There's a 50% chance that at least 459K workers will go on strike as part of major work stoppages in the US in 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.