More United Auto Workers members began striking on Monday, Oct. 9, as union members voted down a tentative agreement with Mack Trucks. In a statement, Mack, owned by Volvo, called the union’s move unnecessary.
“We’re surprised and disappointed that the UAW has chosen to strike, which we feel is unnecessary,” the statement read. “The company clearly demonstrated its 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.”
The tentative agreement between Mack and the UAW was made on Oct. 2, and since then, UAW president Shawn Fain said UAW members voted down the deal, with 73% of members voting against it.
According to Mack, the tentative agreement included a 10% wage increase for all employees in the first year, followed by a 20% compounded increase over five years. Though Mack called it “a record contract for the Heavy Truck industry,” according to the UAW, 4,000 of its members voted it down.
“The members have spoken, and as the highest authority in our union, they have the final word,” Fain wrote in a letter to Mack executives. “Accordingly, the UAW will go on strike at Mack Trucks as of 7:00 a.m. on Monday morning, Oct. 9, 2023.”
Union members are walking out over better pay and benefits. Meanwhile thousands of UAW members have already been striking over similar issues as the UAW negotiates with Detroit’s Big Three automakers.
Mack said in its statement that it is important to differentiate between the passenger car industry and heavy truck industry.
“Given other negotiations in the news, it’s important to emphasize that Mack’s market, business, and competitors are very different from those of the passenger car makers,” the statement read.
Both parties are back at the negotiating table. In his letter to Mack executives, Fain said the UAW would be in touch with information on when and where negotiations will reconvene.