UAW members reject tentative agreement with Mack Trucks, prep for strike Monday

The UAW announced late Sunday that 4,000 UAW members at Mack Trucks in three states have voted to reject their tentative agreement, and will strike at 7 a.m. Monday.

"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," UAW President Shawn Fain said @UAW on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

Attached to the notice was a letter of intent to strike dated Oct. 8, addressed to Holly Georgell, director of employee and labor relations at Volvo Trucks in Greensboro, North Carolina. It said it was sent via email and certified mail. The parent company of Mack Trucks Volvo Group, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.

This latest Mack Trucks contract is one year longer than the previous agreement.

The letter said the union voted the tentative agreement down by a 73% no vote, but did not provide the number of votes cast.

"The members have spoken and as the highest authority in our union, they have the final word," said the letter signed by Fain.

Employees who build the heavy duty trucks will exit their facilities in an "orderly manner after performing tasks necessary to prevent damage to the company's equipment or product" at 7 a.m., the letter said.

This strike comes at the same time the UAW has run a targeted national strike against Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Stellantis since mid-September.

Fain said in the letter that the union has met with Mack Truck officials over three months to address issues of concern, and will be in contact with available dates and locations to reconvene bargaining. Issues of concern, the letter said, are wage issues, cost of living allowances, job security, holiday schedules, work schedules, pension, 401(K), prescription drug coverage and overtime.

The UAW and Mack Trucks negotiators reached a tentative agreement for a five-year contract just before the contract scheduled to expire at 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 1, according to CNN.

“The terms of this tentative agreement would deliver significantly increased wages and continue first-class benefits for Mack employees and their families,” Mack President Stephen Roy said, according to the company announcement dated Oct. 2. “At the same time, it would allow the company to successfully compete in the market, and continue making the necessary investments in our people, plants and products.”

In 2019, the UAW contract with Mack Truck followed a national strike of approximately 3,500 workers that lasted nearly two weeks and called in the midst of the national strike of 46,000 workers against General Motors.

The UAW said late Sunday that it plans to provide more detail in a news release Monday.

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Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the parent company of Mack Trucks is Volvo Group, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid.