On May 4, United Auto Workers (UAW) union members approved a new labor agreement with Daimler Truck. The agreement is valid for four years and includes a minimum 25% increase in general pay. It covers over 7,300 hourly UAW workers at six locations in historically low-union southern states, consisting of four plants in North Carolina and parts warehouses in Georgia and Tennessee.
In late April, the parties involved reached a tentative agreement, which prevented a last-minute walkout. The agreement with the German truck manufacturer split off from the current Mercedes automaker was reached roughly two weeks before votes at an Alabama Mercedes assembly plant over membership in the UAW would be counted.
The new contract also ends wage tiers that paid bus builders less than heavy truck builders. Additionally, it provides profit-sharing and cost-of-living increases for employees of Thomas Built, Freightliner, and Western Star truck manufacturers. According to UAW President Shawn Fain, the salary increase is comparable to what Detroit Three employees got during negotiations last autumn.
According to Fain, employees will get a 10% wage increase immediately, followed by 3% raises six and twelve months later. There will be raises of more than $8 per hour for the lowest paid employees at Daimler’s Thomas Built bus plant, while certain skilled crafts employees there will receive more than $17 per hour.
Following the agreements made with the Detroit Three last November, the UAW has focused its efforts on uniting the non-union American operations of over a dozen automakers. Workers at a Mercedes auto production in Vance, Alabama, and a nearby battery facility in Woodstock will vote on whether to join the union during the week of May 13.
