United Autoworkers Union members voted to reject a proposed labor agreement with Volvo-owed Mack Trucks late Sunday in a move that will lead to expanded strike action amid the union's weeks-long dispute with the Big 3 automakers.
The UAW said a tentative agreement, reached last week between representatives and Mack Trucks management, which included a 19% pay increase and a $3,500 dollar ratification bonus, was rejected by around 73% of the 4,000 union members working for the company across three U.S. states.
"We clearly demonstrated our 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," said Mac Trucks CEO Stephen Roy.
The union said strikes will begin in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Florida at 7:00 am eastern time Monday as a result.
"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 in a statement on the social media website X late Sunday.
Meanwhile, the UAW's ongoing action against Ford Motor Company (F) -), General Motors (GM) -) and Jeep-maker Stellantis (STLA) -) enters its fourth week Monday, with some 25,000 members on strike and picking at plants across eight U.S. states.
Talks between Fain and the so-called Big 3, however, appear to be showing some signs of progress, with Ford reportedly offering a pay deal that equates to a 30% increase for UAW members and Fain declining to expand strike activity late last week owing to new concessions from General Motors that could see workers at its joint-venture battery plant with Samsung SDI in Indiana covered by union agreements.
The UAW is seeking a 40% pay increase, spread over 4 and a half years, as well as the re-introduction of cost-of-living adjustments, defined benefits pensions and the end to pay tiering for newly-hired workers.
Ford shares were marked 1% lower in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $11.88 each while General Motors fell 1.26% to $30.51 each. Stellantis was down 0.1% in earl Milan trading.
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