Mack Trucks workers join auto strike

Workers at Volvo subsidiary Mack Trucks will go on strike starting Monday after voting against the provisional agreement the company offered them this weekend. Seventy-three percent of workers rejected Mack Trucks’ offer.

The person who broke the news to Volvo was UAW union President Shawn Fain. With the addition of the Mack Trucks plant, the auto strike adds nearly 4,000 workers. The provisional agreement that the company and union leaders had reached at the beginning of the month did not satisfy the workers’ expectations.

The deal offered a 19% pay increase over the life of the contract, with 10% upon ratification. Initially, the UAW asked for salary increases of 36% over four years. Through a statement picked up by the AP, Stephen Roy, president of the company, said he was surprised and disappointed by the workers' response: "We trust that other stakeholders also appreciate that our market, business and competitive set are very different from those of the passenger car makers," reads the statement.

Mack Trucks plants affected by the strike are located in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida. Workers will leave the plants early in the morning after ensuring that they leave their jobs and tools in optimal conditions to avoid deterioration.

Mack Trucks is the only company that maintains its entire assembly line in the United States for vehicles destined for the North American market.