Oct 9 (Reuters) - Union workers at Volvo Group-owned (VOLVb.ST) Mack Trucks went on strike on Monday morning after overwhelmingly rejecting a proposed five-year contract deal, the United Auto Workers said, making it the latest tentative labor agreement to be voted down.þþAbout 73% of workers - covering 4,000 workers in Pennsylvania, Florida and Maryland - voted against the deal, the UAW said.þþUnions have used labor actions to keep employers off-balance this year in the auto, shipping and health care industries as they negotiate new contracts. Polls have shown that most Americans broadly support the unions' demands.þþIn the last 12 months, freight rail workers and employees at shipping giant FedEx have rejected tentative agreements reached between union management and companies before reaching deals.þþThe UAW has been on a targeted strike against facilities of the Detroit Three automakers since Sept. 15. About 25,000 of the 146,000 UAW employees at General Motors (GM.N), Ford (F.N) and Chrysler parent Stellantis (STLAM.MI) are on strike.þþThe proposed Mack deal had included a 19% pay hike, a $3,500 ratification bonus, improved retirement benefits, additional vacation for some employees and a reduction in the time needed to get to top pay.þþÿI'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,ÿ UAW President Shawn Fain said late on Sunday.þþAfter Mack workers voted down the deal, the UAW sent a strike notice to the company saying ÿmany topicsÿ remain at issue, including wage increases, cost-of-living allowance, job security and wage progression.þþMack President Stephen Roy said the company was ÿsurprised and disappointedÿ that the UAW has chosen to strike and called the move unnecessary.þþÿWe 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,ÿ Roy said.þþMack, which was bought by Volvo in 2000, is one of North America's largest makers of medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks.þþRoy said Mack is part of ÿthe only heavy-truck manufacturing group that assembles all of its trucks and enginesÿ in the United States.þþThe UAW said it would contact Mack to set dates to resume bargaining. Mack said it was committed to the collective bargaining process and remained confident it would be able to reach an agreement.þþÿUAW members and workers across the economy are mobilizing to demand their fair share,ÿ the UAW said in a letter to Mack. ÿThe union remains committed to exploring all options for reaching an agreement, but clearly we are not there yet.ÿþþFain said on Friday the union would not expand the Detroit Three strikes, citing progress in talks, including that Ford had upped its proposed wage hike to 23% through early 2028.þþCombined with proposed cost-of-living adjustments, workers could receive pay increases of around 30%, people familiar with the proposal said.þþLast week, health care workers at Kaiser Permanente walked out for three days as negotiations drag on with one of the largest U.S. non-profit hospital network and managed-care organizations.þþReporting by David Shepardson, additional reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Jamie Freed, Michael Perry and Arun Koyyur
Source: reuters.com
