By Jonathan S. Reiskin, Associate News Editor
This story appears in the April 26 print edition of Transport Topics.
Daimler Trucks North America won a new series of three-year labor contracts covering three North Carolina truck plants making heavy- and medium-duty Freightliners and parts for the trucks.
The contracts with three locals of the United Auto Workers took effect April 19 and cover about 1,600 current unionized employees in Cleveland, Gastonia and Mount Holly, N.C.
The company also said that later this quarter it expects to begin negotiations with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers for a new contract covering the Portland Truck Manufacturing Plant in Oregon.
“We view these agreements as a significant milestone in securing our U.S. production footprint,” said Martin Daum, chief executive officer of DTNA, in announcing the deals with the UAW.
“Together, we dealt with many difficult but necessary issues in a realistic and constructive way and we look forward to continuing a productive partnership. The new agreements required compromise and sacrifice on both sides, but will help position us to compete successfully on a global level in years to come,” Daum said in an April 18 statement after the April 17-18 ratification votes for approval.
“Like so many industries, the heavy truck business has had some setbacks because of the economy, but our team tackled the issues realistically and came away with agreements,” UAW Vice President General Holiefield said in a statement after tentative agreements were reached.
The Daimler statement said total current employment at the three plants, labor and management, is 830 at Cleveland, 670 at Gastonia and 140 at Mount Holly for a combined total of 1,640 employees.
The union statement said the deals cover 5,700 workers, but did not provide clarification on how it was classifying coverage.
Daimler spokeswoman Maria McCullough declined to characterize the contracts’ provisions, including compensation, saying it is against company policy. The UAW did not return telephone calls requesting comment.
Daimler said the contracts that expired April 18 also were three-year deals. The company said the negotiations for the new deals took about 5½ weeks.
The Cleveland plant makes heavy-duty Cascadia, Century and Columbia Freightliners. Its workers are members of Local No. 3520.
The company also makes Cascadias in Saltillo, Mexico. DTNA’s other Mexican plant is in Santiago, which makes M2s and Century, Columbia and Coronado Freightliners.
The Mount Holly plant makes Business Class M2 medium-duty trucks. Its workers are members of UAW Local No. 5285.
The Gastonia plant makes components and parts. Its workers are members of Local No. 5286.
The three-year contract for the Portland plant expires around June 30. The company uses the plant for making Western Star trucks and military vehicles. It had been slated for closing, but management decided last year to keep it open (10-5, p. 7).
Daimler’s McCullough said negotiations for a replacement contract in Portland would begin later this quarter.
