Mack Trucks, Pennsylvania Union Reach Tentative Three-Year Deal
Heavy-duty truck maker Mack Trucks, which is the largest employer in Lower Macungie Township, Pennsylvania, and the union representing its local workers reached a labor agreement the weekend of Oct. 1.
"We reached a tentative three-year agreement yesterday, but we can't provide any other details at this time," Mack spokeswoman Kim Pupillo said Oct. 3.
Mack's existing contract with United Auto Workers Local 677 expired at midnight Oct. 1. While union officials did not return calls seeking comment on Oct. 3, the union posted on its website at 2:45 p.m. Oct. 2 that a tentative agreement had been reached. In addition, a pre-recorded message on the union's answering machine informed workers of the agreement and told them to report to work as scheduled.
Online posts from the union indicate negotiations continued until after 2 a.m. Oct. 2, with those talks revived again shortly after, at 8:30 a.m. Even before the agreement was reached the afternoon of Oct. 2, a post from the union at 8 a.m. Oct. 2 told members to report to work as scheduled unless they heard from picket captains saying they were going on strike.
Mack's 1-million-square-foot plant in Lower Macungie is where all Mack trucks built for the North American market and export are assembled. The company's Lehigh Valley Operations employ approximately 1,500 employees.
With heavy-duty truck demand sagging this year, Mack has several weeklong production shutdowns — or temporary layoff weeks — scheduled this fall. In fact, the Lower Macungie plant will be idled during the week of Oct. 17, when one of the weeklong shutdowns is scheduled.
The local plant also has a new manager. Rickard Lundberg, a longtime executive within Mack's parent company, the Sweden-based Volvo Group, started as vice president and general manager of Mack Lehigh Valley Operations on Oct. 1.
