UAW Strikes VTNA’s New River Valley Plant
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Volvo Trucks North America on April 19 announced the United Auto Workers has called a strike at its New River Valley truck assembly operations in Dublin, Va. The move comes as demand for VTNA trucks is climbing.
A bargaining proposal was on the table, according to VTNA, a unit of Volvo Group.
The UAW reported it has proposed a future bargaining date of April 26.
“Our members and their families made this sacrifice in order to get a fair contract offer that protects their wages, benefits and health and safety,” UAW Region 8 Director Mitchell Smith
Read more: https://t.co/xG4FeWaNIK — UAW (@UAW) April 17, 2021
VTNA termed the strike a surprise and a disappointment.
“Progress was being made, and we had offered substantial increases in our employees’ compensation,” Franky Marchand, general manager of VTNA’s plant, said in a statement.
“We don’t understand why the UAW won’t allow our employees to continue building trucks while we continue negotiations,” Marchand continued. “We are committed to the collective bargaining process, and look forward to getting back to the table.”
For its part, the UAW said in a statement it is disappointed that Volvo Trucks “has failed to present a substantial offer by the March 16 contract deadline despite a contract extension.”
The union said it was seeking what it called a fair contract.
“Every day our UAW members leave their homes proud of the work they do at Volvo making some of the finest trucks in the world. Our members and their families made this sacrifice in order to get a fair contract offer that protects their wages, benefits and health and safety,” Mitchell Smith, director of UAW Region 8, said in the statement.
The Volvo VNR Electric is set for a serial production launch this spring. (Volvo Trucks North America)
VTNA said the plant employs more than 3,300 people, about 2,900 of whom are UAW members. The plant is in the midst of a $400 million investment for advanced technology upgrades, site expansion and preparation for future products, including the Volvo VNR Electric truck, slated for a serial production launch this spring. The plant has added 1,100 jobs since the current union agreement was implemented in 2016 and is on track to have a net increase of about 600 positions in 2021.
In March, VTNA’s U.S. Class 8 retail sales rose 44.1% compared with a year earlier, to 2,474 trucks, for an 11.2% market share in the month, WardsAuto.com reported.
“The overall U.S. retail sales in March were stronger than expected, but with the extraordinary customer demand, it’s obvious the supply chain constraints are still affecting the output,” Magnus Koeck, vice president of strategy at Volvo Trucks North America, told Transport Topics at the time.
As for Class 8 orders, ACT Research noted net Class 8 orders booked industrywide during the past six months were surpassed only by the six-month period ending October 2018.
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