Six United Automotive Workers chapters representing more than 3,500 Mack Trucks employees at five of the company’s plants went on strike Saturday night to push for better pay, benefits and more in their next contract.
Mack President Martin Weissburg said in a statement the company is surprised UAW decided to strike.
“We are surprised and disappointed that the UAW decided to strike, rather than to allow our employees to keep building trucks and engines while the parties continued to negotiate,” Weissburg said. “The positive working relationship between local UAW leadership and management at our facilities was clearly in evidence throughout the negotiations, and progress was being made.”
A press release from United Auto Workers states the workers are striking for wage increases, job security, better retirement benefits and other health-related benefits.
“UAW members get up every day and put in long, hard hours of work from designing to building Mack trucks,” said Ray Curry, secretary-treasurer of the UAW and director of the Heavy Truck Department. “UAW members carry on their shoulders the profits of Mack, and they are simply asking for dignity, fair pay and job protections.”
Workers are striking at the following Mack plants: Allentown, Pennsylvania; Middletown, Pennsylvania; Hagerstown, Maryland; Baltimore, Maryland; and Jacksonville, Florida.
Mack is part of the Volvo Group, which also includes Volvo Trucks North America. Chris Heffner, manager of public relations for Mack Trucks, said that while no Volvo trucks are built at the five Mack facilities, the Hagerstown, Maryland, location supplies engines and transmissions to Volvo’s North River Valley Plant in Dublin, Virginia. Heffner added that if the strike continues, Volvo truck production could be affected in addition to Mack truck production.
