A settlement between Daimler Truck and United Auto Workers prevents a U.S. strike.

 

A strike at the eleventh hour was avoided when Daimler Truck agreed to a new labour contract on Friday with approximately 7,300 hourly workers at six factories in the U.S. South who are represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW).

UAW President Shawn Fain made a late-night YouTube appearance from Charlotte, North Carolina, close to where the corporation has factories. "For months, we said that record profits should mean a record contract with no concessions," Fain said.

He praised his "determination and solidarity" for bringing forth the provisional agreement, which the workers still need to approve.

Daimler (OTC:MBGAF) Truck, which manufactures buses built by Thomas Built and Freightliner and Western Star trucks, had been threatened with a walkout starting at midnight ET on Saturday, April 4.

Daimler Truck issued the following statement: "The UAW members... will now be asked to vote on the new contracts, and we hope to finalise them soon, for the mutual benefit of all parties."

Three weeks before votes on whether or not to join the UAW are to be counted at an Alabama Mercedes assembly factory, the German truck maker, which was spun off from the current automaker Mercedes, struck an agreement.

Fain revealed that Daimler Truck made last-minute compromises, which caused his address on Friday to begin nearly an hour later than expected. The fear of a deadline forced the Detroit Three manufacturers, General Motors (NYSE:GM), Ford (NYSE:F), and Stellantis (NYSE:STLA), to make concessions on multiple occasions during the negotiations with them last fall in order to prevent the strike's spread.

Workers at Daimler Truck would receive a general wage boost of at least 25% throughout the four-year contract as a result of Friday's agreement, according to Fain. That would be equivalent to what Detroit Three employees were paid.

Members will get 10% wage rises immediately upon ratification of the agreement, according to Fain, and then 3% raises after six and twelve months.

According to him, they will also receive cost-of-living increases to counteract profit-sharing and inflation. Additionally, wage levels that paid bus builders less than heavy truck builders will no longer exist. These developments will mark the first time that they have occurred at Daimler Truck.

According to Fain, certain skilled crafts employees at Thomas Built will receive raises of more than $17 per hour, while the lowest paid employees would earn increases of more than $8 per hour.

According to him, the agreement also includes better health and safety benefits and more work stability.

A strike was approved in March by about 96% of the Daimler Truck employees at four North Carolina facilities, as well as parts warehouses in Georgia and Tennessee.

In addition, the union had accused the business of unfair labour practices by filing accusations with the US National Labour Relations Board. The charges included the company's failure to engage in good faith negotiations and its violations of federal labour laws and workers' rights.

Following the agreements made with the Detroit Three last autumn, the UAW has focused its efforts on uniting the non-union American operations of over a dozen automakers.

A landmark win for the UAW was secured last week at a Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, while employees at a Mercedes factory in Vance, Alabama, will cast their union membership ballots the week of May 13.