The UAW and Daimler Truck reached an agreement late Friday night just before their existing contract expired, heading off a strike that the union had threatened to begin at midnight. The deal covers 7,300 members, most of whom work at plants in North Carolina. UAW President Shawn Fain told workers the news on Facebook Live, the Detroit Free Press reports. "We're here tonight to announce a major victory for the members who build Freightliner and Western Star trucks and Thomas Built buses," Fain said. The contracts will go to a ratification vote next, and Daimler issued a statement saying, "We hope to finalize them soon, for the mutual benefit of all parties."
The deal is similar to the ones the UAW signed with the Big Three automakers last fall, per NPR. It includes raises of at least 25% over four years, cost-of-living allowances and profit sharing, all breakthroughs for the company's union workers. Daimler Truck was spun off Mercedes-Benz in 2021. The agreement furthers the UAW's efforts in the South. One week before, Volkswagen factory workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, overwhelmingly voted to unionize, per the AP. And workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama will start voting on whether to join the UAW on May 13. (More UAW stories.)
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