Daimler Truck workers in Charlotte area, US, avert midnight strike with ‘historic’ deal

Daimler Truck workers in the Charlotte region — and around the country — have reached what union leaders are calling a historic tentative agreement on a new contract with the automotive giant.

The agreement, announced late Friday, averted a midnight strike threatened by the United Automobile Workers.

The four-year agreement “delivers major economic gains” to workers, UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement.

That includes raises of at least 25%; first-time profit-sharing and cost-of-living pay adjustments; and the end of wage tiers, according to a UAW statement.

“The deal delivers on the union’s pledge that record profits mean record contracts,” Fain said.

At noon Saturday, Fain and thousands of Daimler workers were scheduled to hold a “victory rally” at UAW Local 3520 in Statesville.

The UAW represents over 7,300 Daimler workers with roughly 7,000 UAW Daimler workers based in North Carolina, according to a spokeswoman.

Daimler builds trucks and vehicles for companies and is “swimming in cash,” Fain said in a Tuesday video statement. Last year, Daimler made $6 billion in profits from workers in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, Fain said.

“We’re going to do everything we can to show this company that we are ready to do what it takes to win the contract we deserve,” Fain said.

The UAW is becoming more active in southern states. The organization’s push for change at Daimler comes days after Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, joined the labor organization.

As of Friday afternoon, Daimler representatives had not responded to a request for comment from The Charlotte Observer.

This is a truck produced at Daimler’s Cleveland plant. Daimler employees are planning to strike for more pay if a new contract isn’t reached Friday.. Davie Hinshaw/dhinshaw@charlotteobserver.com

Where are the Daimler plants?

There are several locations in the Charlotte region, according to Daimler’s website.

▪ Daimler Truck Remarketing Corporation, 2477 Deerfield Road, Ft. Mill, S.C.

▪ Cleveland Truck Manufacturing Plant, 11550 Statesville Blvd.,Cleveland, N.C.

▪ Gastonia Components and Logistics, 1400 Tulip Drive, Gastonia.

▪ Mt. Holly Truck Manufacturing Plant, 1800 North Main St. Mt. Holly.

What did they want?

Daimler workers said they wanted equal pay for equal work, cost of living adjustments, job security and a better future for the working class, according to the UAW.

Clavonne Davis, a worker at the Daimler plant in Cleveland, said she only need one job when she first started in a video for the campaign. Now, she needs two.

“We signed this contract six years ago,” worker Derek Smith added. “In the last six years, things have changed in our economy. Inflation has gone through the roof. Groceries are more expensive. Eating out is a luxury.”

The UAW filed four complaints with the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday. The union claimed Daimler Truck of retaliating against union activities, interfering with workers rights, discriminating against union members and failure to bargain in good faith.

Support for unions in North Carolina runs up against the state’s right-to-work law. In right-to-work states, workers can choose to join a union and pay a membership fee, but joining a union is not a condition of employment.

UAW’s work with Daimler also comes with political implications for the upcoming 2024 election and with North Carolina being a swing state, according to a report from The New York Times . It cited that North Carolina’s Democratic establishment leans more towards being moderate and pro-business.

Charlotte’s auto industry is no stranger to strikes for more pay.

GM Services Parts Operations workers in Charlotte walked off the job in September during a nationwide UAW strike. The Charlotte distribution warehouse at 10815 Quality Drive in Steele Creek was one of 38 across the country that went on strike as a part of the escalation of the UAW’s strike strategy, The Charlotte Observer reported at the time.

The Western Star 49X is a truck made by Daimler Trucks in Cleveland, NC. Workers from the Oregon-based company are planning to go on strike for more pay. Daimler Trucks

About Daimler

Daimler Truck North America designs, engineers, manufactures and markets medium- and heavy-duty trucks, school buses, vehicle chassis and their associated technologies and components under several brands. Some of them are Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses.

The business is a subsidiary of Germany-based Daimler Truck Holding AG. It operates 40 production sites with more than 100,000 employees.

Staff Writer Joe Marusak contributed.