Mack Trucks union says workers are striking at midnight

Nearly two weeks into an expired labor contract, the Mack Trucks union says workers will go on strike at midnight Saturday.

The United Auto Workers Local 677 labor action involves about 3,500 employees at facilities in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida. That includes the Mack Lehigh Valley Operations off Route 100 in Lower Macungie Township, where every Mack truck built for the North American market gets its start on the cab and vehicle assembly line.

The union’s contract expired Oct. 1, and an extension was agreed to through 11:59 p.m. Saturday, says Ray Curry, secretary-treasurer and director of the UAW Heavy Truck Department. Employees who are working at that time “will exit their facilities in an orderly manner after performing any tasks necessary to prevent damage” to manufacturing equipment or products.

The union accuses Mack Trucks, a Volvo Group subsidiary, of having “failed to provide any substantial offer” on sticking points including wage increases, job security, cost-of-living allowances, wage progression, skilled trades, shift premiums, holiday and work schedules, health and safety, seniority, pension and 401(k) issues, health care and drug coverage, overtime, subcontracting and temporary/supplemental workers.

Union leadership is ready to reconvene negotiations Oct. 21, according to Curry.

Mack Trucks President Martin Weissburg said in a statement Saturday the company is “surprised and disappointed” by the decision to strike, rather than allowing employees to remain on the job while negotiations continue. The company sees its relationship with UAW leaders as positive and believes progress was being made, Weissburg stated.

“Mack Trucks is part of the only heavy-truck manufacturing group that assembles all of its trucks and engines for the North American market here in the United States, and continues to compete against products built in lower-cost countries,” Weissburg stated. “We have no plans to close any U.S. manufacturing; on the contrary, we’ve invested more than $400 million in our plants and logistics network over the last ten years, and since 2015 have in-sourced work that has created more than 500 jobs in our U.S. factories. We have significant new investments in both facilities and products on the way.”

This would be the first Mack Trucks union strike in 35 years, The Morning Call reports.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.