Daimler Truck and UAW Reach Last-Minute Agreement, Averting Strike and Securing Record Contract

Daimler Truck has successfully negotiated a new labor contract with over 7,300 hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) at six facilities in the U.S. South, preventing a potential strike.

UAW President Shawn Fain announced the tentative agreement in a late-night YouTube broadcast from Charlotte, North Carolina, near the company’s plants, emphasizing that the deal reflects the workers’ demand for fair treatment in light of the company’s record profits.

The agreement, subject to worker ratification, includes a minimum 25% general wage increase over the four-year contract, matching the terms secured by workers at the Detroit Three automakers.

Upon ratification, workers will receive an immediate 10% pay raise, with additional 3% increases scheduled for six months and 12 months later.

The deal also introduces cost-of-living adjustments and profit-sharing at Daimler Truck, ending wage tiers that previously paid bus builders less than heavy truck builders.

Fain highlighted significant pay increases for the lowest-paid workers at Thomas Built, with some skilled trades workers seeing raises of more than $17 an hour. Additionally, the agreement enhances job security and improves health and safety benefits for workers.

The successful negotiation comes after workers at four North Carolina factories and parts warehouses in Georgia and Tennessee voted in March to authorize a strike, and the union filed unfair labor practice charges against the company.

This agreement precedes votes on unionization at a Mercedes assembly plant in Alabama, indicating a broader push by the UAW to organize non-union automakers’ plants in the U.S.