Tag Archive for: Local 3520

UAW members at Daimler Truck turned out in record numbers to ratify their new historic common contract by 94.5%. The four-year agreement delivers major economic gains for 7,300 workers who build Freightliner and Western Star trucks and Thomas Built Buses in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. The deal includes raises of more than 25%, and the introduction of profit-sharing and Cost-of-Living (COLA) for the first time at Daimler. The agreement will end the tiered wage system at Daimler, ensuring that workers who make trucks and workers who make buses get equal pay for equal work by the end of the contract.

“Daimler Truck workers just showed the world that Southern workers have the power to Stand Up and win big in heavy truck and beyond,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Knowing that Daimler had made record profits year after year from their hard work, members used every tool – including the potent threat of a strike – to win. Daimler workers and UAW members are not only setting the standard but raising it. Workers are fed up and ready to fight for a better way of life, and the UAW is ready to go all-out in that fight.” 

“The membership at Daimler Truck was fired up and unified. That energy fueled the bargaining team’s push for a record contract – and they made great gains on the issues our members said were most important to them,” said Tim Smith, Region 8 Director. “Across Region 8, workers are standing up for justice and a better way of life. Whether they’re just forming their union, like the brave workers in Chattanooga and Tuscaloosa, or bargaining a new contract at Daimler, Southern workers continue to push for a voice and a fair deal in this economy.” 

DETROIT – The UAW just released “Leftover Money,” a new video detailing Daimler Truck’s record profits and their intentions to reward Wall Street, not the workers, with the spoils. It features testimony from workers reviewing the eyepopping profits and their demands to no longer play “second fiddle” when it comes to getting their fair share and raising standards.  

The video can be accessed at this link, and the media is invited to use the footage.  

The video digs down into statistics showing how UAW members have been left out in the cold as Daimler has funneled their record profits to CEOs and wealthy investors.  

In March, Daimler announced record results in 2023 and a robust outlook for 2024, including:  

  • Daimler made nearly $6 billion in 2023  
  • Profits increased 39% over 2022  
  • Over half of those profits were generated in North America  
  • The company plans to spend $2.1 billion on stock buybacks and intends to increase stock dividends by 46%  

After those announcements, Daimler’s stock jumped 18% in just one day. In interviews, Daimler CEO Martin Daum has bragged that:  

  • The company’s profits are “red hot”  
  • The “leftover money” belongs to the company’s stockholders  

Speaking direct to camera, the workers shared their message to the company: “We make the product. We make the profits. And it’s time to make things right. Our wages have fallen far behind. Our job security is on the chopping block. Our families and communities deserve better. And we’ve sacrificed long enough. We’re done playing second fiddle. It’s time for Daimler to invest in the American worker. The money is there. The cause is just. And the time is now.”  

The video launch comes just weeks after 7,000 Daimler Truck North America workers voted by 96% to authorize a strike if necessary. This overwhelming support shows the workers are determined to secure the record contract they’ve earned.  

Daimler Truck workers from six different local unions in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee have been holding practice pickets to demonstrate they won’t tolerate unfair labor practices like refusing to provide information, and that they are strike-ready. Practice pickets are not work stoppages; no entrances will be obstructed and workers will report to their shifts as usual. (Dates, times and locations of all practice pickets can be found here.)  

Bargaining with Daimler Truck management began on Tuesday, April 2, and the workers’ contract expires on April 26. The workers who build Freightliner trucks, Western Star trucks, and Thomas Built Buses are facing declining real wages and job security even as Daimler Truck tallies record profits and makes massive payouts to shareholders. Over the past six years, Daimler Truck’s profits have increased by 90% while workers’ buying power has fallen 13%.  

On the heels of the UAW’s historic Stand Up Strike and record contracts with the Big Three automakers, and as tens of thousands of workers across the country continue organizing to join the UAW, Daimler Truck workers are standing up in their fight for fair pay, cost of living adjustments (COLA), job security and a better future for working families.  

STATESVILLE, N.C. — On Tuesday, April 2, UAW President Shawn Fain will rally in North Carolina with Daimler Truck workers as contract negotiations covering 7,000 UAW members get underway. The workers are demanding an agreement that includes the long overdue fair wages and working conditions they deserve.

Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET rally will be livestreamed at the UAW’s Facebook page. It can also be viewed at the UAW’s YouTube Channel. (Media are invited to use the footage.)

Bargaining with Daimler Truck management begins on Tuesday morning and the workers’ contract expires on April 26. Fain and UAW members at Daimler are standing up and speaking out against the workers’ unfair pay and worsening working conditions.

The workers who build Freightliner trucks, Western Star trucks, and Thomas Built Buses are facing declining real wages and job security even as Daimler Truck tallies record profits and makes massive payouts to shareholders. Over the past six years, Daimler’s profits have increased by 90% while workers’ buying power has fallen 13%.

Tuesday’s rally with Fain comes just weeks after 7,000 Daimler Truck North America workers voted by 96% to authorize a strike if necessary. This overwhelming support shows the workers are determined to secure the record contract they’ve earned.

On the heels of the UAW’s historic Stand Up Strike and record contracts with the Big Three automakers, and as tens of thousands of workers across the country continue organizing to join the UAW, Fain will stand with Daimler workers in their fight for fair pay, cost of living adjustments (COLA), job security and a better future for working families. 

WHAT:   
UAW President Shawn Fain to Rally with Hundreds of Daimler Truck Workers as Contract Talks Begin

WHEN:   
Tuesday, April 2, at 6 p.m. ET 
*Press should arrive by 5:45 p.m. ET

WHERE:  
UAW Local 3520
2290 Salisbury Hwy.
Statesville, NC 28677 

WHO:    
UAW President Shawn Fain 
UAW Region 8 Director Tim Smith
UAW Local 3520 President Corey Hill 
UAW Local 5285 President Ricky McDowell 
North Carolina State AFL-CIO President MaryBe McMillan
Daimler Truck workers and Allies

On Friday, March 8th, 7,000 Daimler Truck North America workers voted by a resounding 96% to authorize a strike if necessary. The contract covers 7,000 parts and assembly workers in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, and expires on April 26th.

The workers who build Freightliner trucks, Western Star trucks, and Thomas Built Buses are facing declining real wages and job security against a backdrop of rising cost of living and massive profits and shareholder payouts by Daimler Truck.

In a video released by the UAW last week, Daimler workers spoke out on the declining standards at the company that have led to their willingness to stand up and fight for better wages, benefits, and job security.

Daimler amassed nearly $6 billion in 2023. In addition, the company plans to spend billions of dollars on stock buybacks over the next two years while lavishing millions of dollars on its shareholders. In a recent interview, Daimler Truck CEO Martin Daum boasted that the company’s profits are “red hot” and claimed that any “leftover money certainly belongs” to the company’s stockholders. Daum received over $7.5 million in total compensation last year alone.

Daimler workers are the latest UAW members standing up to corporate greed. Thousands of UAW members have won record contracts in the last year, including autoworkers at the Big Three automakers, and Allison Transmission workers in Indianapolis, IN.

The nearly 7,000 UAW members who build Freightliner and Western Star trucks and Thomas Built Buses for Daimler Truck North America are gearing up for a historic contract fight. The current contract expires at 12:01 am on Friday, April 26, and covers thousands of workers at six facilities in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.

In a new video, “Not Like It Used to Be,” workers speak out on the declining standards at Daimler Truck, and their fight for fair pay, cost of living adjustments (COLA), job security, and more.

The video announcing the campaign can be accessed here and the media is invited to use the footage.

“When I first started here, I only needed to work one job. Now you need to work two jobs in order to make ends meet,” said Clavonne Davis, a worker at the Daimler plant in Cleveland, NC. “It is our time to fight. It is our time to stand up and fight for what we deserve.”

“We signed this contract six years ago,” said Freightliner worker Derek Smith. “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.”

“We insist on living wages for everyone. We insist on affordable and accessible health care benefits,” said Thomas Built Buses worker, Jennifer Moore.

Daimler workers are the latest UAW members standing up to win their fair share of the massive profits they produce. Last year, thousands of UAW autoworkers walked out on strike for six weeks and won record contracts at the Big Three automakers. Earlier this year, workers at Allison Transmission in Indianapolis, IN, won a historic contract agreement by posing a credible strike threat.