Volvo leadership and union respond to impasse as Pulaski County plant reopens
Jul 12, 2021

Striking UAW members express themselves at vehicles departing the Volvo Trucks North America entrances on June 18.MATT GENTRY, The Roanoke Times

Volvo Trucks North America said Sunday that the company and the unionized workers at its Dublin plant have reached a stalemate during contract negotiations, and it will resume operations Monday.

About 2,900 of the plant’s more than 3,000 employees are members of United Auto Workers Local 2069. They’ve been on strike since June 7.

Volvo representatives and union bargainers met Sunday morning, and the company made its final contract offer, which is the same as the one Volvo workers rejected in a vote on Friday, the company said.

On Friday, about 60 percent of United Auto Workers Local 2069 members voting on a third tentative agreement rejected its terms, the union announced. According to Volvo, that agreement included wage increases and froze health insurance costs for six years.

The unionized workers will vote Wednesday evening on the proposal.

Because the company is saying negotiations have reached an impasse, it is unilaterally implementing the terms and conditions of the most recent contract offer.

While the company is opening up the plant on Monday to entice workers to take advantage of the provisions in the final offer, the union is urging workers to remain on strike until the vote happens. Volvo spokesman John Mies said the plant can reopen and operate without full staffing.

“We need to safeguard our future, and start building trucks for the many customers and dealers whose businesses and livelihoods depend on our products,” NRV Vice President and General Manager Franky Marchand said in a statement. “Our last offer delivered significant wage gains and first-class benefits for our employees, and 40% of UAW voters supported it. We look forward to welcoming employees back to the plant, and to getting back to building the industry’s best heavy-duty trucks.”

"Any employees who return to work on July 12 or thereafter will immediately receive the wage increases and benefits outlined in the July 1 agreement," the release stated.

The company has argued that the plant shutdown is hurting its customers, and the legal move to declare an impasse and implement its "final offer" is necessary to preserve its business and a planned $400 million plant upgrade.

UAW is evaluating its legal options, spokesman Brian Rothenberg wrote in an email. And the strike will continue for now. A membership vote on the final offer is set for Wednesday, Rothenberg wrote.

If the membership ratifies the final offer on Wednesday, workers will receive a "ratification bonus" stipulated in the contract, Local President Matt Blondino wrote in a letter to members dated Sunday and posted on the union Facebook page.

By declaring and impasse and reopening the plant, "basically, they are trying to break our union," Blondino said in a video message to members.

After holding the vote Wednesday, Blondino said the local has the option of filing a complaint against the company with the National Labor Relations Board.

Workers walked out June 7, shutting down the plant, which produces heavy duty trucks for the North American market. Volvo suspended their pay and benefits. The union provides $275 a week and some health insurance coverage for those on the picket lines.

Volvo outlined some of the elements in the contract proposal, which includes eliminating the two-tier wage structure and moving any employee hired on or before June 2015 to the top wage. Top pay varies by job classification, but the company said that assemblers, the largest group at the plant, would make about $57,000 a year without overtime.

The company would also increase the new hire starting pay by more than 14%, from about $34,900 a year to about $40,000 a year for assemblers. The company’s offer would increase wages between 47% and 74% for about half of the employees with a certain classification over the six-year life of the contract.

The final offer would also freeze health care premiums over the life of the contract.

The Dublin plant is the largest manufacturer of Volvo tractor-trailer trucks in the world. It is one of the largest private-sector employers in the region.