Note: This story was updated at 8 a.m. Monday with comment from United Auto Workers union.
Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local No. 2069 at Volvo Trucks' New River Valley (NRV) truck assembly operations in Dublin, Virginia, Sunday rejected a new labor agreement – the second time in four weeks that local members have shot down tentative deals.
UAW members will resume their strike at NRV at noon today.
“It is difficult to understand this action,” NRV Vice President and General Manager Franky Marchand said via statement of resuming the work-stoppage. "UAW International, Regional, and Local leadership endorsed the tentative agreement, which provided significant economic improvements for all UAW-represented workers, and a package of benefits that is very competitive for our industry and region. We remain committed to the collective bargaining process, and we are confident that we will ultimately arrive at a mutually beneficial agreement.”
Union members last month voted down a tentative five-year proposal, sending Volvo and UAW leadership back to the negotiation table where they struck the tentative six-year deal that was rejected Sunday.
UAW International Director of Public Relations Brian Rothenberg said via statement to CCJ that the UAW bargaining committee has requested a meeting to discuss open issues with the company "that include the interview process for future hires, healthcare, wages, health and safety issues, working conditions, plant shift operations, contractual time off and wage progression," he said. "The Local 2069 bargaining committee hopes to resume bargaining on open issues later this week."
Local members voted Sunday against common language and hourly language in the deal by 90% margins – figures consistent with the group's first vote last month. However, salary language was defeated by 91% compared to 83% the month prior.
