UAW Files $3.5 Million WARN Act Lawsuit Against Peterbilt
Members of UAW Local 1832, who were locked out of their jobs in September, opened a new front last month in their fight against Peterbilt. The union filed a $3.5 million federal lawsuit against PACCAR — the parent company of Peterbilt — charging the company with violations of the WARN (Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification) Act.
The legal action charges that the company cheated some 500 members of the local out of seven weeks of paychecks when the company gave them layoff notices Aug. 26, and locked them out just eight days later.
“It’s the law,” said UAW Region 8 Director Gary Casteel at a press conference announcing the legal action at the federal courthouse in Nashville Nov. 21. “If you’re going to lay somebody off, you have to give them 60 days notice, and you have to pay them for those 60 days.”
“We say Peterbilt owes us seven weeks,” said Mike Pardue, president of UAW Local 1832. Seven weeks wages and other compensation for 500 workers, he said, adds up to approximately $3.5 million.
Peterbilt locked out 750 members of Local 1832 – including the 500 who received layoff notices – after a contract between UAW members and the company expired and the two sides had not reached a new agreement.
The lockout, said Pardue, “was totally unnecessary. Our members were — and are — ready, willing and able to work.”
