International Truck and Engine Workers
Ratify New Agreement
More than 7,000 UAW members at International Truck and Engine, formerly Navistar, voted on Oct. 27 to ratify a new five-year agreement with the company by a 55 percent to 45 percent margin.
“These negotiations were some of the most difficult the union has experienced in recent memory,” said UAW Vice President Nate Gooden, who heads the union’s Heavy Truck Department.
Before winning a new agreement, UAW members at International had to work for several days in October without a contract. The previous agreement expired Oct.1, and had been extended by UAW members and the company on a day-to-day basis. On Oct. 20, the company announced it would no longer honor the expired agreement.
The new contract provides 3 percent lump sum payments in the first, second and fourth years of the contract, and 3 percent wage increases in the third and fifth years.
The new agreement was reached, said Gooden, in a difficult environment that included “the downturn in the heavy truck industry, a sluggish economy, and the impact of new environmental regulations on diesel engines.” As a result, UAW negotiators focused on preserving jobs at International. The agreement renews the company’s commitment not to sell, phase out or close any plants for the duration of the agreement.
Despite these challenges, the contract delivers pension gains for current and future retirees, new health and safety protections, and an important neutrality agreement regarding International’s nonunion facilities in Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma. The company agreed to remain neutral and to accept card-check recognition procedures during any future organizing drives at these facilities.
The contract also includes a new medical plan that will focus on preventative care for UAW members and their families, including comprehensive doctors’ visits for children and adults. However, required co-payments for office visits and for prescription drugs will be increased under the agreement.
The agreement covers active UAW-International workers at facilities in Ohio,
Illinois, Indiana, Georgia and Texas, as well as some 23,000 UAW-International
retirees.
