International Truck and Engine Corp. and the leadership of the United Auto Workers union have reached a tentative agreement on new three-year labor contracts, the company announced Dec. 13.
The tentative agreement is subject to ratification and voting will likely be scheduled for this weekend. If ratified, the new contracts would replace the five-year agreements that expired October 1, 2007.
For more than two years, the company has been engaged intermittently in bargaining with the UAW, attempting to reach agreement on changes that would achieve two company goals: improve the competitiveness of Internationals UAW-represented facilities and maintain a good quality of life for employees and retirees.
The current round of negotiations opened on August 27, 2007. On October 23, 2007, the UAW called a strike at the nine company locations that are covered by the expired contracts. As part of the companys strategic production continuation plans, customer orders were shifted to Internationals other locations for production to be completed. The production continuation plans will remain in place until the tentative agreements are ratified.
The UAW represents approximately 3,700 employees at nine International Truck and Engine facilities in Indianapolis, Ind. (engine assembly and foundry), Melrose Park, Ill. (engine assembly and engine engineering), Springfield, Ohio (truck assembly), Atlanta, York (Pa.) and Dallas (parts distribution centers) and Fort Wayne, Ind. (truck engineering). Total worldwide employment at the company is 16,000.
