2021 Virginia Volvo Trucks strike | |||
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Date | April 17–30, 2021 (1 week and 6 days) June 7 – July 18, 2021 (1 month, 1 week and 4 days) | ||
Location | |||
Caused by | Disagreements over terms of a new labor contract | ||
Methods | |||
Resulted in | New labor contract includes signing bonus, increased wages, and other provisions | ||
Parties | |||
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The 2021 Virginia Volvo Trucks strike was a labor strike involving workers at a Volvo Trucks production facility in Dublin, Virginia, United States. The strike began in April and ended in July with the ratification of a new labor contract.
Of the 3,300 workers at the plant, 2,900 were union members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2069. In March 2021, the labor contract between the union and company expired, and while the union authorized a 30-day extension while both sides continued to negotiate the terms of a replacement, neither side could come to an agreement, with disagreements primarily covering wage increases, job securities, and health care, among other issues. As a result, on April 17, Local 2069 commenced with strike action against the plant, with workers picketing outside while negotiations continued. On April 30, the strike was called off after UAW announced a tentative agreement had been reached with the company. However, members voted to overwhelmingly reject this agreement on May 16 and proceeded to reject a second tentative agreement on June 6. Following this, on June 7, strike action recommenced. About a month after this, on July 9, union members rejected a third tentative agreement that had been reached between UAW and Volvo Trucks. On July 11, the company declared an impasse and stated they would be reopening the plant, with the third tentative agreement serving as their final offer to the union. In a vote held on July 14, union members narrowly voted to accept the terms of the agreement, with strikers returning to work on July 18, thus ending the strike.
The terms of the new contract included a $2,000 signing bonus for most of the union members, a 12 percent annual wage increase over the six-year life of the contract, and a price freeze on health care premiums for the duration of the contract, among other provisions.