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June 20, 2007
CLEVELAND, N.C. - Union members have agreed to alternate lay-off weeks between first and second shifts at Freightliner, a move that saved nearly 1,500 jobs at the truck manufacturer.
"Our members came together to protect jobs for all, even at personal loss of available work," said George Drexel IV, president of United Auto Workers Local 3520. "I am proud of the decision our union made."
The vote was held Saturday, when about 89 percent of those participating voted to alternate weeks. Workers maintain full benefits, Drexel said.
Freightliner had filed a notice in May with the state Commerce Department, giving the state a required 60-day notice of a pending "mass layoff" that could occur July 10. The alternate work schedule, which starts July 16, averts that layoff.
Freightliner notified state officials of the change, said Debbie Davis, manager of the Rowan County JobLink Career Center of the Employment Security Commission.
Freightliner laid off 1,180 workers April 1. If the July layoff of 1,489 people had occurred, anyone hired Aug. 19, 1996, or later, would have lost their job. But the union members decided instead to share the work between the newer and more veteran employees, the UAW said in a news release.
Freightliner officials have blamed the layoffs on new diesel emissions standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, saying they caused less demand for Freightliner's Class 8 trucks. The Cleveland plant is scheduled to start production in August of the Cascadia, a new model of Class 8 trucks that meet the emissions standards.
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