Daimler Truck Workers Are Strike-Ready in the Anti-Union South
The South has long been the Achilles heel of the American labor movement. The United Auto Workers are trying to make inroads — including with a heated contract fight between workers and bosses at the multinational corporation Daimler Truck North America.
Workers picket outside of a Ford Assembly plant during the United Auto Workers strike against the Big Three automakers on October 10, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)
Autoworkers in the South are currently engaged in a historic, high-stakes labor struggle against the multinational corporation Daimler Truck North America (DTNA). The labor contract between DTNA and seven thousand United Auto Workers (UAW) members who build the company’s heavy trucks and buses at plants in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee is set to expire at midnight on April 26.
While Daimler Truck posts multibillion-dollar profits, DTNA workers say they are beaten down by stagnant wages, the rising cost of living due to inflation, and an increasingly demoralizing work environment. UAW members are fighting for wage increases, improved health insurance coverage, and an end to divisive tiered employment structures, among other demands.
If their demands are not met, the autoworkers say they are ready to strike.
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