Biden commends UAW, Daimler for reaching agreement on contract

President Biden celebrated a new labor agreement between United Auto Workers union (UAW) and Daimler on Sunday, as the union continues a streak of victories in hopes of expanding in the
South.

The union and the German truck manufacturer reached an agreement Saturday, avoiding a strike of about 7,000 workers at its North Carolina plant and distribution centers throughout the South.

“I applaud the UAW and Daimler for reaching a tentative agreement for a record contract,” Biden said in a statement. “The UAW workers at Daimler are building the trucks and school buses of the future right here in America.”

“This agreement is a testament to the power of collective bargaining and shows that we can build a clean energy economy with strong, middle-class union jobs,” he added.

UAW President Shawn Fain said the new contract includes wage increases of more than 25 percent over the next four years, including a 10 percent raise after the deal is ratified. Fain said the deal also includes the end of wage tiers at the company, as well as cost-of-living adjustments and “profit sharing for the first time in Daimler history.” 

The Daimler deal comes amid a broad campaign by the UAW to organize Southern auto assembly plants following lucrative new contracts in a confrontation with Detroit’s automakers. Last week, 73 percent of those voting at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., chose to join the UAW. It was the union’s first in a Southern assembly plant owned by a foreign automaker.

Workers at Mercedes factories in Tuscaloosa, Ala., will vote on UAW representation in May. However, UAW’s efforts have sparked pushback from Republican governors and business leaders in the South.

The Associated Press contributed.