Members of the Diesel Workers Union voted to accept a five-year contract Sunday with Cummins, Inc.
After the ballots were counted, 524members accepted what Cummins Inc. officials described as their “last, best and final” offer to the union. A total of 179 members of the DWU voted to strike, while seven votes were considered void, the union website states.
In total, 710 out of 841 eligible union members cast a ballot, raising the turnout to 84.4%.
The company’s last offer includes a $2 per hour wage increase for all team associates, effective immediately upon ratification. This replaces the previously proposed $1.25 per hour, plus an additional $.25 an hour starting in January, the online contract states.
The $2 per hour increase is included in the back pay, which will result in a lump sum payment for all hours worked — including overtime, shift premium, and special assignment pay — since April 27, the online document states. Cummins Inc. also agrees to apply retroactively to date of hire any negotiated increases to base wages and/or shift premiums for new hires, with retroactive pay paid out on or before Nov. 30, the website states.
However, future increases for most workers will be based on performance, according to the contract.
DWU President Daniel Steward said there was a previous vote on another contract that was rejected on Friday. A total of 388 union members voted down the initial offer, while 378 to accept it.
“I didn’t really have any expectations on how the union members would accept the last and final offer,” he said.
When asked if there is anything he disliked about the final offer, Steward said “no.”
Although numbers of union workers are down from the 1970s, Steward said the DWU has actually been gaining members in recent years.
Union leaders stressed that absolutely nothing else in the proposed agreement has changed. Increases, including back pay, will remain the same for continuous improvement leaders, advanced manufacturing associates, support specialists and operations engineering support specialists, the contract states.
If the union members had voted down the proposal, workers might have continued working without a contract for a period of time. However, the company could lock the union out at any time and hire temporary replacements, the website states.
Those locked out are generally ineligible for unemployment benefits. In addition, the contract states union members working without a contract would not be able to arbitrate if someone’s rights were violated.
If the union members go on strike, the company could hire permanent replacements, according to the agreement. Striking workers could only get their jobs back if the replacement hired to take their place leave the company, the offer states.
The employee would not get any pay, unemployment benefits or health insurance benefits during the strike. But other benefits which have already been vested are not forfeited, and cannot be taken away because of the strike, the contract states.
The Diesel Workers Union had represented approximately 7,200 Cummins workers who worked under one contract in the 1970s. Today, there are about 1,700 DWU members in our region that work under three different contracts, according to the website.
