Negotiators were burning the midnight oil to get a deal pushed through before the midnight deadline for the Car Hauler Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT). Both sides ironed out the details of a three-year agreement that will provide wage increases, increases to maintain health and welfare benefits, additional paid time off and work rule improvements. Now comes the complicated waiting game.
Details of the agreement won’t be made publicly available until the local union representatives meet in Washington, D.C. on June 16. IBT has strict guidelines on what occurs next. Members were instructed to work normal shifts while the next steps are being worked through.
“This agreement addresses our members’ top priorities. We will release more information once the local union leaders have the opportunity to review it. I want to thank the negotiating committee for their hard work and dedication throughout the bargaining process. We are proud of what we have accomplished. This agreement will improve wages and benefits and will serve as a national model to organize hundreds of new car haulers nationwide.”
Avral Thompson, Teamsters Carhaul Division Director and TNATINC Co-Chair
The upcoming meeting in Washington is for a “two-person committee,” where two representatives of each local union will review the new contract and decide to approve or reject it. If accepted, the contract will be reviewed by the IBT General Executive Board. They will then decide if the contract should be sent out for a ratification vote by union members.
If passed by the membership, all wages, rates, and benefits will be paid at the new contract rate retroactively to June 1, the first day the new deal covers. The National Master Automobile Transporters Agreement (NMATA), the contract’s proper name, covers over 3,000 union members in 29 local Teamsters unions. The announcement on the Teamsters website can be read at this link. Mark Solomon, FreightWaves’ Managing Editor of Freight Markets, also posted a story on the union negotiations.
