Two-thirds of United Auto Workers members voted to ratify a new contract at BMW’s regional distribution center in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, resulting in an immediate 11% raise for many of the facility’s workers, according to a press release last month.
The deal comes after weeks of negotiations ahead the previous contract’s expiration on June 30. The UAW Local 677 bargaining committee rejected BMW’s “last, best, and final” offer on June 26. The rejection made a strike imminent at the facility, which packages and ships parts, as well as BMW motorcycles, to the automaker’s dealer network.
In a statement to Automotive Dive, BMW of North America said it was “always confident” that its contract proposal was “generous and fair.” The automaker cited 26.5% in wage increases over the full five-year term of the contract, which also guarantees workers will pay no increase in health insurance premiums through the first year.
“This is only part of a highly competitive total compensation package provided to BMW associates at our Nazareth Regional Distribution Center,” the company said in the statement. “Associates already receive excellent health insurance, and other benefits including a company vehicle program which allows them to drive a new BMW, replaced periodically, at a significantly reduced cost that also covers all maintenance and insurance.”
The UAW said the new contract secures raises of up to 33% and ends BMW’s two-tier wage system over the life of the agreement. Two-tiered wage systems can provide higher pay and benefits to workers on earlier agreements while setting different standards for new hires.
Additionally, the deal introduces improvements to policies on time off, uniforms, overtime exemptions and attendance, the release said.
“The company has been making billions in profits while many of us had gone for years without a raise, which is unacceptable,” Zach Haas, chief steward and bargaining unit chair, said in the release. “We used our collective power, including the very real threat of withholding our labor, to win a great deal that rewards our work and gives us a stronger voice and platform for making the plant safer.”
BMW Group announced its plans to open the Pennsylvania distribution center in 2007, according to a press release. The 870,000-square-foot facility employs about 110 people, BMW confirmed.
BMW of North America's corporate headquarters, eastern regional headquarters and technical training center are located in nearby Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. The company also operates a vehicle preparation center that inspects and cleans imported vehicles in Port Jersey, New Jersey, according to its website.
