1 min read

Season 5, Episode 19

Strike at Valley Ford after Machinists pension comes under threat

IAM gray

 

Guest Name:

Bob Towslee

Guest Website:

local1363.net 

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Business Manager for International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 1363, Bob Towslee, joined America’s Work Force Union Podcast to talk about the strike at Valley Ford and the threat workers face on their pensions.

Valley Ford Truck is a truck dealership and repair center in Valley View, Ohio. The repair center serves as home to the 24 Local 1363 vehicle mechanics currently on strike after negotiations stalled with the employer.

Valley Ford has met with Local 1363 over a dozen times to try to agree to a new contract since the end of May 2023. Workers are primarily fighting to protect their retirement benefits and pension contributions. Towslee explained the efforts Valley Ford is making to improve wages at the cost of pension contributions. The employer would allow workers access to the 401k plan to compensate for the loss of pension contributions.

During the contract negotiations in 2019, they added wording in the contract that allowed the employer to choose to withdraw pension contributions. At the time, the bargaining unit lost workers over this clause, but the rest of the contract was deemed too good not to approve. Towslee is returning to the table to try and find a resolution.

Negotiations continue today, Jan. 25, and Towslee is hopeful it will go better than their last meeting on Jan. 12. There are 24 workers on strike at Valley Ford, and have shut down repair operations. There have not been any replacement workers brought in according to Towslee, and with the addition of a federal mediator involved, there’s hope of a resolution soon. 

Learn more about Local 1363’s strike at Valley Ford by listening to the show above.


America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, American Alliance for Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North America, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Survey and Ballot Systems, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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