DUBLIN, Va. -- Volvo Trucks North America says it will restart production at a plant in southwestern Virginia despite an ongoing strike and a lack of a labor deal between the company and a union representing nearly 3,000 workers.
The company said in a news release Sunday that it will implement terms and conditions of a tentative agreement that was endorsed by leaders of the United Auto Workers union on July 1.
Workers at the tractor-trailer assembly plant in Dublin had rejected that tentative pact.
Union spokesman Brian Rothenberg said in an email to The Associated Press on Sunday evening that the “strike is ongoing.”
He said that a new vote is scheduled Wednesday on the company’s “last, best and final offer.”
The Volvo Group is the only heavy-duty truck manufacturing group that assembles all of its trucks and engines for the North American market in the U.S., according to Volvo. It said the plant is undergoing a $400 million investment for technology upgrades, site expansion and preparation for future products, including the Volvo VNR Electric truck.
It added the plant has added 1,100 jobs since the current union agreement was implemented in 2016 and is on track to have a net increase of approximately 600 positions in 2021.
