Two-month strike could end today as UE and Wabtec reach tentative agreement

Erie's largest industrial employer and its union workforce have spent the summer of 2023 at odds with one another.

The majority of the 1,400-member United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America voted June 22 — following six months of negotiations — to reject the most recent offer from Pittsburgh-based Wabtec Corp.

From that moment on, the union has been on strike outside the sprawling locomotive plant in Lawrence Park Township that was owned until February of 2019 by GE Transportation.

It's been a work stoppage, waged night and day, that's drawn the attention of labor officials and political figures from around the country, a strike that will be remembered by the repeated appearance of an inflatable rat as the union drew attention to the replacement workers who crossed picket lines.

It could all end today. UE members could pack up their signs and lawn chairs as early as tonight and head back to work.

All of that will depend on the outcome of a vote that's taking place today as the union, which struck for nine days after Wabtec acquired the company in 2019, considers a tentative agreement reached between Wabtec and the union on Wednesday.

According to the UE, results of that vote are expected to come by 6 p.m. today.

But as of late morning Thursday, union members remained outside all of the plant's entrances.

Unlike the June 22 vote, which was submitted for the consideration of the union membership, this proposal comes with a recommendation to ratify from union leadership.

According to a statement from the company, "The agreement provides wage increases, improves the grievance process, improves holidays and personal days for new employees, and transitions the Erie workforce to Wabtec’s standard employee benefits with additional benefits new to the union membership."

The proposed contract maintains a 10-year progressive wage scale that starts new employees at a lower wage and gradually raises their pay to match those of so-called legacy employees.

One example of that scale is that legacy-scale production technicians earn $32.67 an hour compared to $21.47 for new employees. New employees would earn about another dollar an hour for each of the next 10 years.

The agreement also provides wage increases for all employees.

The four-year agreement includes a $1,500 signing bonus and a 3.65% raise for all employees on ratification. That raise will be followed by raises in June of each of the next three years of 3%, 3.25% and 3%.

The two parties have been in negotiations since April. When those negotiations failed to produce a tentative agreement, members of UE Locals 506 and 618 voted June 22 to go on strike immediately.

Progressive wages had been a sticking point throughout the negotiations, which have taken place with the assistance of a federal mediator. Wabtec wanted to maintain the progressive scale and the union wanted to eliminate it. As a compromise, the union had proposed a five-year progression that would have increased wages more quickly.

In the end, the progressive wage scale remains in the tentative agreement.

In another financial change, the tentative agreement calls for a cost of living increase of 1 cent per hour for every .017429 of 1 percent increase in the consumer price index.

Union members will vote Thursday on whether to ratify or reject the contract, according to Jonathan Kissam, communications director for the UE.

According to a statement from Kissam, "If ratified, it will end the strike at Wabtec’s Erie, PA plant."

Erie County Executive Brenton Davis weighed in Wednesday afternoon with praise for the tentative agreement.

“I am very pleased Wabtec management and UE 506 & 618 leadership were able to work together to achieve a mutually acceptable contract for themselves and our entire community. This contract will enable Wabtec to continue to invest in Erie County by not only sustaining the 2400 existing jobs, but by creating additional jobs paying family sustaining wages."

Wednesday's announcement comes following a period of silence from the union and the company, both of which had been communicating regularly with the public via online updates for much of the summer.

Wabtec had not issued an update since Aug. 17. The union had been silent since Aug. 18, suggesting, perhaps, that the two parties had come to some sort of agreement over their public pronouncements.

That silence came to an end Wednesday afternoon with an announcement from the company that a tentative deal had been struck.

The strike, which began a day after the official start of summer, has been punctuated by strong feelings by both sides as striking workers and management clashed at times over strike conduct and the manner in which replacement workers crossed the picket lines.

That led to an Aug. 3 consent decree in Erie County Common Pleas Court in which the parties agreed to limitations on the number of union members who could actively picket in front of the gate at one time.

James Grunke, CEO of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, said he had been concerned about the possible outcome throughout the negotiating process.

"I tried to be very clear that Wabtec has to make very serious decisions about where they are going to invest," he said. "Without the resolution, I saw the possibility of them no longer having a facility in Erie."

Grunke said he hopes Wednesday's agreement will change the narrative.

"I think it's great news for Erie. We love these jobs remaining in our community," he said. "We hope to demonstrate Erie is a great site for future investment and expansion for Wabtec."

Neither Scott Slawson, president of UE 506, nor Karleen Torrance, president of UE Local 618, could be reached for comment.

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Wabtec and UE come to tentative agreement to end strike