DETROIT – UAW members at 11 local unions in Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas have voted to ratify a new three-year labor agreement with International Truck and Engine (ITE). Seventy-one percent of workers voted in favor of the new contract in balloting conducted on Sunday, Dec. 16. The agreement settles a strike which began at ITE facilities on Oct. 23 in protest of unfair labor practices.

The pact will cover more than 4,000 UAW members at 11 local unions around the country who make medium- and light-duty truck engines and Navistar medium-duty trucks.

“This was a challenging set of negotiations which required our members to be on picket lines to stand up for fairness and justice,” said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. “Thanks to the extraordinary solidarity of our members, we’ve reached an agreement that will benefit UAW ITE workers, as well as the company and our communities.”

The new contract, which will expire on Oct. 1, 2010, includes a $2,500 lump-sum payment following ratification, a 3 percent lump-sum payment on Oct. 1, 2008 and a 3 percent lump-sum payment on Oct. 1, 2009.

The agreement also includes pension upgrades; health care protections for active and retired workers; health and safety improvements to eliminate work-related injuries through identification, elimination and control of hazards; and a moratorium on plant closings and outsourcing during the life of the agreement. No work can be outsourced from International Truck and Engine facilities without mutual agreement.

“We went into these negotiations determined to protect jobs and protect our members, and we’ve accomplished our goals,” said UAW Vice President General Holiefield, who directs the union’s Heavy Trucks Department. “Our bargaining committee did an outstanding job in bringing home this new agreement -- and now our members are going to focus on delivering top quality to ITE customers.”

Workers covered by the new agreement are members of UAW Local 98 at the ITE Indianapolis Engine Plant; Local 226 at Indianapolis Casting Corp.; Local 2274, who are ITE clerical and technical workers in Indianapolis; Local 2911 at Fort Wayne (Ind.) Engineering; Local 402 at the ITE Springfield Assembly Plant in Springfield, Ohio; Local 658, who are ITE clerical and technical workers in Springfield; Local 6 at the ITE Engine Plant in Melrose Park, Ill.; Local 2293, who are clerical and technical workers in Melrose Park; Local 472 at the ITE Parts Distribution Center (PDC) in Atlanta; Local 119 at the ITE PDC in Dallas, and Local 1872 at the ITE PDC in York, Pa.