Auto mechanics union touts victory with 4-year deal
Union mechanics announced a new four-year deal Sunday that has ended a nearly seven-week strike against roughly 130 Chicago-area dealerships.
The announcement follows recent predictions that the strike was nearing an end. The union had seen an influx of dealers looking to negotiate on their own. Sam Cicinelli, directing business representative for Automobile Mechanics Local 701, said late last week that half of the dealerships making up the New Car Dealer Committee had already signed interim deals.
On Sunday, Cicinelli told the union's members the NCDC had tried - and failed - to break the union, according to a press release. Now nearly 2,000 mechanics who've been walking the picket line since early August are headed back to work today.
NCDC spokesman Mark Bilek confirmed the deal but declined to comment on the union's rhetoric.
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