July 27, 2026
Local 5285 Members Recalled From Layoff As Daimler Looks To Add 200 New Employees
By Derek Smith Local Communicator
Mount Holly, N.C. - Union leaders at Daimler’s Freightliner Truck Manufacturing Plant are welcoming back recalled members as the company says it’s ramping up for a second shift amid rebounding orders for new trucks. The 400 assemblymen, painters, material handlers and quality inspectors were among 2,000 Daimler employees in the U.S. and Mexico who were laid off in July of 2025 due to plummeting orders over the previous year.
In recent months, the market for Class 6-8 trucks has softened despite tariffs and higher fuel costs as a byproduct of the war in the Middle East.
“There’s definitely some pent-up demand on the replacement side that we’re starting to see enter the fray, and I would expect to see more of that,” Daimler Truck CEO John O’Leary told Transport Topics on July 9. “There has been a lot of suppressed purchasing over this freight recession the last three years where they’ve aged their fleets, not because they necessarily wanted to, but just because the profitability of their businesses wasn’t as strong.”
Last year’s consumer uncertainty meant the displaced workers scrambled to find temporary jobs with decent pay in a crowded job market. However, a contract provision allowed some of the Mount Holly workforce to commute to one of Daimler’s two other N.C. plants - Thomas Built Buses in High Point and the Cascadia plant in Cleveland.
Meanwhile, the Freightliner plant dismissed less factory workers than in previous cuts thanks to an increased daily build rate (71) ratified by the membership with a unanimous vote in May of 2024, keeping more jobs inside the plant during the downturn. Also, a newly awarded profit share program issued checks of $3,510 in April to ease the blow of decreases in weekly salaries for those who couldn’t find employment with premium UAW wages.
“I want to thank all of you (and returning employees) for your hard work and dedication to our union and our company. None of this would be possible without your hard work on the shop floor,” Local 5285 President Ricky McDowell wrote in his President’s Pen column. “We win only when we stand together.”
At a Town Hall meeting in early July, new plant manager Craig Redshaw, a 34-plus year veteran of Daimler senior management, announced the new production plans for the remainder of 2026. He said the recalled workers would be onboarded and re-trained in the weeks ahead with an eye toward resuming the second shift in the fall. In addition, Redshaw said 200 more employees would be added to the plant’s manpower to compensate for those who decided to give up their mutually-bargained recall rights and not return to work.
Starting pay for the assemblers will be $24.92, topping out at $35.60 at the end of the wage progression, with full UAW benefits afforded after 90 days. First-time ever Cost of Living increases supplement the hourly rate over the life of the four-year contract which expires in May of 2028.
For the first-shifters volunteering for the 3:30-11:30 p.m. production run, a recently enhanced premium of 7.5 percent of base pay awaits them, making their paychecks even bigger. The shift premium grows larger with every raise.
Redshaw also told UAW Local 5285 that he has a budget of 14 million dollars to refurbish and spruce up the facility, with exterior painting and roof repair already underway. He also vowed more support for employees on the shop floor.
Daimler announced on July 22 it had raised its financial guidance for the year, with higher-than- expected unit sales of between 340,000 to 370,000 for all trucks and buses, and driven by a better tariff framework.
O’Leary said he expects truck demand to accelerate the final two quarters of the year. Daimler Truck sales rose eight percent year over year in the second quarter of 2026, marking the first quarterly sales increase in a year and a half. |
