Valley Ford Truck employees have reached a 3-year contract with the company, ending a strike that began in mid-December, according to the union.

Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local 1363 reached the contract agreement with the Valley View dealership March 28, Robert Towslee, the union’s business representative, told Signal Cleveland Monday.

“It was a long battle,”  he said. “We had a lot of support from our union brothers and sisters. “Everybody is glad to have this done. They’re anxious to get back to work and put this in the rearview mirror.”

The agreement covers about 24 union members, most of them either automotive, light truck or heavy truck technicians. They went on strike Dec. 18. Some of the issues they were fighting for involved workers’ 401(k) retirement plans and being guaranteed a certain number of weekly work hours. 

Terms of the agreement include a pay raise. Towslee said the first year of the contract, raises will vary by employee in order to “level the field a little” among them. He said raises will be 4% the second year and 4.5% the third. The new contract also eliminates a two-tier vacation schedule. Now, all employees are eligible for a maximum of four weeks, Towslee said.

Under the old contract, technicians were guaranteed 39 hours a week, he said. Towslee said the company wanted to drop this to as few as 35 hours. He said “for the most part,” workers will still be eligible for the 39 hours. Workers were not successful in keeping a union 401(k) plan as an option. The company’s 401(k) is now their only choice.

Brian O’Donnell, a partner at Valley Ford Truck , wrote in an email to Signal Cleveland that the company hadn’t previously said anything publicly about the strike because, “We didn’t feel it appropriate to comment during an ongoing  negotiation.

“With gratitude for our blessings, our family business looks forward to continued top tier quality service for our first responders and customers as we celebrate our 60th year in business in Northeast Ohio,” he wrote.

Union members walked a picket line outside the dealership most weekdays, often bracing against the winter cold and sometimes snowflakes. A constant companion was Scabby the Rat, an inflatable rodent that often appears on union picket lines throughout the country.  In February, unions throughout Greater Cleveland joined the IAM Local 1363 on the picket line. 

This story has been updated to include comment from Valley Ford Truck.