After 3-Day Strike, Labor Union Reaches Agreement With Trane

After a three-day strike, union members have accepted a new contract with heating and cooling system manufacturer Trane in La Crosse.

Almost 500 production, maintenance and tool workers at Trane went on strike earlier this week after rejecting a proposed contract.

Members of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers said they didn’t feel the company had addressed concerns about wages, benefits and mandatory overtime at the plants.

Neil Kamrowski, directing business representative for the union, said some members were required to work 60-hour weeks under the previous contract. But he said he believes the company fixed many of the problems in the new contract.

“Now the weekends are more sacred than they were before and our members can rest assured that if they’re working a weekend, it’s because they want to be there, not because they’re forced to be there,” Kamrowski said.

Several union members also expressed concerns the company was not offering workers a fair wage.

“Going on strike did not make the (wage) package any different than it was the first time. But the company addressed some of the non-monetary issues that I think were the bigger sticking points,” Kamrowski said.

A spokeswoman for Trane’s parent company, Ingersoll Rand, said in a statement the company believes “the new agreements are beneficial to both our employees and for Trane.”