WDBJ7 Roanoke News and Weather NRV Lynchburg Danville | Volvo and United Auto Workers reach a tentative agreement
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About 1,500 Volvo workers walked off the job February 1 when their contract expired.
Dreama Dominguez says she thinks striking union workers put nails in her driveway.
Dwight Spence says someone busted the windows out of his pick-up truck.
Abe Spence says someone poured sugar in the gas tank of his boat.It looks like the Volvo strike at the Dublin plant could come to an end soon.
The company announced Monday night it has reached a tentative agreement with the union for a three-year contract. This would cover all 2,600 United Auto Workers members at the New River Valley Plant.
Union workers went on strike more than five weeks ago, claiming Volvo was trying to dismantle basic health and safety protections. The two sides returned to the bargaining table last week.
The company is not releasing the details about the new contract. Union members must first vote whether to ratify it. At this point, it's unclear when that vote may happen.
Click here to read the entire press release from Volvo.
Non-union workers face harassment for continuing to work at Volvo
This comes on the very day some non-union workers came forward to say they have been harassed for staying on the job.
"I expected them to call me a scab. I expected that," says Volvo worker Dreama Domniguez. "What I didn't expect was some of the men that I sorta admired, thought they were descent people, to grope themselves as I drove by."
Dreama is one of several non-union workers who contacted News-7, claiming they've been harassed by union members. They say it's gone beyond name calling.
"They have put sugar in the gas tank of my boat," says Abe Street.
"When I went out that morning, my driveway was full of nails," says Domniguez
"I noticed the glass in my car, in my pickup truck was all busted out," says Dwight Spence.
They're convinced it's the union who is behind this.
"You kinda just know," says Spence. "I've lived at that place for 24 years, and never had any kind of incident like that."
Both the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department and the Pulaski Police Department say they are investigating claims made by Volvo workers of signs being left in their yard and nails in the driveway. However, investigators can't determine if it's the striking workers who did it and therefore no charges have been filed as of yet.
The workers provided pictures they say show the sign and the nails. They've come forward hoping it will stop.
"When they get real personal and invade your space, it kind of irritates you," says Street.
But these workers vow the strikers won't prevent them from doing their job.
"It scared me but the more I thought about it, it made me angry and if I had to walk over those nails to get into work I would have done it," says Domniguez.
She may not have to now that the strike may be coming to an end.
We contacted the union for its response. A spokesperson denies union members are behind the vandalism. He said, "Our membership is above that, we're better people."
