Unionized technicians at 56 area dealerships represented by the New Car Dealers Committee voted Aug. 1 to strike rather than work towards a new four-year collective bargaining agreement.

Instead of narrowing their differences with the agreement under negotiation, Local 701 tried to make the NCDC swallow a one-sided contract without any real compromise. The stance will cost the dealers and their technicians dearly.

Many technicians who struck in 2017 never recovered the incomes they lost to that work stoppage. Most of the dealers are making plans to keep their service departments open during this strike.

There are many union and non-union businesses in this extremely competitive automobile service market. The dealers greatly value their dedicated and talented service technicians, but long-term job security can be achieved only by maintaining the competitiveness of all NCDC dealerships.