Nearly 2,000 Chicago-area auto mechanics, members of IAM Automobile Mechanics Local 701, are returning to work Monday, ending a seven week strike against new car dealerships. The mechanics ratified a four year contract on Sunday with the Chicago New Car Dealer Committee, representing 130 area dealerships. The agreement was reached after over 70 individual dealerships bypassed the organization to settle with the union directly.

Local 701 Directing Business Representative Sam Cicinelli told his members, “They tried to break this union. They attempted every dirty trick in the book by trying to demoralize you on the line. They tried to fill you with uncertainty while blaming the union for what’s going on. They tried to divide you. But we divided them.”

The new contract addresses a wide variety of the union’s key issues, including a significant wage increase, an increase in base pay hours, advancement of semi-skilled workers towards a career path and more family-friendly work schedules.