The United Auto Workers filed a $3.5 million lawsuit against Paccar Inc. in federal court in Nashville, Tenn. Tuesday.

The legal action charges that some 500 members of UAW Local 1832, who received layoff notices on Aug. 26, 2002 were cheated out of seven weeks worth of paychecks when the company locked them out on Sept. 3, 2002.
"It's the law. If you're going to lay somebody off, you have to give them 60 days notice, and you have to pay them during those 60 days," said Gary Casteel, director of UAW Region 8, referring to the federal Worker Adjustment, Retraining, and Notification (WARN) Act.
The lockout took place at the Peterbilt heavy truck factory in Madison, Tenn. Peterbilt is a unit of Washington-based Paccar, one of the nation's leading truck manufacturers.
"Our members didn't get their 60 days," said Casteel. "Peterbilt announced 500 layoffs on Aug. 26, and a week later, they locked those workers out, with no pay, no benefits, no anything."
"We believe the company owes our members seven weeks pay, and we want Peterbilt to live up to its obligations," said Mike Pardue, president of UAW Local 1832. Seven weeks pay for 500 workers, he said, adds up to about $3.5 million, including wages and other compensation.
Peterbilt locked out 750 members of Local 1832 -- including 500 who had received layoff notices -- after a contract between UAW members and the company had expired, and the two sides had not reached a new agreement.
The company may owe eight weeks of compensation, union officials say, to the 250 workers who were locked out on Sept. 3, with no advance warning.
The union has previously filed unfair labor practice charges against Peterbilt, stating that the failure to reach a new agreement was caused in large part by the company's refusal to provide information necessary for bargaining.