WARRENVILLE , IL -- International Truck and Engine Corp. and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union have reached a tentative agreement on new three-year labor contracts.

The tentative agreement is subject to ratification through a majority vote by the UAW members at the affected locations. Voting was expected to take place this weekend. If ratified, the new contracts would replace the five-year agreements that expired on October 1.

For more than two years, the company has been engaged intermittently in bargaining with the UAW, attempting to reach agreement on changes that would achieve two company goals: improve the competitiveness of International’s UAW-represented facilities and maintain a good quality of life for employees and retirees.

The current round of negotiations opened on Aug. 27. On Oct. 23, the UAW called a strike at the nine company locations that are covered by the expired contracts. As part of the company’s strategic p rod uction continuation plans, customer orders were shifted to International’s other locations for p rod uction to be completed. The p rod uction continuation plans will remain in place until the tentative agreements are ratified.

The UAW represents approximately 3,700 employees at nine International Truck and Engine facilities in Indianapolis , IN (engine assembly and foundry), Melrose Park , IL (engine assembly and engine engineering), Springfield , Ohio (truck assembly), Atlanta , York , PA , and Dallas (parts distribution centers) and Fort Wayne , IN (truck engineering). Total worldwide employment at the company is 16,000.