UAW Strike Update: Union reaches deals with Ford and Stellantis, GM still in talks
The United Auto Workers union has reached tentative agreements with Ford Motor and Stellantis to end the labor strikes that have disrupted the U.S. auto industry for more than six weeks. The union is still negotiating with General Motors, the largest of the Big Three automakers.
The UAW launched its simultaneous strike against Ford, GM and Stellantis on Sept. 15, starting with one assembly plant at each of the companies. The union has steadily added further strike targets against all the automakers as contract negotiations have dragged on.
The main issues in dispute are wages, health care costs, job security and the transition to electric vehicles. The union is seeking to reverse some of the concessions it made during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and to secure a fair share of the profits that the automakers have enjoyed in recent years.
The tentative agreements with Ford and Stellantis largely match the deal that the UAW negotiated with Ford on Wednesday, giving workers 25 percent pay raises over four and a half years.
The raises and benefits cumulatively raise the top wage to more than $40 an hour, including an increase of 68 percent for starting wages to over $28 an hour, reported CNBC.
However, the six-week work stoppage has cost strikers approximately 11.5 percent of their total wages in 2023, not counting the $500 per week in UAW strike pay.
The deals also include bonuses, profit-sharing, retirement incentives and new product commitments for some of the idled or underutilized plants. For example, NBC is reporting that Stellantis has agreed to build a new vehicle at its Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois, which has been shut down since July.
The terms of the deals must still be approved by UAW leadership and ratified by members. The union plans to hold a meeting Saturday afternoon with local Stellantis union leaders to brief them on the details of the tentative agreement, stated NBC News. The union will also resume talks with GM midday Saturday in hopes of reaching a deal soon.
The UAW strike has been one of the longest and largest in recent U.S. history, affecting more than 146,000 workers, one third of which were actually striking, and costing the automakers billions of dollars in lost production. The strike has also added to the supply chain challenges that the industry is facing amid a global shortage of semiconductors and other components.