UAW FINALLY Reaches a Deal with General Motors to End Auto Workers Strike — With Union Now Targeting Unorganized Factories Like Tesla After Industry Brought to a Standstill
General Motors and the United Auto Workers union have reached a tentative agreement, joining Ford and Stellantis, ending the union’s historic six-week strike against Detroit’s three major automakers.
The agreement would be similar to deals the union reached with Ford on Thursday and Stellantis this weekend.
Elements of the deal include a 25 percent hourly wage increase plus cost-of-living allowances over the more than four-year contract, according to Bloomberg.
UAW President Shawn Fain said they are now turning their eyes to organizing non-union automakers such as Toyota, Honda and Tesla.
Employees of Spring Hill General Motors picket outside the Tennessee plant. UAW escalated attacks against holdout GM this weekend
On Saturday, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union escalated their strikes at General Motors after the automaker was the sole survivor in reaching a deal.
Talks had stalled over issues such as pensions and how quickly temporary workers would get permanent work, sources said.
Nearly 4,000 workers at GM’s Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant, the largest in North America, joined nearly 14,000 workers already striking at GM plants in Texas, Michigan and Missouri.
The Detroit automakers argued that the UAW’s demands would significantly increase costs and put them at a disadvantage against EV leader Tesla and foreign brands such as Toyota Motor, which do not have a union.
The UAW said in a series of social media posts ahead of GM’s announcement that it is committed to expansion and wants negotiations to take place in 2028 between the union and the “Big Five or Big Six.”
“One of our biggest goals coming out of this historic contract victory is to organize like we have never organized before,” Fain said in a video on Sunday.
‘When we sit at the negotiating table again in 2028, it will not only be with the Big Three. They will be the Big Five or Big Six.’
UAW members strike outside a GM plant in Texas. On Monday, sources said GM and UAW reached a tentative agreement
Strikers picket the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex on Wednesday, days before the automaker reached a tentative agreement with the union
Both GM and Ford recently said they would slow their EV builds as demand for these cars has declined.
In announcing the deal with Ford, UAW President Shawn Fain said Ford left 50 percent more money on the table than before the strike began more than a month ago.
UAW Vice President Chuck Browning added that workers will receive a 25 percent across-the-board pay increase, plus cost-of-living increases, bringing the pay increase to more than 30 percent by the end of the contract, topping $40 an hour for top assembly plant workers.
The union said the preliminary contract with Stellantis includes a 25 percent increase in basic wages by 2028.
As well as cost-of-living adjustments that will cumulatively increase the top wage by 33 percent, to more than $42 per hour.
GM employees will return to work after an official announcement of the deal, two sources said.
UAW President Shawn Fain (left) called for the historic strike six weeks ago and has since announced agreements with Ford and Stellantis
Striking United Auto Worker union members picket outside the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant on Wednesday. Ford and the UAW agreed to record wage and benefit increases
“We look forward to welcoming our 43,000 associates back to work and resuming operations to serve our customers,” said Mark Stewart, Chief Operating Officer of Stellantis North America.
Nearly 50,000 workers among the Detroit Three’s nearly 150,000 union members eventually joined a series of strikes that began on September 15.
The UAW’s strategy of escalating, targeted strikes cost the Detroit Three and its suppliers billions of dollars in just over forty days.
Fain must now have the contracts ratified by rank-and-file UAW members. That process began Sunday when Fain met with leaders of local Ford-UAW unions.
Last week, General Motors said the strike was costing about $200 million a week in lost profits.
US President Joe Biden praised the provisional agreement on Monday. “I think it’s great,” Biden, who has touted himself as pro-union and supported the UAW, said when asked about the reported deal.