UAW Strike: According to preliminary results issued by the union on Friday, United Auto Workers members at Chrysler owner Stellantis have ratified a new labor deal following a notoriously difficult round of talks between the union and the corporation.
- IMPORTANT NOTES
- A new labor deal has been ratified by United Auto Workers members at Chrysler owner Stellantis.
- The contract ratifications came only weeks after the automakers and union negotiated tentative agreements, effectively ending the UAW’s six-week strike.
- The majority of Stellantis’ facilities supported the agreement, which includes at least 25% salary hikes, similar to those at GM and Ford.
The agreement is the Detroit automakers’ second this week. According to early results released by the union, an agreement with General Motors earned 54.7% support from UAW-GM members who voted. UAW members at Ford Motor are likewise on track to ratify their agreement, but voting continues on Friday.
A majority of Stellantis facilities decisively supported the agreement, which includes at least 25% salary hikes, similar to GM and Ford. It also includes the reactivation of an Illinois plant that had been inactive for an indeterminate period of time. However, the transaction was met with strong opposition at the automaker’s Jeep factory in Toledo.
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The deal was supported by 68.4% of the more than 26,000 Stellantis autoworkers who voted, according to the UAW’s vote tracker. There were a few smaller facilities remaining to vote at, but there aren’t enough employees at those locations to cancel out the results. The contract ratifications came only weeks after the automakers and union negotiated tentative agreements, effectively ending the UAW’s six-week strike. The accords established a new high for the union, which was significantly more aggressive and strategic during the negotiations than in recent memory.
The union began negotiations with all three automakers at once, a departure from the union’s previous practice of bargaining with each manufacturer individually, selecting a lead business to focus efforts on, and basing the remaining accords on that leading tentative agreement.
As no agreements were made by the September 14 deadline, the union initiated targeted strikes, plant by plant, to catch the employers off guard and apply pressure as necessary. At the height of the work stoppages, about 40% of the 146,000 UAW members covered by the agreements were either on strike or had been laid off as a result of the interruptions.
The new contracts cover groups of workers, such as battery workers, and others who were not included in previous agreements. It’s unclear how many UAW members the new contracts will cover. For the union and UAW President Shawn Fain, the agreements offer huge economic benefits: a road to secure future jobs for union ranks, such as those battery plants; and a springboard for organizing efforts at other nonunion automakers operating in the United States, which is Fain’s primary priority moving forward.
According to the union, the deal’s enhancements are worth more than four times the benefits from the 2019 contract and deliver more in base wage increases than workers have gotten in the previous 22 years. The contracts indicate the high end of expected labor cost increases for the corporations and their investors. While the automakers have repeatedly criticized the union’s tactics, including six weeks of targeted strikes, they should be able to bear the cost increases. That is not to imply they will not seek offsets to the hikes through future investments, restructuring, and other measures.
Frequently asked questions
Did UAW ratify GM contract?
General Motors’ (GM.N) tentative labor agreement with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has been ratified, making its employees the first of the Detroit Three to do so.
Did Stellantis ratify contract?
A new labor deal has been ratified by United Auto Workers members at Chrysler owner Stellantis. The contract ratifications came only weeks after the automakers and union negotiated tentative agreements, effectively ending the UAW’s six-week strike.
Does the UAW still exist?
The United Auto Workers union had 1.5 million members at one time. The UAW now has 380,000 members, who work in a variety of industries. More over a quarter are employed in higher education.
Why UAW strike 2023?
When the union was unable to negotiate an agreement with the three manufacturers, the strike commenced on September 15, 2023. It was the union’s first trilateral strike against the three automakers. The newly elected UAW president, Shawn Fain, took a harsh attitude, which led to the UAW’s decision to strike.
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