by Scott McClallen
The United Auto Workers union and General Motors have reached a tentative agreement to end the auto strike, a report says, marking the possible end of a 45-day historic strike against the Big Three Automakers.
Bloomberg News first reported the deal. The UAW hasn’t publicly released contract details yet.
The deal follows days after the UAW and Stellantis reached a tentative deal after six weeks of the Stand Up Strike, a strategy in which the union strikes select factories against the Big Three – Stellantis, Ford, and GM.
“Once again, we have achieved what just weeks ago we were told was impossible,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a video. “At Stellantis in particular, we have not only secured a record contract, we have begun to turn the tide in the war on the American working class. Going into these negotiations, the company wanted to cut 5,000 jobs across Stellantis. Our Stand Up Strike changed that equation. Not only did we not lose those 5,000 jobs, we turned it all the way around. By the end of this agreement, Stellantis will be adding 5,000 jobs. We truly are saving the American dream.”
Instead of calling 146,000 members to go on strike, which would deplete the UAW’s strike fund, it’s struck at select factories.
“Through the power of our Stand Up Strike, we have saved Belvidere,” UAW Vice President Rich Boyer said in a statement. “Eight months ago, Stellantis idled Belvidere Assembly Plant, putting 1,200 of our members on the street. From the strength of our strike, we are bringing back those jobs and more. Stellantis is reopening the plant and the company will also be adding over a thousand jobs at a new battery plant in Belvidere.”
The Stellantis deal includes gains valued at more than four times the gains from the union’s 2019 contract. It provides more base wage increases than Stellantis workers have received in the past 22 years.
The agreement grants 25 percent in base wage increases through April 2028 and will cumulatively raise the top wage by 33 percent compounded with estimated COLA to over $42 an hour. The starting wage will increase by 67 percent compounded with estimated COLA, to over $30 an hour. The lowest-paid workers at Stellantis, temporary workers, will see a raise of more than 165 percent over the agreement. Some workers at Mopar will receive an immediate 76 percent increase upon ratification.
The agreement reinstates benefits lost during the Great Recession, including cost-of-living allowances, a three-year wage progression and ending wage tiers.
It improves retirement for current retirees, those workers with pensions and 401(k) plans and includes a right to strike over plant closures and a right to strike over product and investment commitments.
Stellantis workers will return to work while the UAW National Stellantis Council convenes in Detroit to review the agreement. Last week, the UAW reached a tentative agreement with Ford.
– – –
Scott McClallen is a staff reporter at The Center Square.
Photo “UAW Strike” by UAW.
