UAW Strike Begins

[teamzr1]

The United Auto Workers went on strike early Friday at Ford Motor Co.'s Bronco plant in Wayne, Stellantis NV's Jeep Wrangler plant in Toledo and a General Motor Co. plant in Missouri as a deadline set by the union to reach new contracts expired.
The walkouts involving 12,900 workers mark the first time in the union's more than 80-year history that it has struck all three Detroit automakers at once.

Moments after the strike started at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant, union President Shawn Fain arrived at the UAW Local 900 hall to much fanfare. Thousands of UAW members and journalists swarmed the union leader, who answered questions before leading the crowd on a short march across Michigan Avenue to stand directly in front of Michigan Assembly Plant.

"This union is making history," he said. "This is our time."
Fain said he expected to be back at the bargaining table with the automakers on Saturday. He's scheduled to appear at a rally Friday afternoon in downtown Detroit with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

The plants struck by the union produce popular midsize trucks, off-roading SUVs and commercial vans. Workers in the final assembly and paint shop only walked out at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant. It makes the Ranger midsize pickup and the Bronco off-roading SUV and employs about 4,600 hourly workers, according to Ford's website. Local 900 in Region 1A represents those members.

Outside the Toledo Assembly Complex, local political leaders and fellow autoworkers clapped and cheered, yelling "Here we go!" as the first UAW members walked and drove out of the plant along I-75 shortly after midnight.
It was bittersweet taking those steps, said Joyce Jones, 51, of Toledo, a 10-year UAW member who works in quality inspection.
"It was sad, but it'll be worth it," she said while holding a strike sign in front of a gate off Stickney Avenue. "It's shameful the CEOs are not willing to give their workers what we deserve. We have TPTs (temporary part-time or supplemental workers) who have been part-time for five or six years. They need to be rolled over."

Jacquel McNeal, 30, of Toledo is one such supplemental worker. January would mark three years for her. She is paid $17.53 an hour, and as a single mother, supports four children ages ranging 7 to 13.
"I do what I can," McNeal said. "It's all on my way. (The recent increase in consumer items) has been a lot."
As vehicles honked while passing the picketers and even blasted music, autoworkers hooted and jumped up and down.
The energy was exciting, McNeal said, adding: "I want better."

Automakers, officials react

GM and Stellantis expressed disappointment in the UAW's decision to launch the strikes in statements early Friday.

“The UAW has informed GM that they are on strike at Wentzville Assembly in Missouri as of 11:59 PM," spokesperson David Barnas said. "We are disappointed by the UAW leadership's actions, despite the unprecedented economic package GM put on the table, including historic wage increases and manufacturing commitments. We will continue to bargain in good faith with the union to reach an agreement as quickly as possible for the benefit of our team members, customers, suppliers and communities across the U.S. In the meantime, our priority is the safety of our workforce.”

"We are extremely disappointed by the UAW leadership's refusal to engage in a responsible manner to reach a fair agreement in the best interest of our employees, their families and our customers," Stellantis spokesperson Jodi Tinson said. "We immediately put the Company in contingency mode and will take all the appropriate structural decisions to protect our North American operations and the Company."
In a statement from Ford spokesperson Jessica Enoch just after 10 p.m. Thursday, the company confirmed it had received "its first substantive counterproposal" from the UAW around 8 p.m. The company said the counter offer "showed little movement from the union's initial demands submitted Aug. 3."

"If implemented, the proposal would more than double Ford’s current UAW-related labor costs, which are already significantly higher than the labor costs of Tesla, Toyota and other foreign-owned automakers in the United States that utilize non-union-represented labor," the statement said. "Ford has bargained in good faith in an effort to avoid a strike, which could have wide-ranging consequences for our business and the economy."

Sandy Baruah, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber, expressed concern about the impact of the union's action in a statement early Friday: "The strike by the UAW not only impacts Michigan’s signature industry, it disproportionately impacts Michigan residents, especially those in the middle class. Every OEM auto job impacts between seven to 10 other jobs, which are all at risk as the strike shuts down the industry."

Michigan political leaders also weighed in, with Democratic lawmakers expressing support for the UAW's action in pursuit of its bargaining goals. U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell of Ann Arbor and Rashida Tlaib of Detroit joined picketing workers early Friday outside the Ford plant in Wayne.

“I stand in solidarity with UAW workers as they strike to fight for a contract that gives them the wages, job security, and benefits they deserve," U.S. Sen. Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township said in a statement. "UAW members made huge sacrifices to help save the auto industry in 2008 and now that the Big Three are making historic profits, the workers deserve to get their fair share of the success."

The picket line was a family affair for some.
Adelisa Lebron of Detroit, a Local 900 worker who works at Michigan Assembly on the engine line, was there with her teenage daughter, sister-in-law and mother. Lebron said that even after three years working there, she does not earn enough to support her family.

"Being a single mom with three kids with what I’m making right now, it’s not cutting it," she said.
Her mother, Marilyn Lebron, works at Ford's Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn. She's worked at Ford for 21 years and said she wants the same conditions she once enjoyed for her children and grandchildren.

"She’s a single mom. She’s raising three children. She should be at full pay," Marilyn Lebron said of her daughter. “We had COLA. We had everything. And I want her and my grandchildren to have those things."
Another family member, Alexandria Cosme-Reyna, works at REVC and said she struggles to support her six children on her wages: “I live paycheck to paycheck.”
The other two plants affected by the strike produce popular, profitable products too.

GM's Wentzville Assembly outside of St. Louis produces the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize trucks and the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans. It employs 4,114 hourly and salaried workers, according to GM's website. Local 2250 in Region 4 represents those workers.
Stellantis’ Toledo Assembly Complex is home to its flagship Jeep Wrangler and its Gladiator midsize pickup brother — whose ’24 refreshed model was revealed at the Detroit auto show on Wednesday. Toledo employs 4,174 hourly workers, according to Stellantis’ website. Local 12 in Region 2B represents those employees.

Alicia Alonzo, 62, of Toledo, works first shift as a quality inspector at the Stellantis plant and isn't scheduled to picket until Sunday, but she had to be outside the plant at midnight.

"I'm happy about it," the nearly 30-year autoworker said of the strike. "I don't think we're asking for much: a little raise, for TPTs to be rolled over, some benefits for retirees. They put a lot of years into the plant. Some as many as 50 years.

"Autoworkers work very, very hard. Their people don't have to work on those concrete floors. Your back and knees hurt. When it's 100 degrees outside, it's 120 in there."

Among those greeting the strikers were Ohio state Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson, D-Toledo; Lucas County Commissioner Lisa Sobecki; Mike Pniewski, Lucas County engineer; and state Rep. Elgin Rogers, D-Toledo.

"It's deficient, because they stood up, they bailed them out, and they worked through COVID," Sobecki said. "And they're still not fairly paid."
"Some of them have been TPTs for five years," added Rogers. "That ain't right."
Freeman Woodworth, 40, of Perrysburg, Ohio, is five years into his pay progression as a production operator. He told his co-workers he still can't believe they are out on the picket line.

He referenced the years-long federal corruption probe that resulted in three FCA US LLC executives and more than a dozen UAW officials being convicted, including two former presidents.
"There's been a lot of corruption between the company and the union," Woodworth said. "After so long, you kind of give up."

Now, with the company reporting record global profits, he said, "It's time to pay up. We didn't have anybody willing to make that step. Now we have a new Big Shawn in Detroit."
Later, a picketer was overheard saying, "#FeeltheFain." One truck drove past the strike line, repeating the message, "No justice, no Jeep!"

 

[teamzr1]

Here are the 3 plants where UAW workers are instructed to begin striking at midnight
GM Wentzville Assembly, Stellantis Toledo Assembly, Ford Michigan Assembly singled out by Shawn Fain

United Auto Workers members march at a rally held near a Stellantis factory Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Detroit. The demands that a more combative United Auto Workers union has made of General Motors, Stellantis and Ford demands that even the UAW's president has called audacious are edging it closer to a strike when its current contract ends Sept. 14. (AP Photo/Mike Householder, File) (Mike Householder, Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) DETROIT – The United Auto Workers are expected to begin a strike against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, and their first move is to have workers at three specific plants walk out at midnight.

UAW President Shawn Fain went on Facebook Live at 10 p.m. Thursday -- two hours before the strike deadline -- and instructed the workers at GM Wentzville Assembly, the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex, and the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant (final assembly and paint only) to strike when the old contracts expire.
“These three units are being called to stand up and walk out on strike at midnight tonight,” Fain said.

His request was made under the assumption that a deal isn’t reached by the 11:59 p.m. deadline. Judging by Fain’s comments and a statement released by Ford shortly after 10 p.m., the two sides are still far apart.
“We’ve been working hard to try to reach a deal for economic and social justice for our workers,” Fain said. “UAW family, that deadline is nearly here. Tonight, for the first time in our history, we will strike all three of the Big Three at once.”

GM Wentzville Assembly is in Wentzville, Missouri. There are about 3,600 UAW members at the plant.
The Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex has about 5,800 UAW members.
The final assembly and pain division of the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant includes about 3,300 UAW members.
UAW workers at plants other than the three singled out by Fain are being directed to continue working under an expired agreement. There will be no contract extension.

Fain said those who continue working cannot be fired or disciplined without reason. Management can’t change the terms and conditions of work in their plants.
The strategy behind the “stand up” strike is to keep the three companies guessing and give the UAW maximum negotiating leverage, Fain said.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra made nearly $29 million in 2022. This amount is 362 times the median GM employee's paycheck, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Workers of all stripes have chafed at the stratospheric pay of their CEO bosses for years, even decades.
This year, unions are calling out the pay disparity between workers and CEOs in negotiation after negotiation with management, as they demand more.
It's at the core of the United Auto Workers' messaging, as the union pushes for substantial pay raises for its roughly 150,000 members, who work at the Big Three automakers: Ford, General Motors and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler).

And after their contract expires this Thursday, workers are prepared to go on strike if their demands aren't met.
"The Big Three CEOs saw their pay increase by 40% over the last four years, while our pay only went up by 6%," UAW President Shawn Fain said at a news conference last week.

As of Tuesday, the UAW is proposing an approximately 40% compounded wage increase over the course of a four-year contract, a tad lower than its opening bid of 46%. General Motors CEO makes 362 times the median employee
General Motors CEO Mary Barra, the highest-paid chief executive among the Big Three, made nearly $29 million in 2022. Securities and Exchange Commission filings show that this is 362 times the median GM employee's paycheck. Publicly traded companies are required to disclose the ratio of their CEO's pay to their median employee's pay.

Fain, UAW's president, said that in comparison, a worker makes $16.50 as an hourly starting wage at Ultium Cells, GM's joint-venture battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio.
"That means a newly hired Ultium worker would have to work full time for 16 years to earn what Mary Barra makes in a single week," Fain said.

CEO-worker 2022 compensation at Big Three automakers

General Motors

• CEO Mary Barra: $29 million
• Median worker: $80,034
• CEO-worker pay ratio: 362-to-1
• 
  Ford
• CEO Jim Farley: $21 million
• Median worker: $74,691
• CEO-worker pay ratio: 281-to-1

Stellantis

• CEO Carlos Tavares: $24.8 million
• Average worker: $67,789
• CEO-worker pay ratio: 365-to-1

Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings

The automakers have so far countered the UAW's wage demands with far more modest proposals. As of Friday, the automakers offered raises as high as 14.5% over four years, which Fain characterized as "deeply inadequate." Since the 1990s, CEO pay has skyrocketed alongside the stock market
This kind of pay disparity was not always a given. In 1965, CEOs typically earned 20 times the typical worker's pay in their industries, according to a report from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

But executive compensation soared, especially in the 1980s and 1990s, when CEOs were lionized and a large chunk of their pay was linked to their company's stock performance. CEO pay skyrocketed along with the stock market, with the S&P 500 increasing by more than 1,000% since 1990. In the same period, workers' wages, adjusted for inflation, have barely budged.

In 2021, CEOs earned 399 times the typical worker, the EPI report found.
"Obviously, CEOs should be the highest-paid person in an enterprise," said EPI Chief Economist Josh Bivens, who co-wrote the report. "But the question is, how much higher than everyone else?"

Why autoworkers are asking for a 46% pay raise
However, the disclosure of CEO-worker pay ratios — a rule adopted in 2018 — doesn't appear to have helped bridge the gap thus far, said Cindy Schipani, a professor of business administration at the University of Michigan.
And these ratios, Schipani added, are exceptionally high at U.S. companies.
"The American free market economy has taken this to such high levels," Schipani said.

The average hourly wage for workers manufacturing motor vehicles and parts, adjusted for inflation, has dropped by more than 20% in the past two decades, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
To put that in perspective, in just one year — between 2021 and 2022 — Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares' total remuneration rose by 22%. Workers say: "Our pay isn't right"
The pay disparities rankle autoworkers, especially those who have seen their wages stagnate as their companies' profits have soared in recent years.
Dawnya Ferdinandsen, 54, builds transmissions at a GM plant in Toledo, Ohio, a job she has held since 2016. She earns $27 an hour and says she hasn't had a raise since she was hired.
While CEOs are enjoying their luxury watches and second homes, she said, workers like her are having to make tough choices.
"We've gotta decide, are we going to pay our electric bill? Or, jeez, are we going to go over here and get this medication?" Ferdinandsen said. "We have to make decisions because our pay isn't right."

Ferdinandsen applauds Fain's "audacious" demands, especially the pay increases and a restoration of cost-of-living adjustments, which were suspended in 2009.
"What we want is not going to break the bank," she said, citing the $250 billion in profits that automakers have taken in over the past decade, according to UAW estimates.

Why a 4-day workweek is on the table for autoworkers
Schipani of the University of Michigan said she doubts CEO-worker pay ratios will go down anytime soon, since top executives are paid based on market demands.
The average worker, Schipani said, doesn't have much leverage when it comes to bridging the gap, although she said a strong union can make a difference.
It's a point that UAW leader Fain has been underscoring as the strike deadline nears.

"Without the work that we do, nothing moves in this country," Fain told autoworkers at a Labor Day rally in Detroit. "We have the power, and it's time we use that power to get economic and social justice."

 

[teamzr1]

The United Auto Workers union expanded its strike against major carmakers Friday, walking out of 38 General Motors and Stellantis parts-distribution centers in 20 states.

Nazi Ford was spared additional strikes because the company has met some of the union’s demands during negotiations over the past week, UAW President Shawn Fain said during an online presentation to union members.
“We’ve made some real progress at Ford,” Fain said. “We still have serious issues to work through, but we do want to recognize that Ford is showing that they are serious about reaching a deal. At GM and Stellantis, it’s a different story.”

GM and Stellantis, he said, have rejected the union’s proposals for cost-of-living increases, profit sharing and job security, and “are going to need some serious pushing.”
Instead of targeting more production plants Friday, the UAW went after centers that distribute parts to car dealer service departments.
That could quickly drag consumers into the middle of the fight, if dealers run short of parts.

The UAW said the new walkouts will affect 5,600 workers on top of the nearly 13,000 who began strikes last week at three Ford, GM and Stellantis assembly plants. Those original strikes will continue, the union said.

The UAW is continuing to avoid targeting plants that make Detroit’s bestsellers, such as the Ford F-150 and Stellantis’ Ram pickups, which represent outsize shares of the companies’ revenue and profit. That represents a union strategy to gradually increase the pain of a strike on the automakers. However, the industry’s supply chain is so integrated that even hitting lower-profile plants cuts into production.

Deutsche Bank analysts estimated Friday that GM, Ford and Stellantis have lost production of more than 16,000 vehicles since the strike started last week at a Ford assembly plant near Detroit, a GM factory in Wentzville, Missouri, and a Jeep plant run by Stellantis in Toledo, Ohio. Anderson Economic Group, a consulting firm in Michigan that tracks the industry, estimated Friday that the three big automakers have suffered economic losses of more than $1.6 billion.

The carmakers and some of their suppliers have laid off about 6,000 workers in moves they say are related to the strike. GM shut down a factory in Kansas that relies on parts stamped at the Wentzville plant.
Still, the impact is not yet being felt on car lots around the country — it will probably take a few weeks before the strike causes a significant shortage of new vehicles, according to analysts. Prices could rise sooner, however, if the prospect of a prolonged strike triggers panic buying.
In bargaining, the union is pointing to the carmakers’ huge recent profits as it seeks wage increases of about 36% over four years.

The companies have offered a little over half that amount.
The UAW has other demands, including a 32-hour work week for 40 hours of pay and a restoration of traditional pension plans for newer workers.
The companies say they can’t afford to meet the union’s demands because they need to invest profits in a costly transition from gas-powered cars to electric vehicles.

Fain said that Ford has agreed to some union proposals, including the restoration of cost-of-living wage increases that were dropped several years ago, better profit-sharing and improved job security.
A Ford spokesman, Daniel Barbossa, said the company “is working diligently with the UAW to reach a deal that rewards our workforce and enables Ford to invest in a vibrant and growing future.”

“Although we are making progress in some areas, we still have significant gaps to close on the key economic issues,” he said.
In response to repeated inquires, GM and Stellantis said Friday they would comment soon.
Rather than bargain with one company and set a pattern for contracts at the other two, the UAW has been negotiating simultaneously with all three Detroit giants. Targeting the parts-distributions centers could inflict quick pain on GM and Stellantis, said Daniel Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities.

“The UAW is going for the gut punch as this strike gets a lot nastier,” Ives said. He called it “a very strategic and risky poker move by the UAW.”
Even with Friday’s expansion, the strikes involve only a little over 10% of the UAW’s 146,000 members.
That will make the union’s $825 million strike fund last longer, as most members will keep working under the expired contract and pay into the fund. However, the longer the strike lasts, the greater the risk of dissension between workers who will keep collecting full paychecks and those getting $500 a week from the union.

Fain believes that most of the public is on the union’s side. He invited anyone who supports the union —
“all the way up to the President of the United States” — to join strikers on the picket lines.

 

[teamzr1]

GM parts and distribution sites on strike:

• Pontiac Redistribution – Pontiac, Mich.
• Willow Run Redistribution – Belleville, Mich.
• Ypsilanti Processing Center – Ypsilanti, Mich.
• Davidson Rd. Processing Center – Burton, Mich.
• Flint Processing Center – Swartz Creek, Mich.
• Lansing Redistribution – Lansing, Mich.
• Cincinnati Parts Distribution – Westchester, Ohio
• Denver Parts Distribution – Aurora, Colo
• Hudson parts Distribution – Hudson, Wisc.
• Chicago Parts Distribution – Bolingbrook, Ill.
• Reno Parts Dis. Center, Reno Nev.
• Rancho Cucamonga Parts Distribution – Ranch Cucamonga, Calif.
• Fort Worth Parts Distribution, Roanoke, Texas
• Martinsburg Parts Distribution – Martinsburg, W. Va.
• Jackson Parts Distribution – Brandon, Miss.
• Charlotte Parts Distribution – Charlotte, N.C.
• Memphis AC Delco Parts Distribution – Memphis, Tenn.
• Philadelphia Parts Distribution – Lang Horne, Penn.

 

[Nassau65]

Ford seem to be out in front in the negotiations at the moment.
Considering Henry Ford absolutely hated unions and was the last of the “big three” as they were called back then to accept them. In fact he was brutal in trying to stop them at Ford.
How times have changed.

 

[teamzr1]

If the ongoing UAW strike was hurting GM
Now Canada is in on the money grab as they strike GM within Canada
This affects Corvette as engines built there

The Canadian union representing General Motors Co. workers at three plants called for a strike against the automaker early Tuesday.
Unifor called for the work stoppage against GM shortly after an 11:59 p.m.
Monday deadline it had set earlier to reach a tentative agreement with the company.

Unifor’s negotiations with GM cover about 4,300 workers at the St. Catharines Powertrain Plant building engines for the Chevrolet Equinox and Corvette, Oshawa Assembly Complex making light- and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks and parts for other vehicles, and the Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre in Ontario.

Unifor's strike against GM was called on day 26 of an unprecedented strike by the United Auto Workers representing American autoworkers at GM, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV. GM-UAW members are on strike at the Wentzville, Missouri, midsize truck plant, the Lansing Delta Township Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse plant and all of GM's Customer Care and Aftersales facilities. In total, about 9,200 UAW-represented GM employees are on strike in the United States.

Unifor's strike was called after Unifor President Lana Payne on Friday told members the two sides remained at odds over several issues because GM wasn't agreeing to follow aspects of the pact Unifor got with Ford.
Late last month, Unifor/Ford members ratified a new three-year deal that included the single largest negotiated general wage increase in the history of Unifor, formerly the Canadian Auto Workers.

The deal offered increases of 10% the first year, 2% the second year and 3% the year after, as well as cost-of-living adjustments. It also reduced the amount of time an in-progression employee needs to reach the top pay scale from eight years to four.
For those workers who haven't reached top scale, it raised the percentage those workers get in the first three years.

One issue Payne mentioned on Friday was that GM was resisting transitioning full-time temporary workers to permanent-employee status. GM was also seeking a lower universal healthcare allowance for retirees than the quarterly allowance Ford agreed to, Payne said.

Payne also noted that Unifor had not received anything confirming the existing programs and future programs GM has announced, including next-generation pickup trucks at Oshawa and electric drive units at St. Catharines.
Payne said at the time, Unifor expected "to see these commitments in writing and in the collective agreement. GM knows this, but there have been no advancements on this front to date."

 

[Nassau65]

As I’ve said before, GM is certainly dragging its feet with union concessions/demands compared to Ford. How times have changed as GM were always the front runners and Ford the hold out tyrants.

 

[teamzr1]

The United Auto Workers has reached a tentative agreement with General Motors Co., its third deal struck with the Detroit Three automakers within a week, according to sources familiar with the situation.

GM declined to comment.

The GM deal is expected to follow the pattern set at Ford Motor Co. that was announced on Wednesday. That four-and-a-half-year deal features a 26% compounded wage increase, reinstated cost-of-living adjustments, a three-year timeline to the top wage and increased contributions to retiree pensions and current workers' pensions and 401(k)s.

The deal at Ford resulted in more aggressive negotiations at GM and Stellantis NV, with the union announcing Saturday evening a tentative agreement with the maker of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles.

Ahole Joey Biden, asked about the UAW deal while boarding Air Force On on Monday morning, said, "I think it's great," and gave a thumbs-up, according to a pool report. "I'll talk to you later," he said, suggesting he'll have more to say.

Consecutively, as it sent striking workers at Stellantis back to work, the union expanded its targeted "stand-up" strike against GM, sending workers to the picket line Saturday evening at its Spring Hill Assembly Plant that makes the Cadillac XT5, XT6 and all-electric Lyriq as well as the GMC Acadia.

Monday was the 46th day of the Detroit-based union's walkout against GM.

In addition to the Tennessee plant, workers are on strike at GM's Wentzville midsize pickup truck and full-size commercial van plant outside St. Louis in Missouri, the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave plant in Delta Township outside Lansing and the full-size SUV plant in Arlington, Texas.

Workers across the country at GM's parts distribution centers also are on strike.
GM said Tuesday, before workers at Arlington Assembly plant walked off the job, that the strike had cost it $800 million.

The Ford and Stellantis deals included gains more than four times what workers received in the 2019 contract, according to the union.

GM met the 25% wage increase demand before the weekend, top production pay at GM is $32.32 per hour.

Ford's and Stellantis' deal include an immediate 11% wage increase upon ratification. At least at Stellantis, the further breakdown is 3% hikes in 2024, '25 and '26, and 5% in '27. There also would be a $5,000 ratification bonus.

With reinstituted cost-of-living adjustments that were suspended in 2009, the union estimated at Stellantis the top wage would rise 33% to more than $42 per hour. The starting wage would increase by 67% compounded with estimated COLA, to more than $30 an hour

Ford and Stellantis decreased the timeline to get to the top wage to three years from eight. They both agreed to the right to strike in the event of a plant closure, and Stellantis agreed to allow for the right to strike over product and investment commitments.

The UAW's negotiations with GM and Stellantis intensified after Ford and the union reached a "historic" tentative deal to end a 41-day strike targeting selected plants at the Dearborn automaker, particularly the Blue Oval's profit engine known as Kentucky Truck Plant, home to Ford's Super Duty pickups and full-size Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs.

The UAW Ford National Council unanimously voted Sunday to send the tentative agreement there to the membership. The UAW Stellantis National Council is scheduled to meet on Thursday.

 

[teamzr1]

A majority of General Motors Co. United Auto Workers-represented workers at three large assembly plants have voted against a new deal with the automaker, according to results released by the union locals

More than 60% of workers at GM's Fort Wayne, Indiana, truck plant voted no on the deal, according to results from Local 2209. In Wentzville, Missouri, at the automaker's midsize truck plant, the deal failed with 53.5% voting no, according to results from Local 2250.
And at the Lansing Grand River plant home of the Chevrolet Camaro and Cadillac CT4 and CT5 sedans the deal failed with 57.7% voting no, according to results from Local 652.

Workers at plants across multiple states also turned the deal down on Tuesday. UAW members at GM's assembly plants for the Corvette in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Spring Hill, Tennessee, and Lansing/Delta Township voted against the proposed deal. So did workers at the automaker's Toledo Propulsion Systems plant and Tonawanda, New York, engine plant.

More votes from other facilities, including GM's massive Arlington, Texas, full-size SUV plant, should come out Wednesday.

If the UAW-GM contract is turned down, union leaders would face key decisions to move forward while trying to maintain the momentum the UAW has gained during a strong time for the labor movement in the United States.
A failed contract could hinder some of the UAW's next steps in maintaining and building its momentum, including organizing U.S. plants operated by foreign-owned automakers.

"The UAW will face serious questions if members at one of the companies vote down the agreement," said Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University. "Specifically, the union will need to decide whether to send the workers out on strike, perhaps on a company-wide basis.

Second, if the union goes back to the table to renegotiate with one company, how does it maintain the pattern across the three?
Last, how does it convince the workers who rejected the contract that it has made the maximum effort to get the most that can be obtained from the company? "

Masters added that a rejection of the GM contract would cause UAW President Shawn Fain to "put the brakes" on the union's foreign auto plants organizing efforts.

 

[teamzr1]

On Tuesday, UAW Local 2164 that serves the Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green held their vote to ratify the proposed GM/UAW agreement that was hammered out at the beginning of the month.
The final vote for BGP was 53% voting NO to the agreement.

Within most GM production facilities are two tiers of employees, those who are skilled trades and the regular production workers. In BGP, there were 841 production workers and 76 skilled trade workers who participated in the vote.

The breakdown according to an online UAW Vote Tracker is :

Production/Division 1
• 415 voted YES (49.35%)
• 426 voted NO (51.00%)

Skilled Trades/Division 2
• 23 voted YES (30%)
• 53 voted NO (70%)

The voting for the GM/UAW agreement will continue through the week. For the agreement to pass, a majority of workers across the organization must vote in favor of it, and that means the strike would officially be over. However, we are seeing a trend happening with other facilities also voting down the proposed agreement which would raise wages by 25% and provide a host of other benefits including cost of living adjustments.

Yesterday we told you that Flint workers voted down the agreement, as did those at Spring Hill in Tennessee.
Today, it was learned that several more GM plants have voted NO to the agreement.
They are Lansing (61% vs 39%), Tonawanda (57.3% vs 42.7%) and Defiance (56% vs 44%).

The Fairfax facility in Kansas City voted in favor of the agreement, but the margin to pass was just six votes for production workers.
Workers in Detroit and Orion Township also voted in favor of the agreement.

 

[teamzr1]

It is official, as members of the United Auto Workers have ratified the new four-year labor agreement with General Motors. The agreement was passed by a margin of 54.7% to 45.3% and won by just over 3,400 votes. There were nearly 36,000 who voted, according to the GM Ratification Vote Tracker.

Workers at the Corvette Assembly Plant rejected the plan, as did two other plants that also make components for the Corvette. Tonawanda (engines) voted 58% against it as did Bedford (castings) by 57%.
The measure got a boost when Arlington voted by 60% to ratify, and it was further boosted by the new EV plants which agreed to become union shops. Ultium Cells had 1,185 members who voted yes (97.5%) for the new agreement.

Hourly workers at GM component plants, parts distribution centers and battery plants canceled out opposition from higher-paid assembly plant employees to ratify a labor agreement that puts nearly everyone on the same wage scale.
The agreement passed by a margin of 55 % to 45 %, winning by nearly 3,300 votes out of more than 35,000 cast.

The deal received support from about 81 percent of workers at GM Components Holding plants and parts distribution centers, as well as 96 percent of those at two electric vehicle battery plants. Many will receive immediate raises of up to 89 percent.
Meanwhile, 53 percent of workers at GM’s assembly, metal and propulsion plants voted no.

Workers who already were on GM’s top wage scale will get immediate 11 percent raises upon ratification. All workers also get a $5,000 ratification bonus.
The UAW and GM declined to immediately comment Thursday.
The agreement was in doubt earlier in the week after workers at seven of the company's 11 U.S. assembly plants rejected it. But support from 61 percent of workers at Arlington Assembly in Texas helped to prevent the deal's failure.
In contrast to the close voting at GM, the UAW's deals with Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis are easily headed toward ratification. Both were passing by roughly 2-to-1 margins as of Thursday afternoon.

Highlights of the terms

The GM agreement, which runs through April 2028, includes roughly $2 billion in new investment for future electric vehicle and parts production at three plants, brings employees at GM's joint-venture battery plants under the national UAW agreement and bumps wages and retirement contributions for its U.S. hourly work force.
With the restoration of a cost-of-living adjustment, top wages would rise from about $32 per hour today to more than $42 by the end of the deal, and new hires would get to that level in three years instead of eight.

Temporary workers with at least 90 days on the job will see their wages rise between 51 and 115 percent at ratification as they are converted to full-time employees with seniority, the union has said.
Workers at GM’s parts distribution centers and components plants will move to the main production rate under the new agreement. Their wages currently start around $16 or $17 per hour, with top wages maxing out at less than $32 per hour for manufacturing workers.
The wage gains in this contract for newer employees at a GM parts distribution center in Hudson, Wis., will be “life-changing,” said Steve Frisque, president of UAW Local 722, where 93 percent of workers voted to ratify the deal.

“We feel they’re working right alongside us and should be making the same wage,” Frisque said.

He said he understands the desire among workers with more seniority to push for greater gains, including retirement benefits, but he believes the union was able to achieve everything it could in this round of talks.

“There’s only so much you’re going to get in negotiations,” he said. “Four years from now, we’ll go for the rest.”

Yet it’s not certain whether the economy will be as strong when the next round of bargaining begins in 2028, said Tony Totty, president of UAW Local 14, which represents hourly workers at the Toledo Propulsion Systems plant in Ohio.

Most Toledo workers opposed the deal, according to the union’s vote count. Totty said the plant has many employees who are nearing retirement in the upcoming contract cycle, and many employees are concerned retirement benefits in the agreement don’t go far enough.

GM agreed to increase its contribution into employees' 401(k) retirement accounts to 10 percent from 6.4 percent, and provide a $5 increase to the basic monthly benefit for traditional pension holders, which the UAW said would equate to an increase of $1,800 annually for future pensioners, the union said in a document highlighting the key contract changes.

The contract provides gains that workers are pleased with, but “there’s still a glaring hole in it, and that’s for the pension,” Totty told Automotive News.
“This is a better deal for somebody who doesn’t even work for our company yet than for somebody who just put in 30 years,” he said.
“Now’s the time to fix it.”
Art Wheaton, a labor relations expert at Cornell University, said the close vote wasn’t a bad thing.

“It’s the sign of good negotiations,” Wheaton said. “If they got a 99 percent vote, that means GM overspent. If they got 49 percent, that means GM was too cheap. If you’re at more than 50 percent, it means you threaded the needle.”

 

[Roscobbc]

So what is the upshot of all this for the people in the USA who actually buy the cars and effectively fund all the changes - will vehicle price now escalate to a point where they become uncompetitive against other brands?