The United Auto Workers (UAW) union signed tentative agreements on a record contract with Stellantis on October 28 and with General Motors (GM) on October 30, less than a week after it inked a tentative deal with Ford.
The proposed contracts with Detroit's Big Three automakers — Ford, GM and Stellantis — are now pending ratification by union members but workers can return to work during the ratification process, the UAW said.
"All three agreements break records and better unite our union," the UAW said in a statement.
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The strike began on September 15 after thousands of UAW members walked off the job at three factories amid stalled contract negotiations with each of the three automakers, as Kiplinger previously reported. Initially, the strike was limited to select assembly plants: GM's in Wentzville, Missouri; Ford's in Wayne, Michigan; and Stellantis's in Toledo, Ohio.
But since that time more union locals were called on to join the strike under the UAW's so-called "stand up strike" strategy.
According to an October 19 Cox Automotive report, the strike had affected production of about 43,000 vehicles per week out of the roughly 145,000 that these automakers produce, but car prices were not affected.
“For dealers and shoppers, there will be no impact for several more weeks to come” should the strike continue, Jonathan Smoke, Cox chief economist, said in the report.
Benefits to be reinstated
All three deals include reinstatements of benefits such as cost-of-living allowances and three-year wage progressions, which were lost during the Great Recession, as well as a right to strike over plant closures.
“We are looking forward to having everyone back to work across all of our operations, delivering great products for our customers, and winning as one team. ” GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra said in an October 30 statement.
“We look forward to welcoming our 43,000 employees back to work and resuming operations to serve our customers and execute our Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan to maintain Stellantis’ position at the forefront of innovation," Mark Stewart, North America chief operating officer at Stellantis, said in an October 28 statement.
“We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with the UAW covering our U.S. operations,” Ford CEO and President Jim Farley said in an October 25 statement. “We are focused on restarting the Kentucky truck plant, Michigan assembly plant and Chicago assembly plant, calling 20,000 Ford employees back to work and shipping our full lineup to our customers again.”
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