UAW reaches tentative agreement with Ford
Council meets Oct. 29 to consider sending to membership for a vote; strike intensifies for Stellantis, GM
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The first of the Big 3 automakers has reached an agreement with the United Auto Workers (UAW). The UAW announced on Oct. 25 the existence of a tentative agreement with Ford Motor Co. which could reach the members for ratification shortly.
According to UAW International President Shawn Fain, the accord materialized after the union walked out workers at the largest and most profitable facilities at Stellantis and General Motors earlier in the week.
“We said record profits mean record contracts, and UAW family, our stand-up strike has delivered,” said Fain. “What started at three plants at midnight on Sept. 15 has become a national movement. We knew we were getting close. But we also knew the companies needed a major push if we were going to make sure we got every penny possible in this agreement. So, we took our strike to a new phase and hit the companies with maximum effect.
“On Monday, we called on our UAW family at Sterling Heights Assembly to stand up. That is Stellantis’ biggest and most profitable plant. On Tuesday, our UAW family at Arlington Assembly answered the call and went out on strike, shutting down GM’s biggest and most profitable plant. Ford knew what was coming for them on Wednesday if we didn't get a deal. That was checkmate.”
At the time of the announcement, the UAW strike against the Big 3 automakers had lasted 40 days. But a tentative agreement with Ford doesn’t end the strike for GM and Stellantis. Fain and UAW vice president Chuck Browning asked Ford UAW members to return to work.
“We are calling on all Ford strikers to go back to work while we vote on our tentative agreement,” said Browning. “Like everything we've done in this stand-up strike, this is a strategic move to get the best deal possible. We're going back to work at Ford to keep the pressure on Stellantis and GM. The last thing they want is for Ford to get back to full capacity while they mess around and lag behind.”
Browning said that information about the process for returning to work will be shared with the membership. In the meantime, the UAW’s Ford Council – members representing locals from Ford – will meet in Detroit on Oct. 29 and review the terms of the agreement. They will vote whether to send the agreement to the membership for ratification.
Before the membership votes on the agreement, the UAW International will go through the contract with the membership via Facebook Live. There also will be regional meetings in person to go through contract details prior to the vote.
There are significant gains in the proposed Ford agreement. Wages will increase 25 percent over the life of the contract. A cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) has been returned to the agreement, which should push the top wage rate to more than $40 an hour by the end of the agreement. Starting wages will increase by more than two-thirds, and temporary employees will receive as much as a 150-percent raise in wages.
The proposed agreement also contains a three-year progression to top-scale wages, a pension multiplier, the elimination of wage tiers in a few locations, and in a first, the ability to strike over plant closures.
“Thanks to the power of our members on the picket line and the threat of more strikes to come, we have won the most lucrative agreement per member since Walter Reuther was UAW president,” said Browning. “Between wage increases, COLA, annual bonuses to retirees, and other economic gains, there is more value for our members in each individual year of this agreement than the entirety of the 2019 agreement.”
Fain credited the membership for the gains made at the bargaining table. He explained that their willingness to strike empowered the union to win in negotiations.
“When we say we made history, we don't mean me and Chuck and our national negotiators,” said Fain. “We mean the UAW. We mean the stand-up strikers of Local 900 at Michigan Assembly. who took the first step. We mean our family at Local 551 Chicago Assembly who brought the noise, and our UAW family at Kentucky Truck Plant, Local 862, who landed the biggest blow.
“And just as importantly, we needed all of you who stayed on the job. By being ready to stand up at a moment's notice, you gave your national negotiators the power they needed to get this deal done. Everything we did at the bargaining table, every extra $100 million we got the company to give up, was because of you, the members.
“And the next steps are also up to you. Because the members are the highest authority in our union, we send this contract to you because we know it breaks records. We know it will change lives. But what happens next is up to you all.”