GM reaches tentative deal with UAW to end autoworkers strike, joining Big Three rivals Ford and Stellantis
GM (GM) has reportedly reached a tentative deal with the United Auto Workers (UAW), joining its rivals Ford (F) and Stellantis (STLA) in coming one step closer to putting behind an acrimonious labor dispute that has shut down key operations for over six weeks.
Details of GM's tentative agreement were not available, but Bloomberg reports the particulars of the deal mirror those agreed to by Ford and Stellantis. To recap, Ford and Stellantis have agreed to pay union workers 25% wage increases, reinstate COLA (cost of living adjustment) benefits, institute a three-year wage progression to top pay, convert temporary employees to full time, and end wage tiers among other benefits. GM declined to comment on the deal at this time given the sensitive nature of the discussions.
GM’s talks with the UAW reportedly took longer than its rivals because of pension payment obligations and conversion of workers from temp to full time, though it appears those issues have been resolved. The UAW stepped up its strikes against GM over the weekend, calling a strike at GM’s Spring Hill plant in Tennessee, where the Cadillac XT5, the Cadillac XT6, the Cadillac Lyriq EV, and the GMC Acadia are assembled, in addition to engines for various Chevy, GMC, and Cadillac trucks.
With a GM deal likely in place, the next steps will include the UAW’s GM national committee voting on approving the agreement, before submitting the deal to a full member vote.
President Biden praised the agreement. "I think it's great," Biden said on Monday when asked about the deal.
This past weekend more details emerged from Ford’s deal with the UAW. The UAW said Ford agreed to $8.1 billion in new investments in plants in the US, with the 800-page contract revealing plans to spend $2.1 billion at Ohio Assembly for current products and a new electric van; $1.2 billion at Louisville Assembly in Kentucky for a new EV, pickup, and SUV production, including hybrid versions of the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator; $1 billion at Ford’s Kansas City truck assembly plant; and $900 million for F-150 production and a new EV truck.
In addition, Ford agreed to have its battery and EV plants be part of the UAW master agreement, and allow workers the right to strike over plant closures, which the union said was a first.
As for Stellantis, the automaker also has a tentative deal with the UAW signed over the weekend. Most importantly, Stellantis agreed to reopen a Jeep plant the company shut down in Belvidere, Ill., which the UAW roundly criticized at the time. Stellantis will now assemble a new midsize pickup there, as well as build a new battery plant in the same facility.
"[Stellantis] ripped the hearts out of that community [when it closed Belvidere]. And, Stellantis didn't care. Brother and sisters, we made them care," UAW vice president Rich Boyer said.
Finally, early Monday morning Canada’s Unifor autoworker union announced it reached a tentative deal with Stellantis, meaning the big three automakers north of the border have tentative deals in place as well.
"Once again, we've achieved what just weeks ago we were told was impossible," UAW president Shawn Fain said shortly after Stellantis's tentative deal was reached.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
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