An unmitigated victory for the United Auto Workers and organized labor:
The United Auto Workers strike is set to end as the union and General Motors announced a tentative agreement on a new contract Monday, according to sources cited by CNBC.
The breakthrough comes just days after similar deals with Ford and Stellantis.
The union announced a framework agreement with Ford on Wednesday, followed Saturday by a deal with Stellantis, which makes Ram, Dodge and Chrysler vehicles.
The pacts must be approved by local UAW leaders and then ratified by a simple majority of each automaker’s union-represented workers. That process will take several days.
About 13,000 UAW members went on strike Sept. 15, following the expiration of their previous contract with the Big Three. That gradually expanded to about 40,000 of the union's 146,000 members walking off the job. That slowed production for each company, with the effects ramping up over time.
GM said Tuesday that the strike would reduce its annual pretax profit by $800 million and was costing it $200 million per week at the time.
If members approve the contracts, they will last 4 1/2 years. Union members will get an 11% initial wage increase and a pay bump of 25% over the course of the deal. The new contract also reinstates cost-of-living adjustments, lets workers reach top wages in three years instead of eight, and protects workers' right to strike over plant closures, among other significantly enhanced benefits...
UAW President Sean Fain and his team are master strategists and negotiators. This is just a complete victory for them and their members. Let the plaudits flow --
Congratulations @UAW on securing record contracts for hardworking employees of the Big Three automobile companies!
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) October 30, 2023
Everybody wins when organized labor and industry come together to lift up the great American middle class dream.
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(Photo: UAW president Sean Fain / Jeff Kowalsky, AFP, Getty Images)
