The agreement notably includes a 25% increase in basic salary and cost of living allowances, said the UAW. It still needs to be ratified by the workers in a vote that will take place in the coming weeks.
Ford said it was “satisfied” with this result. “We have achieved things that no one thought possible,” said Shawn Fain, president of the UAW. “Since the start of the strike, Ford has put on the table 50% more than when we went on strike. This agreement puts us on a new path to turn the situation around at Ford, for the ‘Big Three’ (nickname given to the three major automakers, Ed.) and for the entire automotive industry,” he added.
Restart
This is the first time that the “Big Three” have been targeted at the same time. The strike, related to the development of future collective agreements, mobilized nearly 45,000 employees in total, out of the 146,000 UAW members.
“We are focused on restarting the Kentucky pickup truck plant, the Michigan assembly plant, and the Chicago assembly plant, on getting 20,000 Ford employees back to work, and on delivering our complete range to our customers,” said Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, cited in his group’s statement.
After a tentative agreement, unions sometimes do not end the strike until it has been ratified by the members. But the UAW announced that Ford workers would return to work to put pressure on General Motors (GM) and Stellantis. “This is a strategic decision aimed at getting the best possible deal,” emphasized Chuck Browning, vice president of the UAW. “The last thing GM and Stellantis want is for Ford to regain full production capacity while they lose time.”
Even on Tuesday, the UAW had called on its 5,000 members working at the GM plant in Arlington, Texas to go on strike as well, after the automaker published quarterly results that exceeded expectations. “Another record quarter, another record year. As we have been saying for months: record profits mean record contracts,” commented Shawn Fain.
Increases
The tentative agreement negotiated with Ford provides for a salary increase slightly lower than the 40% that Shawn Fain requested when the UAW went on strike on September 15th, but it is significantly higher than the 9% initially proposed by Ford in August.
“The agreement includes a 25% increase in base salary until April 2028,” the union details in its statement. “It will result in an overall increase of over 30% in the highest salary, which amounts to over $40 per hour, and a 68% increase in the starting salary, to over $28 per hour.” “The lowest-paid workers at Ford will see an increase of over 150% over the duration of the agreement,” the UAW further notes.
The agreement also eliminates wage tiers that disadvantaged younger employees, improves pensions for current retirees, and guarantees the right to strike in the event of a plant closure. “Together, we are reversing the trend for the working class in this country,” Shawn Fain assured.
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