UAW Ratifies 'Record' Contracts With Detroit's Big Three

DETROIT — The United Auto Workers Union confirmed new deals with Detroit's Big Three on Monday, United Auto Workers Union President Shawn Fain said.

Roughly 64 percent of hourly workers at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis agreed to ratify the "record" contracts the union reached with the automakers, according to the union. The breakdown included 69 percent of hourly workers at Ford supporting the deal, 70 percent at Stellantis and 55 percent at General Motors.

"The members have spoken. After years of cutbacks, months of our Stand Up campaign, and weeks on the picket line, we have turned the tide for the American autoworker," UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. "The Stand Up Strike was just the beginning. The UAW is back to setting the standard. Now, we take our strike muscle and our fighting spirit to the rest of the industries we represent, and to millions of non-union workers ready to Stand Up and fight for a better way of life."

The new four-and-a-half-year agreements secure wage increases, cost-of-living adjustments and investment commitments for the union's 146,000 members at Detroit's Big Three facilities.

The new deals include cutting the timeline to earn top pay to three years from eight years, converting temporary and supplemental workers to full-time after nine months on the job and increasing their pay to $21 per hour from less than $17. There will also be a general 11 percent increase for all workers, though some workers will see more.

With the new cost-of-living adjustments, which were suspended in 2009 after the Great Recession, the union believes top wages across the automaker's will rise 33 percent to more than $42 per hour in the fall of 2027. The starting wage can also increase to more than $30 an hour, according to the union.

The automakers also agreed to more investments that can help hire more workers and increase wages in the new agreements. Stellantis plans $19 billion in U.S. investments, which includes reviving an Illinois plant, according to the United Auto Worker highlighter.

Ford plans to invest $8.1 billion in United Auto Workers plants and General Motors says it will invest $1.94 billion.

The United Auto Workers strike against Detroit's Big Three began on Sept. 15 after the union failed to reach an agreement with the automakers. At one point, nearly 35,000 United Auto Workers were striking against the automakers. It was the first time the union launched a strike against the Big Three at the same time.

Thousands of workers across facilities that operated with the automakers were temporarily laid off due to the strike, which tentatively ended on Oct. 30. The strike cost the industry roughly $5.5 billion, which included $579 million in lost wages for workers and $2.6 billion in losses for automakers, according to an economic assessment from East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group.

Each of Detroit's Big Three released statements on the ratification Monday:

"Ford believes in rewarding all of our people and growing the middle class in America — and we have shown that with our actions over many years," Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. "It’s also imperative that we continue to attack cost and waste throughout our operations. The reality is that this labor agreement added significant cost, and we are going to have to work very hard on productivity and efficiency to become more competitive."

“We are pleased," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement, "our team members have ratified the new agreement that rewards our employees, protects the future of the business and allows us to continue to provide good jobs in communities across the U.S. We can now move forward as one team doing what we do best — delivering great products for our customers and winning together.”

“With negotiations now officially behind us, we will focus our full attention on executing our Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan and serving our customers by delivering the high quality products and technologies they want and expect, especially as we prepare to launch eight all-new electric vehicles in the U.S. market in 2024,” said Mark Stewart, Stellantis chief operating officer.