The strike between the United Auto Workers union and the “Big Three” American car companies — Ford, GM, and Stellantis — has been underway for 41 days, with workers picketing in front of major manufacturing plants demanding immediate wage increases, cost-of-living adjustments, an end to a “tiered” system of employment, a better retirement package, and more. Now, finally, just after the union began the most aggressive phase of the strike — picketing in front of Stellantis and GMs’ most profitable plants, the pickup truck plants in Sterling Heights, MI and Arlington, TX, respectively — Ford has come to a tentative agreement with the UAW, apparently to avoid a similar fate as its two competitors. Here’s what we know about the agreement.
As UAW president Shawn Fain and VP Chuck Browning say in the clip below, the tentative agreement is all about ensuring that “record profits mean record contracts” — a reference to the Big Three automakers raking in cash over the past few years. “”We told Ford to pony up, and they did. We won things nobody thought… possible. Since the strike began, Ford put 50% more on the table than when we walked out,” Fain says. “This agreement sets us on a new path to make things right at Ford, at the Big Three, and across the auto industry. Together, we are turning the tide for the working class in this country.”
“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 president.” That was over 50 years ago. Here are some of the details, per the UAW’s press release:
The gains in the deal, as outlined by Fain and Browning, are valued at more than four times the gains from the 2019 contract, and provide more in base wage increases than Ford workers have received in the past 22 years. The agreement grants 25% in base wage increases through April 2028, and will cumulatively raise the top wage by over 30% to more than $40 an hour, and raise the starting wage by 68%, to over $28 an hour.
The lowest-paid workers at Ford will see a raise of more than 150% over the life of the agreement, with some workers receiving an immediate 85% increase immediately upon ratification.
Note that the “lowest-paid” workers refers to temp workers. All Ford workers, the UAW execs say, will receive an immediate 11 percent wage increases at ratification — a figure nearly equal to all contracts since 2007 combined, Browning says. In addition, the wage increases over next 4.5 years are more lucrative to workers than wage increases incurred over the past 22 years combined, per Fain.
Beyond wages, the tentative agreement offers workers cost-of-living adjustments that were apparently lost in 2009, it gets rid of the tier-system at certain plants (more on the tier system in a bit), and it offers more to folks with pensions and 401K retirement plans. Plus, now UAW workers have won the right to strike over a plant closure, for the very first time ever; “They can’t keep devastating our communities and closing plants with no consequences,” UAW Vice President Browning says. From the UAW’s press release:
The agreement reinstates major benefits lost during the Great Recession, including Cost-of-Living Allowances and a three-year Wage Progression, as well as killing divisive wage tiers in the union. It improves retirement for current retirees, those workers with pensions, and those who have 401(k) plans. It also includes a historic right to strike over plant closures, a first for the union.
Record profits mean record contracts. We have a tentative agreement at Ford. #StandUpUAW pic.twitter.com/Z00T5CfQJN
— UAW (@UAW) October 26, 2023
Here’s a look at some of the terms of the tentative agreement, in graphical form:
So it’s a 25 percent wage increase over the 4.5 year-term of the contract, with 11 percent happening immediately after the contract is ratified. The lowest-earning temp workers at Ford will get a 150 percent increase in wages, with some at Sterling Axle and Rawsonville getting an 85% increase in wages as soon as the contract is ratified (and wage tiers will be gone at these locations). Over the 4.5 years of the contract, starting wages will jump 68% and the highest earners will see a 33 percent increase, with those figures including cost-of-living adjustment, which itself was a win for the union. Plus, there’s now a three-year wage progression which (I think) replaces an eight-year process that full-time employees go through before reaching top pay. On top of these, the tentative agreement “improves retirement for current retirees, those workers with pensions, and those who have 401(k) plans.”
We’ll have more details soon, but for now, Ford workers are heading back to the plants to build cars as the UAW National Ford Council prepares to meet in Detroit to review the deal on Sunday the 29th. Why? As President Fain puts it: “We’re going back to work at ford to keep the pressure on Stellantis and GM.”
If leaders like the agreement, they’ll hold a Facebook Live session to introduce it to members, and then they’ll walk through the terms to local leaders, who will talk with members about the specifics of the contract. Regarding the terms of the contract, Fain says: “Our goal is to have those ready and available digitally following the FB live on Sunday night,” Fain says in the clip above.
Shortly thereafter, members will vote on whether to ratify the agreement.
View this post on Instagram
The UAW’s initial demands included a 40% increase in wages, cost-of-living adjustments, a 32-hour workweek with 40 hours of pay, better retirement benefits including retiree healthcare, the right to strike over plant closures, and the end of a tiered pay system, which I described in my article “I Talked With UAW Workers On The Picket Line In Front Of The Ford Bronco Plant. Here’s What They Had To Say.” Here’s a look at what UAW spokesperson Jim McNeil told me for that story:
He mentioned that one of the key things the Union is fighting against is the tier system. He broke it down for me:
- Tier 1: Pre-2007 full-time employees. These folks got a pension and retiree healthcare.
- Tier 2: Post-2007 full-time employees. These folks have to make do with a 401K, not a pension plan. These folks, when hired, don’t reach a top pay bracket for eight years, and could do the same work alongside a more senior peer while being paid significantly less. Most employees, McNeil told me, fall into this Tier 2 bracket, and therefore lack retirement security.
- Tier 3: “Temp” workers. They make $15.78 an hour at Stellantis and $16.20 at Ford, McNeil told me. This is too low, he believes, especially given that “temp” workers could remain “temp” for years. This type of job, McNeil told me, is not secure, and does not include profit sharing.
McNeil also pointed out that, around 2008, when both Chrysler and GM went into bankruptcy and Ford staved it off by smartly getting loans before they became impossible to get, the UAW made significant sacrifices. Now that the Big Three are doing so well financially, the UAW wants a piece of the pie.
Fain and Browning are clearly thrilled that the union was able to win a significant portion of what they initial set out for.
Per the UAW, Ford’s offer’s value rose 50 percent since the strike began, with the takeaway to UAW members and to the U.S. at large being: Strikes work.
Here’s what Ford CEO and president Jim Farley has to say about this new tentative agreement:
DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 25, 2023 – We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with the UAW covering our U.S. operations.
Ford is proud to assemble the most vehicles in America and employ the most hourly autoworkers. We are focused on restarting Kentucky Truck Plant, Michigan Assembly Plant and Chicago Assembly Plant, calling 20,000 Ford employees back to work and shipping our full lineup to our customers again.
The agreement is subject to ratification by Ford’s UAW-represented employees. Consistent with the ratification process, the UAW will share details with its membership.
This article is breaking news, and is thus being updated as we hear more.
All images via: UAW
That’s a solid W for the UAW. That said, I find the 180° turn in wording from Ford’s previous release hilarious.
“The decision by the UAW to call a strike at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant is grossly irresponsible but unsurprising given the union leadership’s stated strategy of keeping the Detroit 3 wounded for months through “reputational damage” and “industrial chaos.”
two thumbs up, and i’m very pro-union, but one of the claims is so ad-speak it might’ve been crafted by a political speech writer. we have won the most lucrative agreement per member since Walter Reuther was president.” I’m guessing they are not adjusting the dollars for inflation, and glossing over the drop in membership over the decades. I could be wrong. Still an excellent outcome for the membership.
That is great news!
Hell yeah, down with corporate greed!
(personally think that “record profits” mean business tactics and overinflated profit margins that are driving us into a recession, driving inflation, etc. but it’s still good that the little man is at least getting something out of it)
Good for them!
Good to see a corporate monster meet the requests of the people that make them money.
This is almost exactly the settlement I predicted a month ago. And I would have done the arbitration for literally half of the manufacturer losses.
no content regarding EV and Battery Plant specific negotiations? I’d think that would be an important part of any deal, as they were asking for substantial concessions in that realm
Only 4yr contract, wonderful so rinse repeat not too long from now. Tiers mostly went away but no pensions for post-2007, at least that topic is dead for the future now, didn’t Fain say that’s required to reinstate so guess the UAW lost. Lets see how many UAW workers there are 4yrs from now for the Big 3, doubt 100% of those that retire or leave will be replaced.
awww one bootlicker haz a sad
Actually I am happy, it will eventually bring further decline to the big 3 and the UAW. The workers may claim a “win” now, but lets see what happens over the next 4yrs and after that. Big 3 market share has plummeted since 2000, without Trucks they would not still all exist, they are behind in EV SUV/CUV, they future does not look very good for the big 3.
Wow, so you are rooting for the decline of American car companies…I’m trying to understand that line of thinking. You want bad stuff to happen. Ok
We should stop calling them car companies, they are truck & large SUV’s based on trucks companies. They have been so poorly run for decades, sure let them die. Last big 3 vehicle I bought was in 2009, probably will never own one again, for my $ they are overpriced garbage. I’m all for things being manufactured in the US, the best part of the IRA is foreign car manufacturers opening more facilities here.
No no. If it’s Big 3 cars they want, they can buy Hellcats, Mustangs, and Camaros… wait, what? No more Camaros. Well, Corvettes then. That’s what the people want. Trucks and Corvettes. Otherwise it’s cute utes and cars from companies owned from abroad. But still made here. So, we still win.
Lol ‘k
Outstanding.
Interested to see when Beavis and Butthead cave.
Guessing by next Monday here.
Until there are larger forces encouraging the C-Suite to spread the wealth around, we’ll see a clone of this article again in 10-15 years. Mary Barra makes over 5X what the CEO of BMW is paid, and GM’s revenue is only 4% higher
bUt tHaT cOmPEnsAtion iS StOcK oPtiOnz!
CEO pay in the US has increased about 1300% since 1978. Worker pay has increased by about 20% in the same timeframe.
US execs are mostly compensated in equity, which is taxed at a lower rate than the average worker’s salary.
It’s just … mind boggling that people do not support labor at this point.
Again thanks for that reminder. CEO pay is beyond obscene. Yeah I know all the arguments about how hard they work. But honestly if you can delegate your ideas and vision to competent others, it’s not that hard.
The most work I ever saw out of CEOs was working out on the driving range.
Almost all of which involve including a lot of things as work that would not be considered work for others. Like the aforementioned driving range time.
At one time my Grandad was VP of M&A at Merrill forever. I was able to learn so much from him as a young kid. Would go to the club or pool, etc and he’d marvel at the amount of money these folks made, even in the 60s and 70s. Once asked him if he ever wanted to get the CEO job. Said he could never kiss that much ass.
I remember that Grandad’s pension allowed for a very good standard of living for 25 years though. Thank God. It was truly like Mad Men in many ways. Really a different world and time.
Yep, CEO positions are a gift, not something typically earned by skill or competence.
This is a big thing that I feel like people don’t always get. You’ll hear things about how their wealth is less liquid, while leaving out the massive advantages of it. Not only does it get favorable tax treatment, but you don’t need liquidity if you can do most of your spending on credit (at favorable rates) while your wealth continues to make money for you.
I’ve honestly never heard an argument as to how their pay could somehow be less beneficial than what the unwashed masses get. That’s absurd
It’s almost always just an argument that the equity is less liquid, so it’s not really as much as it seems…which is absurd.
The most ridiculous arguments tend to hinge on the impression that a CEO liquidating their holdings would likely tank the stock. Which is true, but not how anyone does things. You sell some here and there, get some loans, or otherwise avoid selling enough at once to crash the value of your holdings. Because CEOs are overpaid, not idiots.
I think that argument is *supposed* to be used for company owners. For example Elon (blegh) owning a massive number of Tesla shares (which I could be wrong but I believe he bought before the company value inflated) and “making” 10 billion a year or whatever. In his specific case that money all has fake value because Tesla is way overvalued. But it’s not necessarily taking money “away” from the pot. It is his money that he already had; it is just increasing in value.
Of course, most people who make that argument are finance bros and full of shit because they most definitely won’t agree with that being fake money.
IMO being compensated in stock is completely different, that’s straight up pay and ridiculous.
You are right that it almost makes sense in regards to company owners, if we are just talking about their existing holdings increasing in value. Though the fact that making money by having money is taxed less than making money by working is a whole conversation on its own, and the ability to leverage equity into loans to avoid being taxed on gains is another.
The Musk/Tesla example is something that often has some things conflated: he gets compensated with additional shares of stock and his existing shares fluctuate in price. Those are two separate things that are sometimes combined to ignore one point or another. I’ve probably oversimplified in ways that ignore some of the nuance, too.
Hey look at that, someone on the internet that understands nuance!
Oh they are absolutely idiots. Many modern CEOs are legacy or nepotism hires that are appointed to their positions because they won’t oppose the board. There’s a whole host of reasons for that like new CEOs are already often rich because the upfront capital costs of creating a new company are obscene nowadays, but that’s another discussion. The main thing is that they’re stupid, but thanks to the position they find themselves in they’re surrounded by smarter people. Those smarter subordinates manage the actual day to day capital concerns and give soft rules on how not to waste it all in one go.
Okay, fair point. They can be idiots, but they know they want to keep their lifestyle, so most won’t do anything to put that wealth at risk.
The silver lining is that it seems like younger generations are seeing just how ridiculous this is and are thirsty for change unlike older generations that reward this type of behavior.
Glad to hear that Ford finally caved. Hopefully GM and Stellantis will fall in line in order to stave off Ford having an advantage on inventory. The ability to strike on a plant closure is a surprising gain. Good for those workers. I knew they wouldn’t get the full 40% or the 32 hour work week, but it was good of them to try. Now let’s see other industries get some similar gains.
Amazing work by the UAW. Like many, I’ve been looking at the strikes on a macro scale. Economic conditions have been absolutely stagnant for everyone but the top 10% or so of earners for the last 25 years while the cost of living has skyrocketed….all of this while the top 1% are wealthier than ever, corporations see record profits, the list is long.
This isn’t just a victory for UAW workers, it’s a victory for pretty much everyone other than the 1%. We’re currently seeing wealth inequality at similar levels to the gilded age. It’s way past time to fight back.
I support them 100% and take great pleasure in the fact that SOMEONE is winning against corporate greed, but I doubt this does much, if anything, for the rest of us.
Next Headline: Ford opens several new plants in Mexico, Canada, and abroad and lays off 30,000 manufacturing jobs in US. Prediction: 2026/27
Not if the UAW has the right to strike off plant closures. Under your hypothetical, Ford would lose almost its entire model lineup for the years it takes to build those plants south of the border.
Yup the right to strike over plant closures is a huge, huge get.
The fact that all their most profitable models are still made in the US of A is a strong rebuke of the ‘they’ll just outsource’ anti-union FUD
So build the offshore plants beforehand as as soon as they are up and running announce all US plants are closed. Go ahead, strike at a closed plant for all the good it’ll do ya.
Problem solved. Now where’s my executive bonus?
They don’t have to close plants entirely, a 3 production line plant dropping to 1 because “we consolidated EV production closer to the new battery plants” is still a large union labor reduction. They can use EVs pretty effectively to reduce ongoing labor concerns.
The tentative agreement includes a clause that allows workers to strike over plant closures. It would appear the UAW already considered this possibility.
Still 40 hour workweek?
Yes. They dropped the 32 hour demand weeks ago
It’s a shame they didn’t get the 32 hour week but I’m glad that the discourse on it is revving up nationally.
I mean it was that or the raises, no way they were getting both. In order to accomodate a 32 hour workweek, Ford (and the others) would have to hire another shift to make the same number of cars, and the money the existing workers got in this deal would have had to be directed there instead. So while yes, a 32 hour week would be awesome, I don’t see a scenario in which the union could have honestly fought for both. Maybe next contract.
I am very disappointed there wasn’t more office worker demand to continue WFH post pandemic, especially when it was clear being in the office wasn’t so much about productivity as it was the value of corporate and retail real estate.
My field is making significant strides on that front but I agree….would love to see more of it across the board
I’m sorry to say I expect any gains your field has made to be wiped out in the coming years. IMO with few exceptions office workers are just too weak willed to keep those gains, especially when they feel the need to look good to the boss in times of high unemployment. Its easier to bitch about long hours, shitty commutes and the high price of gas than to go up against THE MAN.
I think they even convince themselves it’s for the best, after all those occasional impromptu water cooler and hallway brainstorming meetings are TOTALLY WORTH spending 2-3 hrs of personal time stuck in traffic and $20-$40 out of pocket for gas and an overpriced cafe lunch each and every weekday. That adds up but hey, at least their sacrifices increases the value of the company building.
Office workers are also no longer particularly loyal enough to any particular employer to care while being increasingly expendable and their jobs easily outsourced/eliminated in many industries. All of those unfortunate IT employees are going through this now.
Now??? 15 years ago I was laid off and my data center management role was outsourced to contractors from India.
Whenever someone goes off on how tight the labor market is and how much leverage those in demand employees are enjoying I just recall a conversation an older colleague and I had with a young co-worker. He was crowing about how HIS generation was so woke and had so much leverage they were forcing interviewers to the carpet on their companies’ environmental policies. The job market for he and his friends was so hot they could pick and choose to work for whomever they wanted, and walk out on anyone who didn’t treat them right or whose policies offended their sensibilities.
My older colleague and I just shook our heads and told him oh, just you wait…
That was early 2008. He didn’t have to wait long.
I just read an article about a custom RV mfg company in Ohio that has gone to the 4/8 schedule (with 40hrs pay). The CEO said he thought it was the best thing they could have done for the employees, and as they’ve been making improvements in efficiencies, they’re up to about 90% of production as the 5/8 week. He noted that the employees love it, and they have a renewed energy and focus while at work.
You can buy a lot of loyalty with unlimited 3 day weekends
Eh who needs employee loyalty when there are 5 desperate guys lined up to happily take the job of any rabble rouser?
I would agree. Bosses just need to see the business case for it. So far our CEO doesn’t see it, he was indifferent when I pointed out the value of happy employees.
That was put in there with 100% knowledge it was going to be dropped.
In fact, I would wager a lot they put it in there in order to have something big to drop in order to get other things that were more important.
We may get a 32 hour work week in this country but it won’t start with any manufacturing or organized labor where there are real metrics on how much work is produced per hour of labor. It will be white collar jobs where workers are salaried and what you produce is more ambiguous that is the first to go to a 32 hour week.
Agree. Office type jobs where they spend half the day in meeting about the next meeting have a ton of fat they can trim to eliminate 8 hours’ worth of “work”. An assembly line, maybe not so much, at least easily. Although, a few years ago, we had taken a class in LEAN MFG and the instructor shared a personal anecdote from his past job; they had managed to reduce the time on a process down to 32 hours from 96. If I had taken that class now, I’d have asked how that benefited the employees. At the time, I believe he literally said “pizza party” as a reward for process improvement teams.
All the “pizza party” memes are 100% true.
Out of interest, how does this new deal compare to the normal white collar works, engineers etc within the company, I guess a like for like position to the line work just behind a desk?
Anyway, I find it amazing this deal is agreed to, they are some massive increases. Glad they got something sorted on the tiers, they do have a place, but it should really be short term (3 months or less) to boost numbers at peak on say a construction job…
No mention of the battery plant under construction. My guess is Ford wouldn’t budge on it no matter what.
Except GM did offer to put its battery plants under the UAW master agreement. It would be really weird (though possible) if the union eased up on that negotiating point with Ford or Stellantis.
Great job. This is a well-run strike, from announced walkouts at part plants escalating to SURPRISE, MOTHERFUCKER strikes at the most profitable plants when the OEMs were being dicks.
Let’s hope Mary Barra and that bunghole Tavares see the light.
The move from a defined pension to a 401(k) isn’t entirely bad. It lets you switch jobs more easily if your employer is jerking you around. With a pension you’re stuck in an abusive relationship
I’m in a completely different line of work and never been union, and even I know that ending the two-tier system is a HUGE FREAKIN’ DEAL.
I am also utterly shocked the UAW fought for and won a life-changing pay-boost for the temps. I mean, normally nobody fights for the temps.
I would agree, but I feel like a “temp” here is different than a normal temp. In my jobs, temp has always been like a seasonal hire or something along those lines, not a job where someone would work for years, so normally I would say the temps are not around long enough to fight for, that sounds callous and that’s not my intent, but hopefully you can understand what I mean. Everyone is important, and worth fighting for, but if someone is planning to leave in 3 months, I wouldn’t focus there, does that make sense?
Yeah those Temps are future members so this should foster a lot of good will between them and current UAW leadership.
Yeah agreed. The temps are soon to be permanent, so fighting for them is awesome and I have to applaud that.
I’m having a difficult time distinguishing who is rubber and who is glue at this point in the UAW vs manufacturer name calling battle.
*hops in early aughts automobile and putters away without a care in the world*
UAW (the large number of not-wealthy folks) is rubber. Management (the tiny number of unimaginably-wealthy folks) is glue. So hurrah!
They are both rubber. We, the consumers, are the aging horse whose hide is churned into glue.
We’re all temporarily-embarrassed billionaires here, ain’t we?
-for a given value of ‘temporarily’
Won’t SOMEONE think of the billionaires?!?! After all, I might be one one day!
Anyone who says anything bad about the top 0.1% is just JEALOUS!
And once I’m a billionaire, people like me better watch themselves.
Oh I can’t wait until I’m a billionaire and can say FUCK YOU to literally everyone. Once I get to the top I’m kicking the ladder behind me down and setting it on fire because only I deserve it. The other folks are just jealous haters and if they want to become billionaires they should just work as hard as I do!
Calling a labor dispute a name calling battle clearly signals what side you’re on
Thanks DT! And good job UAW. It’s just a shame that it had to come to this. Now get off your asses GM and Stellantis (or WTF your name is) because maybe it’s time to read the room.
It’s about past time the UAW clawed back some shit they gave up many years ago.The Big 3 can go to hell.
Not a union supporter by any means, but they exist for, well reasons.
So fight me, you bastards…I fart in your general direction.
“Stellantis (or WTF your name is)”
-I prefer to call them Cialis, which you would need to be excited about anything they are making these days
Very well put. When they announced the name my wife looked at me and said “sounds like a boner pill.”
Appreciate the reminder.
You’re wife sounds like good people!
Thanks, she was.