Autoworkers Clinch An Agreement With Ford, Paving The Way For The End Of Strikes Against Detroit Automakers

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has signed a tentative contract deal with Ford, potentially putting an end to the almost six-week-long Detroit manufacturer strikes. The four-year pact, which must yet be ratified by 57,000 union members, might serve as a model for future accords with General Motors and Stellantis.

The United Auto Workers union announced Wednesday that it has achieved a tentative contract deal with Ford, which may pave the way for an end to the almost 6-week-long strike against Detroit manufacturers.

The four-year agreement, which still needs to be ratified by the company’s 57,000 union members, might bring an end to the union’s string of strikes at targeted facilities owned by Ford, General Motors, and Jeep maker Stellantis.

The Ford accord might pave the way for similar agreements with the other two automakers, whose workers are still on strike. The UAW has called for all Ford employees to return to work, claiming that doing so will put pressure on GM and Stellantis to negotiate. Announcements on how to do so will follow.

“We told Ford to pony up, and they did,” said President Shawn Fain in a video message to members. “We won things no one thought possible.” He also stated that Ford put up 50% more money than it did before the strike began on September 15.

The key negotiator with Ford, UAW Vice President Chuck Browning, stated that workers will receive a 25% overall salary rise, as well as cost-of-living adjustments.

Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors had previously all offered 23% wage raises. When the negotiations began, Ford offered 9%.

Assembly workers will receive 11% following approval, which is nearly equivalent to all salary increases since 2007, according to Browning.

Historically, a UAW agreement with one carmaker has resulted in the other firms matching it with their own settlements.

Browning claims that temporary workers will receive bigger salary rises than they had in the previous 22 years combined. Temporary workers would receive rises of more than 150%, and retirees will receive yearly incentives, he claimed.

“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,” Browning said in a statement. Reuther was the union’s president from 1946 until his death in 1970.