The United Auto Workers union’s vote on a tentative contract agreement with General Motors that promises record wage increases was met with unexpectedly strong resistance from veteran workers.
Most union locals have voted and the final results, expected as early as Thursday night, are likely to be decided by close margins. Majorities of workers at several large plants in Michigan, Indiana and Tennessee rejected the deal, but union members at a large sport utility plant in Arlington, Texas, voted in favor.
GM, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis agreed to similar contracts with UAW unions after union members went on strike at some factories and warehouses. Workers walked off the job at the first three factories on September 15, continuing their strike for more than 40 days. Although not all factories of any company were shut down, this is the first time the union has struck at three automakers at the same time.
The agreement appears to be on track for ratification by comfortable margins between Ford and Stellantis, the maker of Chrysler, Jeep and Ram, according to current tallies posted online by the UAW.
GM opposes the deal because many veterans want the company to contribute to their retirement plans and retirees’ health care costs.
“We’ve heard from some traditional workers that there aren’t enough people for them,” said David Green, director of UAW Region 2B, which includes parts of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. ” he said. “Retirement health care is an issue for some people. For some, it’s pension contributions.”
Mr. Green himself believes the deal represents a major victory for union members. “This is the best contract I’ve had since I joined the company in 1989,” he said. “So I was happy with that.”
General Motors declined to comment on the contract vote.
Under the tentative contract, the maximum wage would increase by 25% over four and a half years, from $32 to more than $40. UAW officials say the increase is more than the union has won over the past 22 years combined for wage increases.
New hires at lower salary levels can expect a significant pay increase that will take them to the new maximum wage. Also, the hourly wage of recently hired workers will be doubled.
The agreement also includes cost-of-living adjustments that would boost wages if inflation continues, as well as increased company contributions to pension and retirement plans, increased paid holidays, and the possibility of strikes if factories close during the agreement period. It also stipulates gender. contract.
A simple majority is required for the agreement to be ratified. More than 46,000 UAW employees work at GM, but it’s likely not all of them will turn in their ballots. More than 14,000 company employees took part in the targeted strike.
As of Wednesday afternoon, just over 54 percent of votes were in favor of the contract, according to an online vote tally maintained by the union, but that tally does not include numbers for some large factories.
If the tentative agreement is defeated, UAW President Sean Fein, who was elected this year and has vowed to take a more aggressive approach in contract negotiations in hopes of winning significant raises and reversing some of the wages. It will be a big setback for the. Concessions accepted by the union in past contracts.
He appeared to have achieved that with a deal widely regarded as a record deal. President Biden, who joined striking workers on a picket line at the GM plant in Belleville, Michigan, in September, praised Fein’s efforts. The president joined Fein last week at a plant in Belvidere, Illinois, where Stellantis has agreed to continue operations after halting production this year.
“I don’t think the close confirmation vote diminishes Sean Fein’s shine that much,” said Arthur Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. “It just means the expectations were high, and if he hadn’t achieved so much, he wouldn’t have made it.”
After the deal with the three Detroit automakers was ratified, Mr. Fein announced that he would be closing non-union factories in the South owned by Toyota, Honda and other foreign automakers, as well as non-union factories operated by Tesla in California and Texas. I would like to organize workers in this area.
Some of these companies have increased wages for factory workers since the terms of the UAW agreement were announced. Toyota announced to its employees that it will raise hourly wages by 9% in January. Honda and Hyundai plan to raise wages by 11% and 14% next year. Hyundai Motor plans to raise wages by 25% by 2028.
“All of those companies should say, ‘Thank you, UAW,'” Wheaton said. “Without the new UAW contract, these increases would not have occurred.”