General Motors and Stellantis have reached a wage increase deal with United Auto Workers. The deal comes a day after Ford agreed to a deal with the union, bringing the six-week strike closer to an end.
All three automakers have agreed to a 25% wage increase in addition to cost-of-living raises that will put the pay increase at over 30%. The UAW had sought 36% at the start of the strike, while the “Big Three” automakers had offered 23% prior to the recent deal agreements.
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GM made the offer at around 4 a.m. on Friday, with talks occurring throughout the morning, sources familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg. Talks with both automakers were continuing into Friday afternoon to complete final portions of the agreements, the sources said. UAW President Shawn Fain left the GM meeting to go to the Stellantis table.
Ford made the tentative four-year contract agreement with UAW on Wednesday. President Joe Biden, who became the first sitting president to picket with union members in Detroit, Michigan, in September, praised Ford and the UAW for the deal, saying it was a “testament” to the power of collective bargaining.
“I’ve always believed the middle class built America and unions built the middle class. That is especially the case for UAW workers who built an iconic American industry,” Biden said. “It’s showing how collective bargaining works by providing workers a seat at the table and the opportunity to improve their lives while contributing fully to their employer’s success.”
The announcement of an end to the strike may not come until Sunday, which is when Fain expected to provide union members with an update on the deals and how to return to work. The UAW instructed all workers at Ford plants to return to their jobs on Wednesday as a way to place pressure on GM and Stellantis.
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Any final agreements must be approved by union leadership and then voted on by the companies’ union members — a process that could take several weeks.
The UAW strike began on Sept. 15, and it included more than 45,000 workers from GM, Ford, and Stellantis at eight assembly plants and 38 parts distribution facilities across 22 states.
