Stellantis and the United Auto Workers (UAW) have reached a tentative agreement, ending a six-week strike that has cost the automaker billions of dollars in lost production. The agreement, which is subject to ratification by UAW members, includes a 25% wage increase, revived cost-of-living adjustments, and a reduction in the time for new workers to reach the top wage scale.
The UAW strike has been the union’s first against all of Detroit’s Big Three automakers at the same time, as workers railed against years of their wages not keeping up with inflation.
The agreement largely matches the deal that the UAW negotiated with Ford, leaving General Motors as the only holdout.
Before the UAW walked out of an additional GM plant in Arlington, Tex., on Tuesday, General Motors said that the strike was costing it $200 million a week.
Ford this week said the strike had cost it $1.3 billion.
If ratified by a majority of the automaker’s UAW workers, the new contract will give Stellantis employees a 25 percent raise in base wages over the next four and a half years, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks. The deal and a similar Oct. 25 agreement with Ford give the UAW its biggest gains in years after a hard-fought campaign by the union’s combative new president, Shawn Fain.
As with the Ford deal, the Stellantis agreement gives workers cost-of-living adjustments to wages that will push the total wage increase to around 30 percent, the person said.
The strike began on September 16, when the UAW’s contract with Stellantis expired. The union was demanding significant wage increases and other improvements to working conditions. Stellantis initially resisted the union’s demands, but the two sides eventually reached a tentative agreement on October 27.
The tentative agreement is a major victory for the UAW, which has struggled to improve the wages and benefits of its members in recent years. The 25% wage increase is the largest that the union has negotiated in decades. The revived cost-of-living adjustments will help workers keep up with inflation. And the reduction in the time for new workers to reach the top wage scale will help to attract and retain workers.
The tentative agreement is also a positive development for Stellantis. The strike has had a significant impact on the automaker’s production, and the company is eager to get its workers back on the job. The agreement should also help to improve Stellantis’ relationship with its workers.
The UAW will now vote on whether to ratify the tentative agreement. If the agreement is ratified, workers will return to work immediately. If the agreement is rejected, the strike will continue.
The tentative agreement between Stellantis and the UAW is a significant development for the auto industry. It is also a victory for workers, who have been demanding better wages and benefits for years. The agreement should help to improve the relationship between Stellantis and its workers, and it should also help to boost production at the automaker’s plants.
The contract negotiations have been acrimonious, with Fain frequently lashing out against “corporate greed” and lucrative executive compensation. The automakers have at times accused Fain of grandstanding for the cameras instead of engaging in real negotiations — and they have warned that significantly increasing their labor costs will make it hard for them to compete against non-unionized rivals.
Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said Thursday the deal will raise Ford’s labor costs by $850 to $900 per vehicle produced. Ford will still remain profitable, he added.