DETROIT – United Auto Workers General Motors Sources told CNBC that an agreement has been reached to end collective bargaining between unions and the Detroit automaker after more than six weeks of targeted labor strikes in the United States.
GM is the last automaker in Detroit to reach an agreement with the union after historically contentious negotiations. Tens of thousands of workers across the country went on strike after the two sides failed to reach an agreement by a Sept. 14 deadline.
Two sources familiar with negotiations between GM and the United Auto Workers said talks took place last night and continued into the early morning hours before reaching an agreement.News of the deal was first reported on Monday Bloomberg.
Spokespersons for the United Auto Workers and General Motors declined to comment Monday.
Ford First reached a tentative deal with the union on Wednesday, followed by a deal with parent Chrysler star Saturday.
The tentative four-and-a-half-year deal still must be approved by member carmakers. Key economic benefits of these deals, such as a 25% wage increase, are modeled on Ford’s original deal.
On September 26, 2023, members of the United Auto Workers (UAW), Local 230, and their supporters picketed in front of a Chrysler Corporation parts department in Ontario, California.
Patrick T. Fallon AFP | Getty Images
The union said of the Ford-Stellantis deal that the raises and benefits cumulatively raised top wages to more than $40 an hour, with starting wages increasing 68% to more than $28 an hour.
The deals also restored cost-of-living adjustments, shortened the eight-year path to the top wage to three years and allowed the right to strike over factory closings, among other significantly enhanced benefits.
Sources told CNBC that GM’s deal matches those improvements.
The strikes cost General Motors, Ford and Stellantis collectively billions of dollars in lost production. Ford said Thursday that the union’s strike has cost it $1.3 billion and that if the agreement is approved by members, labor costs will increase by about $850 to $900 per vehicle produced.
GM said Tuesday that the strike has cost it about $800 million.
The proposed deal sets a record for the EU, with negotiations far more confrontational and strategic than in recent history.
The union launched negotiations with all three automakers simultaneously, breaking recent history when UAW leaders bargained with each automaker individually, picking a major company to focus efforts on and then working out the remaining deals under the leading tentative agreement. .
It’s unclear how much these labor deals will increase labor costs for the companies, which have argued that giving in to all union demands would affect their competitiveness and even long-term viability.
Deutsche Bank recently estimated that over the life of the agreement, total costs would increase by $6.2 billion for Ford; $7.2 billion for General Motors; and $6.4 billion for Stellantis.
Svlook
