On October 24, 2023, members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union went on strike at a General Motors assembly plant that produces full-size sport utility vehicles, another extension of the strike in Arlington, Texas.
James Breeden | Reuters
Detroit – Members of the United Auto Workers General Motors It appears to be very close to a vote to reject a tentative union agreement that would end a roughly six-week labor strike against the automaker.
A majority of UAW members at several major GM plants voted against the agreement. There are a total of 18,580 union employees at these plants, accounting for 40% of GM’s 46,000 union employees.
The results of the vote at multiple smaller GM plants and an SUV plant in Arlington, Texas, are unclear or have not yet been finalized. Several small plants and assembly plants in Michigan and Kansas voted in favor of the deal.
The UAW declined to comment. GM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rejection of the Oct. 30 deal would extend a historically contentious round of negotiations between the UAW and Detroit automakers.A similar tentative agreement is located at Ford and star So far, there is higher voter support among unionized workers at these automakers.
As of Wednesday morning, the UAW had not updated its vote tracker GM was asked to reflect on several plants that voted against the deal. The deal had 52 percent support as of noon Tuesday, after a majority of workers at GM’s Corvette plant in Kentucky, Buick and Chevrolet crossover plants in Michigan, and truck plants in Missouri and Indiana voted against it. .
It has become increasingly common in recent years for UAW members to reject tentative agreements: Workers at Fiat Chrysler (now Stellantis) voted down an agreement during negotiations in 2015, while Mack Trucks rejected it last month A contract proposal.
If the GM deal is blocked, UAW President Sean Fein and other union leaders will need to decide how to proceed and get a better deal for GM’s unionized workers. They may renew strikes against automakers, try to restart negotiations, or both.
All options are essentially back on the table for unions and automakers. The company may agree to reopen negotiations, or it may follow what Mack Trucking did recently and submit its previous offer with few changes, a so-called “last best and final offer” — which it may send Return for members to vote.
The UAW reached preliminary agreements with each automaker separately, so each automaker voted individually. They are not conditional on each other’s approval.
Like Ford’s deal with Stellantis, GM’s record deal includes a 25% wage increase, the restoration of cost-of-living adjustments and other benefits.
But UAW members, especially veterans, objected to the deal, citing high expectations created by Fain, who called for but ultimately failed to secure a 32-hour work week and better retirement benefits.
On a percentage basis, General Motors has the largest number of traditional workers, followed by Ford and then Stellantis. Stellantis is also relying more on temporary workers, who will mostly be converted to full-time employees and be eligible for maximum wages when the deal closes.
GM’s rejection will cast a pall over Fein’s negotiations. While he said union members have the final say on the contract, he and other union leaders praised the historic deal, saying they bargained for every penny the automakers got.
Fein promoted the union contract at an event last week with President Joe Biden and at a U.S. Senate committee hearing as the vote continued.
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